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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (10/9/2012) – Several towns and cities
across the United States have seen sons, daughters, mothers and
friends off to war, with many coming back with battle scars, and
some in a flag-draped casket, having paid the ultimate sacrifice in
service to their country.
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Spc. Derek Gentry, a paralegal specialist
assigned to Kandahar City, Afghanistan, in Regional Command South
with Task Force Ripcord, 503d Military Police Battalion (Airborne)
out of Fort Bragg, N.C., places the 503rd MP Battalion (Airborne)
unit patch on his right shoulder to signify his service with the
unit during a time of war May 27, 2012. Soldiers are authorized the
wear of the unit patch they served in war with after having been
deployed. Photo by Army Capt. Anouar Bencheqroun, 503rd MP Battalion
(Airborne)
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Military service is not easy and it can be especially difficult
for the ones left behind; however, service can sometimes be a family
affair with family members serving in the U.S. military
simultaneously.
This is the case for
Spc. Derek Gentry, a paralegal specialist assigned to Kandahar City,
Afghanistan in Regional Command-South with Task Force Ripcord, 503rd
Military Police Battalion (Airborne) out of Fort Bragg, N.C.
Spc. Gentry has a younger brother, a cousin and an uncle
deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. Gentry joined the military three and a half years ago
and says his family played a large role in his decision to join.
“Anything that I ever wanted to accomplish, my family has stood
behind me in my attempts throughout my life,” said Spc. Gentry.
“Both my parents were in the Navy. My older brother is currently in
the Navy, my little brother is an MP in the Army, and my little
sister plans to join soon.”
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Spc. Gentry's younger brother, Pfc. David Gentry, also
credits his military service to strong family support. He is
currently deployed to Regional Command-East as a military
policeman with the 173d Infantry Brigade.
“My family
is primarily military,” said the younger Gentry. “9/11
cemented it in my mind. My fellow soldiers are like my
second family.”
Patriotism has been one of
the major reasons military service has been the profession
of choice for the Gentrys.
“[Patriotism] means to me
having the undying gratitude to serve and defend the people
of the United States of America no matter the risk
involved,” says Spc. Gentry.
His brother adds that
he's proud of how patriotic they are.
“I think it is
a great thing that our family [is best at military service];
we show our true colors and we would defend our country with
our lives if needed,” said Pfc. Gentry.
Gentry's
uncle, Capt. Matthew Sawyer, is another deployed service
member and works in Regional Command-North, serving with the
125th Infantry Battalion.
Sawyer is a former Marine
and currently serves as a field artillery officer with the
Michigan National Guard. He echoes his nephews' view of
patriotism as “thoughtlessly giving of one's self for one's
country, especially when one's country is at war.”
Their cousin, Sgt. Deborah Sawyer, is another service member
serving in Afghanistan. She is a military policewoman in the
Pennsylvania National Guard and works in Regional Command
West.
She is equally cheerful about her family's
history of military service and proud of her family members
that are spread out amongst the various regional commands in
Afghanistan.
The Gentrys and Sawyers are certainly
not the only family serving together in Afghanistan. Task
Force Ripcord has others in its ranks that have family
members serving alongside one another in uniform and
deploying to a combat theater.
Master Sgt. Timothy
Larrison and his daughter, Spc. Katelyn Larrison, both serve
with the 303rd Military Police Company, a Reserve unit from
Jackson, Miss. They are deployed to Kandahar City under the
leadership of the Fort Bragg-based Task Force Ripcord and
Regional Command South.
Larrison has been a military
and civilian police-officer for 24 years, and a veteran of
three combat deployments. He credits his father, who was a
military policeman during the Korean War, and his brother, a
retired Navy veteran, for instilling a strong sense of
military service in him. Patriotism for him is “being
committed to doing a job that few others care to do, even in
dangerous and unpleasant conditions.”
The younger
Larrison, who is a communications specialist in the 303rd MP
Company, echoes her father's thoughts that patriotism is
“loyalty to your country and doing the most you can to honor
and respect it.”
“Serving together definitely brings
us all closer together,” she said, referring to the
father-daughter deployment with the same company.
The older Larrison is proud of his daughter's military
service and their concurrent deployment.
“Being
deployed with my daughter is an experience that I will
remember for the rest of my life,” says Master Sgt. Larrison.
“Not too many fathers can say they had the opportunity to do
that.”
Although he has witnessed his daughter serve
under stressful situations in a deployed combat environment,
he adds that “even though she is an adult, I can still
picture her in pigtails and glasses as a five year old.”
Both Larrisons have aspirations for a long military
career. Spc. Larrison proudly adds that she “love[s]
supporting this country and delivering any skill I have to
the armed conflict we have going on.”
Throughout all
these stories, a common thread emerges of strong patriotic
traits that drive these American soldiers to serve in
defense of their country in time of war.
The aftermath of the 9/11 attacks provided many soldiers
with a purpose to service and consecrated for older soldiers
on their military commitment. The family ties that relate
these soldiers are further strengthened by their military
service and combat experience.
Courtesy of 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd ID
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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