This is an original story from the mind of the Smokingdragon. Any similarities to any other story are coincidental. The characters it the story are all over 18, and are all fictional.
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My story is a difficult one. Both to remember, and to tell. I now know the meaning of "going to hell and back again." I have been through it, and survived. In order to understand the entire story, I have to start from the beginning, 25 years ago.
I grew up in a loving family environment. An only child, so I had all the attention of both parents. I was raised in Burien, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. I had the ideal childhood.
Summers at the beach, skiing at Crystal Mountain Resort. In my eyes, life was perfect. The only thing I've always wanted but never got, was a brother or sister to share it with. I knew my parents couldn't have any more children, so I put it out of my mind.
They've always supported me in everything I did.
I played a lot of sports as a kid, and they attended almost every game. My mother was a part time nurse, and a full time mother. My father was the local lock smith. He ran his own business and was very successful at it. At a young age, I learned how to pick locks. This came in handy during my teenage years. My friends and I got into a lot of trouble because of it. Only when we were caught though. My father always had plans of me working at his lock smith company, when I graduated. Someday, the idea was for me to take over the company, when my father retired. I had other plans.
When I turned 18, and finally graduated, I wanted to see the world. I've been stuck in the same place for most of my life. Yeah, we had the typical family vacations. Road trips to see all the wonders this country had to offer, but it wasn't enough for me. I wanted to travel to foreign countries. I wanted to see the world through my own two eyes. What better way, than to join the Armed Forces. I get to travel and get paid while doing so.
Within days of graduating, I headed to the local recruitment offices. I filled out all the proper paperwork, and got an interview that day. I was told they would be in touch. I left feeling pretty good about myself and headed home. When I told my parents, they freaked. I thought they would be proud, but they were more concerned than anything else. I told them, the military may not even call, but they did. A week later, I got the call. I was being sent to basic training in Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma. The first half of basic training was Initial Entry Training or IET. That almost killed me. I thought I was in great shape before I started, I was wrong.
The second half was Advanced Individual Training or AIT. That came close to killing me again. I was determined to make it through, and I did.
After 45 weeks of grueling training, I was now officially assigned as a Communications specialist, in the US Army. I was given a leave of absence, and headed home. I never realized just how much respect the uniform carries. When I touched down at SeaTac airport, my stomach was in knots. It's been so long since I last saw my parents. They were waiting for me at the gate. My mom as usual, was crying her eyes out when she saw me in my uniform. My father was pretty teary eyed himself, but he was a proud man. He never cried. After lots of hugs and pats on the back, we were on our way home.
Life was good, then I got the call three days later. I was to return to base a.s.a.p. I was being deployed. I had no idea where I was going.
I was told I would be briefed when I got to the base. As it turns out, I was being transferred to an undisclosed location for further training with Special Forces unit, also known as "the Green Berets." I had to undergo 60 more weeks of additional training as a Special Forces Communication Sergeant. My physical and mental abilities were pushed to limits I never knew they could reach. The training was very intense. I was trained in many different skills from parachuting and scuba diving, to explosives handling and bomb and mine disposal. It was during these months, when I met my new unit and my brothers in arms.
The eight of us got along great right from the start. The best times were the nights of boozing it up and trying to fend off the women at the local watering hole. Most times I would cave in and it would end up in a drunken fuckfest. Over the next year, I became closer to my new brothers than anyone else. I've always wanted a brother growing up, now I have seven of them. We did everything together. Once our training was completed, we were informed that we were being deployed for a series of tours in Afghanistan. Routine protection and counter intelligence surveillance, or so we were told. 15 months, and we would be home.
The first tour, pretty much went without a hitch. . It helps when you have a great bunch of guys to watch your back. Yes, we had some close calls, but nothing my brothers and I couldn't handle. The time went by much faster than I thought. We returned to the states, and had some much need time off. We were all happy to be reunited with family and friends. We said our good byes and headed off in separate directions.
We had 12 weeks before we would be back to begin our second tour. During this time, we kept in contact through phone calls and e-mails. I wasn't used to being away from my brothers for extended periods of time. Next thing we knew, we were all together again, on a transport flight headed back to Afghanistan. The second and the third tour was pretty quiet, like the first. It was the fourth tour, where the proverbial shit hit the fan. That's when all hell broke loose. I would never be the same person again.
The fourth tour started out just like any other before it. We were stationed just outside of a small town of Gardez, in western Afghanistan. There has been reports of Taliban activity in the area. We woke up, did our morning 15 mile run. We had our breakfast, and got ready for a routine surveillance. 45 miles into our patrol, I received a call of suspicious activity in the neighboring town of Khost.
The sun was beating down on us, and we were choking on the dust from our convoy. It was hotter than hell, I've never felt heat like that before or since. Especially when you're wearing full combat gear. We started heading in a northeast direction when it hit. I should say, when we hit it. An improvised explosive device (IED). All I remember is laughing and joking with my brother in arms, when a super-heated orange cloud of dust and debris rose up in front of us.
The ground seemed to lift up beneath us. A huge explosion went off, and the last thing I remember was the windows of the truck imploding into the cab. The IED tore through the first armored vehicle, killing everyone inside instantly, and tossing the second truck like a match box toy. We landed upside down and I was instantly pinned inside the cab. I couldn't hear anything except for the constant ringing in my ears. I had blood running into my eyes and mouth, so I couldn't see anything. I called out for my brothers, but couldn't hear them. That's when the pain kicked in. My left arm and my chest were searing like they were on fire.
I tried to find the radio to call for help, but I must have passed out. When I regained consciousness, I was being air lifted to the nearest field hospital. I tried to look around for my brothers, but did not see them in the evac chopper. I remember the look on the medic's faces were sheer horror. I knew something was wrong. Things around me started to fade to black. I passed out once again.
I woke up several days later in a field hospital, just outside Kandahar. I was in critical condition and being transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The pain in my left arm and chest was so intense. I have never felt pain like that before, or since. I kept asking about my brothers, but was told I would be briefed when I got to Germany. The doctors then injected me with more morphine, and told me to sleep. The light faded, and I was out once again.
I woke up in the recovery ward of the hospital with military doctors standing over me. They finally filled me in on all the details. In a blink of an eye, I lost five out of seven members of my unit. Everyone in the first armoured vehicle, were killed instantly. In our vehicle, Tony Marino who was driving, was also killed instantly. Carl Jones, who was in the rear driver's side, was on life support. Ryan Smith was riding shot gun in the front, he was hit with shrapnel and also on life support. The medical staff didn't think they would survive the night.
I was the lucky one. I was riding in the rear passenger's side when the IED went off. My left arm and my chest had been ripped to shreds by flying debris and glass. I could not move my arm, due to the extensive muscle and nerve damage, not to mention the several compound fractures. The rest of me was protected by the front seat. Ryan's body acted as a shield. I was told they could save my arm and would regain full use through rehabilitation.