As I brought my day to a close, Major Strong rose from the chair to head back to his room. As he extended his hand in a formal offering of respect for the day's end, his closing words were a reminder of the challenges that lay before us, "Let's make sure we come home."

We have all heard the term "bonds of brotherhood." When you take a group of men, put them together to eat, sleep and train for a mission that has the risk of life and death, the bonds that are made are greater than the bonds of blood. Each day that passes is another day closer to our deployment in Afghanistan. That seems distant when you first arrive, yet by design, the training has brought this mission more in focus. The squad becomes the soldier's kindred, as trust is built and success or failure of the individual becomes a reflection on the group as a whole. The squad evolves to become a tight knit family that each of its members mutually adopts. It is a gradual shift, yet one of necessity, as the individual's survival befalls to this new overlord of reality.

I had spent the afternoon working with 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon, of B SECFOR. They had invited me to join in on what 1st Lieutenant Kent had termed, "Combat PT." A series of squad level drills, mixing agility with training, with the standing requirement that you bring and wear all of your gear. I accepted. I have held to a rule for this embed, that you must live the experience to tell of the experience. Simply standing on the outside to observe isn't enough. You have to get in tight for your shots and put yourself in the middle of the action. That also necessitates that the soldiers develop a trust with me. For the day's drills, I therefore committed to accomplishing my needs of photography while managing time to involve myself directly with the activities of 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon. The squad welcomed me.

The Squad leader for 3rd Squad is Sgt. Depaolo. He is a veteran of a previous tour in Iraq and other oversees deployments. His experience and commitment to his men is summed up in four words, "We leave nobody behind." In his barracks in amongst his gear is a reminder of the realities of the current conflict... a Kevlar helmet that absorbed a shard of shrapnel from a road side bomb that was detonated while he was on patrol in a HUMVEE in Iraq. The helmet saved his life. He keeps it as a reminder. "You've got to hunker down even though it sucks. That's what it takes for all of us come back from this."

Combat PT is a demanding experience. It is intended to push you physically and mentally while reinforcing the importance of each team member's role. The drills were divided amongst (13) stations that were each executed for two-and-a-half minutes, with a one-and-a-half minute interval allowed for rotation to the next exercise. The tasks at each station ranged from lunge walking and other drills with the rifle held overhead or out in front, various carrying methods that simulated wounded evacuation of an injured soldier, pushing a HUMVEE as a squad, physical endurance activities such as the water can carry and squats with a soldier on your shoulders, and battle movement drills. Sgt. Depaolo summed it well, "The more we sweat and bleed here, the less we're going to sweat and bleed over there." Combat PT left everyone exhausted.

No matter what past experience these soldiers bring to this mission, a war zone poses challenges and unknowns that no one can completely prepare for. Training lays the foundation that tips the odds in favor of the soldier. The days are long, the work at times tedious, but when the events unfold and chaos becomes the defining term of the moment, the repetition, sweat and dedication that was given to the past exercises will make a difference in the outcome. It is the trump card that elevates a soldier from a statistic to a survivor and that ticket home.

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Copyright, Scott Kesterson- 2006

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