|
|
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ian O'Neill, security force platoon leader for
Provincial Reconstruction Team Paktika takes a quick break after a
mission in the Sharan District of Paktika Province, on Forward
Operating Base Sharana, Nov. 14, 2012. O'Neill, a West Point
Military Academy alum and native of Manhasset, N.Y., plans on
applying for the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course upon
completing his deployment to Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Staff
Sgt. Anna Rutherford, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
|
|
PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan (11/23/2012) – “Duty, honor,
country: those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you
ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your
rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to
regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to
create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”
These words were
stated by West Point Military Academy alum, U.S. Army Gen. Douglas
MacArthur. “Duty, honor, country” is now the academy's motto. For
Provincial Reconstruction Team Paktika Security Force Platoon Leader
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ian O'Neill, these hallowed words reverberate
throughout each step of his military career.
“They [his
grandfather and father] never pressured me to join,” said O'Neill
about his desire to join the military. “It was more of a sense of
duty to try to live up to what they did.”
Following in the
shadows of his father's Navy career, his grandfather's Special
Forces career, at a mere 24 years of age O'Neill is still relatively
young. However, this doesn't deter him from learning as much as he
can on his first deployment.
“Leading Soldiers into combat –
I can't see anything harder than that [or] more humbling,” said the
Long Island, N.Y., native.
|
As he prepares personnel for a convoy into the Sharan
District of Paktika Province, O'Neill calmy articulates his
intent for the mission. As mission preparation continues,
Soldiers in O'Neill's platoon provide good-natured ribbing,
which express their respect for the young officer. The
Soldiers crack a few jokes about the tab on the left side of
his uniform, just above his unit patch, but O'Neill is non-plussed.
“It [Ranger school] was another one of those challenges
just to see if I could hack it,” he said. “Especially going
up those mountains, I was thinking about my grandfather and
my dad and how I wouldn't want to disappoint them. My
grandfather was Special Forces in Vietnam and that's what I
want to do.”
The platoon leader is alert, but calm
and collected, as the element moves to its destination. His
movements are deliberate as he watches for anything that
seems suspicious or out of the ordinary.
U.S. Army
Sgt. Scott MacKinnon, 1st squad's dismount leader, echoes
the sentiments of many in his platoon. Although MacKinnon
has only worked for O'Neill for a handful of months,
MacKinnon has already formed his impression of the officer.
“I tell you what: I've been in the military for a hot
minute,” he said. “I'm really pleased to be under him. He's
got an amazing ability to listen and take input. To me,
that's the mark of a great officer.”
MacKinnon finds
O'Neill's Ranger tab to not only be a mark of merit, but an
asset to the platoon's operations in a combat theater.
“The Ranger tab, to me, is a measure of an amazing
infantry Soldier,” MacKinnon said. “To watch the package
that he puts together is just simply amazing. His attitude
is absolutely amazing and his command presence is some of
the best I've ever seen.”
Among the myriad reasons
for serving, O'Neill pinpoints the one thing that sways him
to continue on in his military career.
“It is how
selfless some of these guys are,” he said. “The camaraderie
– every single day they impress me and the amount of
motivation they have to do a good job and it's not just for
a paycheck. They do it for each other and I don't think
there's any other organization where there's that much
selflessness and brotherhood.”
In the meantime,
O'Neill will work on his packet to follow in his
grandfather's footsteps and apply for the Special Forces
Assessment and Selection Course.
“The choice to walk
in their footsteps was my own,” he said. “They always said
‘you can be whatever you want to be.' I want to continue to
develop our guys and make them better for the next mission.”
By Army Staff Sgt. Anna Rutherford
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
Comment on this article |
