A Long Way From Home

9/11 changed everything.

I'd already been in the army for a decade and was planning my next move. My daughter was just born 3 days earlier. We brought her home the night of the 10th. I woke up in time to see the first plane hit. Then the second. Despite what the news anchors were saying I knew one thing. We were going to war. The phone call came a few minutes later. Get your shit. It's time.

So began a five year phase of my life with the XVIII Airborne Corps. Three deployments, first to Afghanistan and then back to back in Iraq. It was the culmination of a decade of training, anticipating, and expecting. It came like a whirlwind. A hammer blow that would forever shape and change who we were. For the men and women who deployed to those long wars, we bore witness to events no human should be forced to, fought in battles for the very soul of decency.

Historians might argue why we fought for our countries, but I know the truth. Yes, we proudly served our nation in one of the most distressing periods since WWII, but we all fought for one reason: For the soldier to our left and right. War is Hell, but we went anyway.

A Long Way From Home is my story, just a small part in a wide world, and a compilation of stories from others I served with. It is a human story. One filled with tragedy, heartbreak, and triumph.