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LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan (9/1/2012) - There are many reasons
people join the military and many reasons many people never leave.
Love of country, college benefits and sense of duty are just some of
the reasons that people raise their right hand and sign on the line
but as they continue their career, different reasons arise.
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U.S. Army Cpl. Vinny Cantu (left and front
right) pulls security during a patrol near Combat Outpost Sultan
Khyel in Wardak province, Afghanistan, July 24, 2012. Cantu is a
25-year-old native of Salem, Ore., who is serving in eastern
Afghanistan with 2nd Platoon, Battle Company. 2nd Battalion, 503rd
Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, headquartered
out of Vicenza, Italy. Cantu enlisted as an infantryman in 2006 and
is on his third deployment to Afghanistan with the 173rd. Photos by
Army Sgt. Michael Sword
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The camaraderie, the stories and going out and doing
something great with other soldiers are some of the reasons
U.S. Army Cpl. Vinny Cantu, an infantryman with 2nd Platoon,
Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, Task
Force 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, and a native of
Salem, Ore., has continued his Army career.
It was a
phone call from a recruiter that got the process started.
After graduating from South Salem High School in 2005 and
growing tired of working at a grocery store, he decided to
join in March 2006.
“Originally, I just got the phone call
and he asked me a few questions,” he said. “The college
perks sold me because that's initially why I was working in
the first place.”
As he decided on his job choice,
his parents had one piece of advice.
“I told my
parents what I was doing and they were like ‘whatever you
do, don't be infantry,' and that's the first thing I did,”
he said. “Sign me up for airborne infantry I want to jump
out of airplanes.”
After Basic Combat Training, One
Station Unit Training and Airborne School, all at Fort
Benning, Ga., he arrived in Vicenza, Italy, where 2nd Bn.,
and the 173rd ABCT are headquartered. Cantu arrived to the
unit in August 2006 and was assigned to 2nd Platoon, Battle
Company, only months after the brigade arrived back from
their deployment to Afghanistan.
“When I first got
to the unit it was very "to the standard,'” he said. “We had
just gotten out of the garrison military mindset to the
rapid-deployment mindset.”
Almost as fast as he
arrived, Cantu found himself a member of 2nd Platoon of
Battle Company, and headed to the deadly Korengal Valley in
Kunar province, Afghanistan. The actions of the company, led
by U.S. Army Capt. Dan Kearney, were documented by author
Sebastian Junger in the novel “War” and the accompanying
film “Restrepo.” Constant fighting, explosions, long days,
longer nights and fallen soldiers marked their deployment.
“It was 15 months of hell,” he said. “The quote
Capt. Kearney used to use was ‘forged in the blast furnace
of combat.'”
After the deployment, the Sky soldiers
returned to Vicenza and Cantu remained in 2nd platoon as
other soldiers changed units, duty stations or just got out
of the Army. As time went by, training continued and the
173rd was soon headed back to Afghanistan. When he found out
that 2nd Battalion would be headed back to Kunar province,
Cantu prepared for the worst.
“At that point I was
preparing myself for Korengal version 2.0, and we got there
I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't happen,” he said.
They were 30 kilometers from the Korengal Valley; it
was six months before 2nd Battalion joined the rest of the
173rd in Logar and Wardak provinces. While the area was less
kinetic than the Korengal, the use of IEDs in the area
presented another challenge for Cantu.
“When I was
up north in OEF VIII, I got blown up,” he said. “When you're
in a truck you're just waiting for it and I don't like
something I can't control.”
“When you're in a
firefight, you can control where you're moving to, you can
control your guys, you can move from one position to the
next and see that next covered and concealed position,” he
said.
After one rough deployment, and in the middle
of another, Cantu looked forward to getting out of the Army.
But as he looked at what he thought was a light at the end
of the tunnel, he saw two things: a future outside the Army
he wasn't quite prepared for; and more importantly, he saw
his unit full of new soldiers with more to come and he
decided to pass on what he knew. He decided to re-enlist
while in Afghanistan for three more years.
“I don't
want to let my unit, or what I feel is my unit, lose its
reputation and I don't want to see the unit fail,” he said.
“We've done well throughout our history as a unit.”
“Battle Company has always had a reputation of doing great
things when they're in a combat zone,” he said.
Part
of maintaining the Battle Company, standard is ensuring the
newest soldiers to the unit know what they're stepping into
and the legacy of the men they are following.
“Just
like your family line, you have to know where you come from,
you have to know what you're living up to,” he said. “These
are big shoes to fill.”
“How are you going to do
that if you don't know anything about the unit history or
the past,” he continued. “I wanted to teach guys to want to
uphold that standard.”
In Afghanistan for the third
time with the 173rd and for the third time as a member of
2nd Platoon, Battle Company, Cantu is adjusting to another
location, another platoon and in many ways, another war.
“Every once in a while it's monotony but there's always
something new,” he said. “It's a thinking man's game, like
chess.”
“If they move on you, you have to move on
them,” he said.
However, many things have changed
for Cantu, and after three deployments, he's ready for a
change.
“This time, I'm recently married,” he said.
“The wife and I have talked about it and I think it's time
for me to change, to do something different.”
“She
supports me if I want to stay in, but I feel it's time for
me to start a new chapter,” he said.
As Cantu
continues his deployment and looks toward the future, he may
leave the Army, but the things he's learned in the last few
years will not be leaving him.
“I think it makes me
a more well-rounded person,” he said. “I've had to live with
minimal stuff so it makes me not take things for granted.”
“I'm happy to be here, happy to be alive,” he added.
“I can't wait to get home and see my family and to my wife,
thanks for supporting me.”
By Army Sgt. Michael Sword
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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