Feb
8 by Shawn K Categories :
ThatTallDude 0 Comments

Veteran, 5 Years Home

5 years. I can hardly believe it’s been that long. The older one gets, the faster time flies by.

High School

7 years ago, I was a senior in high school. 18 years old, doing the things you need to do to get ready for college, having fun with friends, playing drums in pep band, starting on the basketball team and getting ready for the quickly approaching district tournaments, with legitimate hopes of making the state tournament (though we ultimately came up short). That summer I would return to Missouri for AIT, the part of training that comes after basic.

College

So I graduated, went to AIT, worked for a couple weeks, then took off for school, away from my parents, on my own, with a plan for how the next few years of my life were going to happen. I quickly gained new friends, got involved with Campus Crusade, I was having a ton of fun, loving life, and the plan was off to a great start. Then we got to the end of October, and God started to intervene, by way of telephone.

It was almost Halloween, and I was being informed that we were on notice that we could go to Iraq. Not that we were going, just that it was more likely. Being a never ending optimist, I thought ok, but never once seriously believed I’d be going to Iraq.

Wednesday, November 26, 2003

It was Thanksgiving Eve, and I was hanging out in the dorm. The next day I would be going to Jamestown for Thanksgiving dinner at grandma’s house with a lot of cousins. But on this night, I would get another call. “Shawn, we’re going to Iraq.” Reality would slowly begin to set in as I realized ‘my plan’ was being interrupted. So, being a college guy that just received life changing news, I did the only logical thing. Grabbed a buddy, hopped in the car, drove to Grand Forks and didn’t really do anything. Grabbed some food, drove around town, visited some car lots, sat in a Nissan 350Z (my dream car at the time).

So began the journey to Iraq. Like the other students, I took finals early so I could get home and do some final prep for our all expense paid trip to foreign lands. I enjoyed Christmas with family, getting a lot of presents that I’ve never used (just because I go to Iraq doesn’t mean I’m going to suddenly start playing cards), and receiving a never ending deluge of ‘we’ll be thinking of you.’

Training

Shortly after Christmas, we all met at our various armories, and the 141st Engineer Battalion would proceed to load onto buses, heading for Colorado to train. In true North Dakota fashion, we left in the middle of a blizzard. We stayed at Fort Carson for several weeks, doing desert training in the snow, then made our way across the Atlantic and down into the middle east.

Iraq

We briefly spent some time in Kuwait, where we learned we would not be working as carpenters, but would be driving around looking for IEDs (roadside bombs). We quickly went to work reinforcing all of our vehicles, because the Army was dealing with a backlog of requests for supplies, and we weren’t about to wait around for stuff to keep us safe. A large group of farmers doesn’t take long to weld up steel boxes, which I was very thankful for during our ambushes as I heard the bullets pinging off it around me.

Long story short, almost all of us came back safely. We went through a lot of ambushes, saw a lot of stuff blow up, did a lot of work around our FOB to help keep people safe, but most importantly, efficiently kept the roads clear for the hundreds of military vehicles that daily passed by.

February 4, 2005

Mom received a phone call at 4 am, as the kind people at a small airport in Maine were gracious enough to show up at 6 am and let us use their phones. “Good morning, Mom, I’m in Maine. I’ll be home soon.” A few hours later we would land back in Colorado, step off the plane to the sight of McDonalds logos everywhere, cheeseburgers for all!

I opted not to come home for 2 weeks leave during our year in Iraq, so they put me on the first plane home. Just in time for the Superbowl, and somebody pulled some strings, convincing some people to come in on the weekend and push through our debriefing period. This kept everything moving and just 4 days later, we would leave Colorado.

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

I had asked my parents not to tell anybody I was coming home, though I think everybody figured it out anyway. I was hoping to surprise people. We landed in Bismarck that afternoon, went through the welcome home line with a bunch of Generals and Majors from several military branches, and of course Governor Hoeven and some of his staff. We reached the end of the stairs and looked down at a large crowd of people there to welcome us home, with signs, balloons, cheers, hugs, handshakes, and tears. I found Dad and we took off. We made a quick trip to the mall to grab some things I wanted, and all the looks from everyone that came with that. When you’re dressed in desert camo, and have a good tan the beginning of February, people in ND tend to notice.

We started the trek home, stopping in Carson on the way. My youngest brother had a basketball game that day, so we stopped in to say hi to him and Mom. I was eager to get home though, so we didn’t stay long, and soon I’d find my other brother and sister at home. For the first time in over a year, our family had supper together, all of us at the table again.

My Plan Still Doesn’t Work

I thought my plan would now resume, finishing college and rolling on to whatever came after that, but God had other plans. College became so boring, and I wasn’t learning anything, so I only did 1 year after we got back. In the span of time since, I picked up 2 new MOSs in the National Guard, and worked a variety of jobs, including farm work, filling anhydrous ammonia tanks, electrician, computer repair, web design, basketball coach, youth leader, internet web app bug testing, and more.

Through it all, I’ve seen God’s presence at my side. I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes, some of which I’m still paying for, and will be paying for a few years yet. College still crosses my mind, but I first need to settle in on a direction to take with it. But through all the ups and downs, my needs have been taken care of. There’s a lot of wants that would have been nice to have, but I’m surviving, one day at a time, and involved in a variety of things that I love.

There are several things floating around my mind for a few years now that I’d love to do, whether God allows me to do them or not remains to be seen. I think some of them will work out, because I continually see developments that are like pieces of a puzzle fitting together, small steps leading up to the grand prize. I have a ton of fantastic friends, both to hang out with every week, and to chat with online, Twitter has connected me to some amazing people from around the world. I see God at work in my life, even as I continue to mess it up. There are great people around me to challenge me and call me out when I do something stupid, or encourage me when I need it most.

Iraq was an interruption to Shawn’s plan. The 5 years since have been crazy, but it seems God has me right where he wants me, and keeps throwing things in front of me where I can put my skill set to fantastic use. I hope everyone reading this can remember that no matter what comes your way, God is working in it, whether you realize it or not. When your whole world gets turned upside down, it might be so you wind up in a certain place, at exactly the right time. For me, it seems to be Bismarck, ND, in position to help a variety of people move forth in things they have started, but were needing someone to lighten the load, to help them take the next step, to encourage them, and inspire. I hope you come along for the ride and help us too.