Hello from Fort Drum New York
As you may have guessed by my name I'm in a arttillery unit. 1st BCT A 3/6 FA, 10TH MTN DIV LI...just the technical stuff, lol. I'm 10th Mountain 1st Brigade. My last deployment, Aug,'07-Dec.'08, was my first. I did some things I wasn't proud off to stay alive and keep my 'family' safe. I was detached from my main unit and put on a 'Military in Transition Team', we were living with an Iraqi Brigade helping them learn the "American way". Long story short, we were hated and targeted daily by insurgent indirect and direct fire. We got 'used' to it, made us mad to think they 'hit and run'. By the time we got spun up for counter patrol, they were gone. Our patrol base had like 40 guys on it, so we were like family, after 13 months there and 3 more in Kuwait, we knew each other well. One mission I'll never forget physically changed me. About 8km outside our patrol base, a patrol set from my parent battery struck an IED and had injuries and a torn up vehicle, they couldn't charlie mike to get help, so we were the closest. I was lead driver going through fields and roads Americans haven't travelled for years to get to them. Then, out of nowhere, a farmer dug a ditch to protect his field from vehicles, from the road we needed to get on. We couldn't stop because of the mud and water, so I 'gunned' it. Bad choice for me, but because of it, two survived. I subsequently did nerve damage to my back, blew 2 discs, bulged another 3, degenerative disc diesease, and scholiosis. All of this was a result of almost a year of no help. All I heard was, take these Motrin. The body armor did more harm to me than good. Almost a year after the accident is when I found out all of the'good' stuff that happend to me.
Two months of being home netted us a new Battalion Commander and Command Sergeant Major. When they caught wind of what happend, they put me through college as a way to say sorry. Presently, I'm in photo class and loving it. I'm able to capture happy memories and trying to erase the bad. It's touch and go, I'm tearing up now thinking of some of the things I did to stay alive. I hate it. Anyway, I'm trying to find nice used equipment for my friends in the class. The community college cameras are junk. The photo class is on the chopping block. I've been doing the whole eBay thing, only to get burned on some stuff. I don't sell for profit to them, just to cover film, developing and initial cost. My fiancee wants to kill me for it, but I told her point blank, I could be doing worse things and back off a bit, this is helping me cope. So, if anyone has some beginner camera items up for sale, give me a shout. I love helping others. Plus, "I could be doing worse things."
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Originally posted by Wildnsyko 
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