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Sgt. Brent Dale fights to re-enlist, serve in Iraq
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| Sgt. Brent Dale’s parents, Tom and Rita of Hamilton, Ill., are extremely proud of their son. “We’re proud, but naturally have concerns about where he’s going,” Tom said. “This country needs men like him who are eager to serve in the military.” |
By Joy Swearingen/MVM News Network
HAMILTON, Ill. - Sgt. Brent Dale enlisted in the Army right out of high school in 1996. He served in active duty for three years and was in the Army Reserve for five years.
During that time he earned a degree in law enforcement and fire fighting, and his unit was mobilized twice. He received a medical discharge in 2004 because of a broken ankle.
At that point, some soldiers might have believed they had served their country well, and felt relief at being out of harm's way.
Not Dale. As soon as he was medically able, he began his efforts to re-enlist in the Army. He was successful, and in late October he was shipped to Kuwait and is now stationed in Iraq. By e-mail, he explained his feelings about serving his country and about what being a soldier means to him.
MVM: Why and when did you first enlist?
Dale: I first signed up during my senior year of high school. I figured Carthage had nothing for me and I couldn't pay for college on my own, so the Army was the best way to get a real job right away and get money for college. I went to basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and then on to AIT at Fort Lee, Va.
MVM: Describe where you served and any unique experiences, especially those that led to your discharge and re-enlisting.
Dale: I have served in several places. My first assignment was to Camp Casey, South Korea. I was there for a year. After that, I was moved to Fort Drum, N.Y., where I also did a year. That was the end of my contract. I got out of active duty and went to the reserves, as well as starting college full time in the fall of 1999.
While in the reserves, I was mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom, right before college graduation, therefore postponing my graduation. We ended up not going, and I came back to school in the fall of '03, only to get mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom in October. I was to “mobe” out of Fort Riley, Kan.
Right before we were to leave, I broke my ankle and had to have surgery, once again, keeping me out of the fight. I had surgery a few weeks later, then the Army told me I wasn't healing fast enough to go to war, so I was sent home on a medical discharge. That was July of '04.
I have been trying to get back in ever since. Finally in June of' '07, I did just that. I have been stationed once again at Fort Drum in upstate N.Y., with the 10th Mountain Division. I am deployed to the Middle East. As I write this (Oct. 31) I am sitting in an Internet cafe at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. By the time this prints, I will be in Iraq at an undisclosed location.
MVM: What are the details of your reenlistment?
Dale: I signed up for this enlistment for five years, with a guaranteed assignment of Fort Drum. I wanted Fort Drum because of all the snow they get there. Today is Halloween, and my platoon sergeant's wife told him today on the phone that they have eight inches of snow on the ground.
MVM: What is it you like about being a soldier that caused you to re-up? Some soldiers describe the powerful feeling of being with a group you were trained to count on and trust with your life.
Dale: That is exactly it. I love the camaraderie that my soldiers and I have. They know that I'm the sergeant in charge, and I'm gonna lead them, my way, but they also know that I have respect for them just like they have for me, and I don't treat them like crap.
"I also wanted back in the Army because I'm not so great at civilian life. I don't do well without rules. I need the discipline. I am very happy being a soldier and God willing, will retire from this job.
MVM: Did you re-enlist hoping to go to the Middle East?
Dale: I absolutely did. In the Army, everyone from the lowest privates to the highest generals have been here. I did eight years and didn't get to. I didn't get to earn my combat patch or my combat stripes. It's just something that no matter what you do/did in the Army, if you say that you never went to Iraq/Afghanistan, people look down on you. I hated telling people that I never deployed. To me, that's like a doctor saying he's never had a surgery where the patient lived.
Well, now I can say that I've been there, and that excites me more than anything. I am having the time of my life here.
MVM: While you were home you spoke to Greg Hoener's class at Illini West High School. What was the kids' reaction? What message did you specifically want to get across to them?
Dale: I really had no expectations going in. I just wanted to show them that a small town boy can grow up to be a man of character, and a man that has responsibilities far beyond his own reach. I wasn't there to recruit, just simply to talk about my time in the Army, as it pertained to American History.
