God Made a Path to the Army
(March 9, 2011) |
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Detroit native Army Spc. Kendall Jackson (a Pfc. when photographed on June 6, 2010), a chaplain's assistant with the 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, spends his first deployment at Kandahar, Afghanistan. |
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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (3/7/2011) - No one asks for
stress and hard times in their life, but for one soldier, he
is deeply thankful for the darkest moments of his life.
Without those bleak, hopeless days, he would not be on the
path he is today.
About five years ago, Detroit,
Mich., native Army Spc. Kendall Jackson, a chaplain's
assistant with the 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, said
he was struggling with just about everything. He was in and
out of jobs and health, fighting with his wife, having bad
dreams and on the edge of a breakdown until he prayed to be
cursed – “cursed with blessings.”
The blessings
came, but Jackson didn't quite recognize them at first, he
said. After Hurricane Ike, Jackson was laid off and out of
work yet again. Desperate, Jackson said he started reading
his Bible, looking for answers, but everything he read
talked about fighting in the Army.
While he was out
looking for work “with everyone else,” a
stranger approached him, touched his shoulder,
and said, “Do what God has told you to do.”
Jackson shook off this odd encounter. Then,
after a loud, verbal fight with his wife, which
was interrupted by investigating police, Jackson
said the officer talked to him about the Army.
The Army was coming at me from everywhere, said
Jackson. “It was like He closed doors to squeeze
me into this |
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direction. I started to feel like I didn't have
to go out and find the answer; it kept coming to
me.” |
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Even at the recruiter's office,
Jackson felt like he was pointed to a direction he had not
considered. The recruiter and I discussed a lot of jobs with
bonuses, and then he mentioned the chaplain's assistant job
since I had mentioned God, said Jackson. It didn't offer a
bonus, but, according to the recruiter, it had not been open
for a couple of years, he said. “I kept thinking that I
can't serve God AND money, so I chose the chaplain's
assistant job.”
However, during his first year on
duty, Jackson still wasn't sure he had made the right
decision. “I kept thinking...I can't believe I am in the Army.
I don't even like weapons.” And life was still difficult for
him, his wife and their four children, who were about to be
evicted out of their apartment. Before that happened though,
the Army was his answer again, said Jackson. “The next thing
I knew, I am getting blessed with all this stuff.” His unit
and other military people heard about his crisis and helped
his family with money, furniture and a vehicle. “They
practically furnished my entire house. I couldn't believe
this was happening. No one gives people furniture and
trucks, except Oprah,” laughed Jackson.
Now after
only two years in the Army, the 31-year-old Fort Huachuca,
Ariz., resident is serving on his first deployment in
Kandahar, Afghanistan, and giving inspiration to other
soldiers. We all get overwhelmed by our problems at times,
so I try to help others realize that there is hope, said
Jackson. “I tell them to not get blinded by their struggles.
It is only a season, and it will pass.” Of course, this is
all easier said than done, but since Jackson has lived hard
times, he said it allows him to speak with more conviction,
letting other soldiers know they can survive too. “Every
experience, whether good or bad, builds character. And those
experiences will either make you better or bitter.”
Nevertheless, all this experience overcoming adversity did
not make leaving his family to come to heavily-rocketed
combat zone any less easy. But after a few months in
country, Jackson said he realized there was not much point
to worrying. “I don't fear as much anymore, because I don't
feel like the Lord has brought me this far just to take me
out in the desert. I feel like I am here to be a rock and
foundation to other soldiers.” And regardless of what your
job and experiences are, you just have to have faith
sometimes, said Jackson. “We can be trained and ready, but
how much can you fight against a mortar?”
Through all
his experiences and military service, Jackson said there is
still a lot to learn. “Wisdom doesn't come with age. It
comes from doing what is right.” He says this not only
because of his history, but also because he sees a lot of
connection between the Army values and the Old Testament.
“Everybody can preach the values, but not everybody can live
them.”
By trying to learn and live those values,
Jackson said he has learned a lot about leadership.
“Everything is a transition. Everyone is a follower and a
leader, just at different times.”
By following God's
signs to join the Army, Jackson feels he is leading his
family by serving time away from them. “It's a sacrifice of
time, because you are away from your loved ones and what you
are used to. But, outside of that, it is NOT a sacrifice. We
volunteered to serve. So, it is more like an offering.”
And through his gift of time and service, Jackson thinks
the path that brought him to a combat zone will be the same
path that gives him serenity. “A lot of people see the Army
as a door to war, but for me, it was a door to peace.” |
Article and photo by Army Capt. Michelle Lunato
359th Signal Brigade
Copyright 2011 | |
Provided
through DVIDS
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