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My Brother the Soldier.

A glimpse into a soldier's struggles.

By Andrew DonaldsonPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
Top Story - January 2021
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I have never served in the Military. I am in my early 30's now and looking back, I am glad I didn't. Not everyone has what it takes. For those who do, the Military can be a great career. It can be used to set a foundation as an adult to build the rest of your life on. Skills learned in the Military can be a great asset to a soldiers life.

But there are also things you can get from joining the Military that they don't talk much about, especially during war time. They don't tell you that your voluntary enlistment could scar you for the rest of your life. I watched as my brother was deployed to Iraq twice and then again being deployed to Afghanistan four times. This wasn't some deployment to another country where he would help with surveillance or logistics, these were tours of war.

My older brother Anthony enlisted into the Army Infantry in 2003, just as the Iraq War was starting to pop off. He was a teenager when 9/11 happened so I believe he joined not only because he had a young family to provide for, but also from a sense of patriotism that most American's felt after that. He was whisked off to Basic Training. He graduated and became a Private. After all the training and school new soldiers receive, he got a small leave and came home.

It wasn't too long after that he was told he would be deployed to Iraq. As a younger brother at the time, I was around 14, I was excited because he was, but at the same time, I was terrified. In my head, all I could think about was all the war movies and Vietnam documentaries I had seen. I was more worried about his physical safety. I had no idea what the experience of war could do to his mental stability.

Once he got to Iraq, he told us his job was to drive the Strykers (an armored personnel carrier) through the cities of Iraq. It was hot and loud but he seemed to enjoy it. Anthony hasn't shared much about his experiences that tour or any tour really, but the main thing that happened was the death of his Sergeant while on patrol. He had only spoken about it once when it happened. I believe he was driving through a city block when either they drove over an Improvised Explosive Device or took enemy fire which led to his Sgt being mortally wounded. My brother said he had to carry him to the safe zone about a "klick"(kilometer) away.

His Sgt died in his arms while carrying him. When my brother came back, he was different. You could see it in his eyes. He was drinking heavily and even got a DUI. Luckily, the arresting officer was very respectful of the fact he was an active duty service member and didn't make a big deal about the handgun in his car. The army basically gave him a slap on the wrist.

He left the Army after his first contract was up. He lived the "normal" life and worked construction and other jobs to get by. Not too long after, he was back in the Army. I believe he was a Specialist at this point. So he went back to infantry and around 2007, he was sent back to Iraq. It was a pretty uneventful tour, as he would say but he was never the type to go into detail, especially if it was a hard story to tell.

When the Iraq conflict ended, we had some hope that the deployments where over. But that didn't last long. Over the next decade or so, the Army would send him on four tours in Afghanistan. Each deployment was easily a year long. How could they send a person into that environment six times? I watched as each deployment went by and my brother became more withdrawn and drank heavily. His first marriage, which was right before his first deployment, ended in divorce. His second marriage almost didn't make it.

It had gotten to a point to where he was finally noticing how it was effecting his life and went to the Army for help. The Army sent him to a 30 day detox/rehab. When he got out they did an evaluation and found he had PTSD, a pretty worn back and now that he admitted to having an alcohol problem, they gave him an Honorable Discharge. After 16 years of service and climbing to the rank of First Sergeant, he is now retired.

He is now living in a small town in Colorado training to be a Sheriff Deputy. Him and his wife are still together and have a five year old son. He has told me that the stay in rehab saved his life. I don't get to see my brother often. I am the type of person who will tell you how I am feeling, my brother is not. I could see him suffering for years on the inside. I am very happy that my brother went through such an ordeal, and made it to the other side in one piece. Not all soldiers are as fortunate.

It makes me think about how close I came to being in the military. When I was 17, I wanted to be a Marine. I wanted to do my part. I sat down with the recruiter, picked out a job and got all the way to the paperwork when I backed out. Since I was 17, I needed my parents to sign also. My parents signed the forms and then they handed me the pen. I froze for a few moments. I looked at the recruiter and told him I needed more time to think. I never went back.

For a while I felt like I let everyone down. As I got older, and after seeing what my brother went through, I am glad I didn't. At that time, they were still kicking in doors in Iraq. I would've been sent there and who knows if I would have made it back? Or lost a limb(s) or mentally not be able to deal with it? I didn't have what it takes to be in the military.

Next time you see a service member, active or retired, thank them. We often forget the sacrifices service members have to make. They all may not be storming beaches, but they fought for our country just the same.

Image from Google

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About the Creator

Andrew Donaldson

New to writing. Just wanting to type.

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