MVM: Anything else you want to add?
Dale: If you want, you can print my e-mail address. Maybe a few people will write that I haven't talked to in a while.
Sgt. Dale can be contacted at sergeant_dale@yahoo.com
During that time he earned a degree in law enforcement and fire fighting, and his unit was mobilized twice. He received a medical discharge in 2004 because of a broken ankle.
At that point, some soldiers might have believed they had served their country well, and felt relief at being out of harm's way.
Not Dale. As soon as he was medically able, he began his efforts to re-enlist in the Army. He was successful, and in late October he was shipped to Kuwait and is now stationed in Iraq. By e-mail, he explained his feelings about serving his country and about what being a soldier means to him.
MVM: Why and when did you first enlist?
Dale: I first signed up during my senior year of high school. I figured Carthage had nothing for me and I couldn't pay for college on my own, so the Army was the best way to get a real job right away and get money for college. I went to basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and then on to AIT at Fort Lee, Va.
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Dale: I have served in several places. My first assignment was to Camp Casey, South Korea. I was there for a year. After that, I was moved to Fort Drum, N.Y., where I also did a year. That was the end of my contract. I got out of active duty and went to the reserves, as well as starting college full time in the fall of 1999.
While in the reserves, I was mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom, right before college graduation, therefore postponing my graduation. We ended up not going, and I came back to school in the fall of '03, only to get mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom in October. I was to “mobe” out of Fort Riley, Kan.
Right before we were to leave, I broke my ankle and had to have surgery, once again, keeping me out of the fight. I had surgery a few weeks later, then the Army told me I wasn't healing fast enough to go to war, so I was sent home on a medical discharge. That was July of '04.
I have been trying to get back in ever since. Finally in June of' '07, I did just that. I have been stationed once again at Fort Drum in upstate N.Y., with the 10th Mountain Division. I am deployed to the Middle East. As I write this (Oct. 31) I am sitting in an Internet cafe at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. By the time this prints, I will be in Iraq at an undisclosed location.
MVM: What are the details of your reenlistment?
Dale: I signed up for this enlistment for five years, with a guaranteed assignment of Fort Drum. I wanted Fort Drum because of all the snow they get there. Today is Halloween, and my platoon sergeant's wife told him today on the phone that they have eight inches of snow on the ground.
MVM: What is it you like about being a soldier that caused you to re-up? Some soldiers describe the powerful feeling of being with a group you were trained to count on and trust with your life.
Dale: That is exactly it. I love the camaraderie that my soldiers and I have. They know that I'm the sergeant in charge, and I'm gonna lead them, my way, but they also know that I have respect for them just like they have for me, and I don't treat them like crap.
"I also wanted back in the Army because I'm not so great at civilian life. I don't do well without rules. I need the discipline. I am very happy being a soldier and God willing, will retire from this job.
MVM: Did you re-enlist hoping to go to the Middle East?
Dale: I absolutely did. In the Army, everyone from the lowest privates to the highest generals have been here. I did eight years and didn't get to. I didn't get to earn my combat patch or my combat stripes. It's just something that no matter what you do/did in the Army, if you say that you never went to Iraq/Afghanistan, people look down on you. I hated telling people that I never deployed. To me, that's like a doctor saying he's never had a surgery where the patient lived.
Well, now I can say that I've been there, and that excites me more than anything. I am having the time of my life here.
MVM: While you were home you spoke to Greg Hoener's class at Illini West High School. What was the kids' reaction? What message did you specifically want to get across to them?
Dale: I really had no expectations going in. I just wanted to show them that a small town boy can grow up to be a man of character, and a man that has responsibilities far beyond his own reach. I wasn't there to recruit, just simply to talk about my time in the Army, as it pertained to American History.
MVM: Anything else you want to add?
Dale: If you want, you can print my e-mail address. Maybe a few people will write that I haven't talked to in a while.
Sgt. Dale can be contacted at sergeant_dale@yahoo.com
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