19th years ago yesterday 2977 Americans perished in a series of attacks. Those attacks fundamentally changed American lives for years to come. Actual statistics are difficult to find, but over 1.9 Million Americans have served in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001-2020. The total American fighting force numbers around 1.3 million, and today a significant number of Americans are deployed throughout the world; Iraq and Afghanistan are still populated with American Troops.
So... what changed for me in 2001? My youth wasn't perfect, but my parents afforded me opportunities many children didn't have... By September of 2001- I was a rock climbing and high rope C.O.P.E. instructor. In the winters I worked the ski season at the local ski resort. In the summers I spent weekends hiking, backpacking canyons and mountain biking sprinkled with occasional trips to Vegas...definitely stretched my college loans beyond academics and ate lots of ramen. I worked for the university, with the Boy Scouts and volunteered on and off campus. At the time I was attending Northern Arizona University, studied engineering, architecture, interior design, forestry, criminology, and sociology among my many collegiate pursuits.
In January of 2001 I joined the Army National Guard. By late 2002 I had been Army Qualified as a Truck Driver, Army Recruiter, Career Counselor and NBC NCO. By January 2003 we would be deployed in preparation to Invade Iraq and my 1st deployment would end in May 2004.
Interestingly enough - as I am writing this I realized that following my 1st deployment I haven't rock climbed or backpacked. I haven't spent a day on a ski slope, and I've spent very little time in the back country [at one time I had seriously considered a degree in Forestry and a career as a park ranger]. I never returned to college full time. I took a few additional classes, contributing to the 200+ college credits I have - and no degree. I never returned to most of the things in my life that I would have said contributed to who I was - the things I was was passionate about and thoroughly enjoyed.
I would continue to leverage my military experience for the next 19 years; working for some level of City, State or Federal Government. Even today I work as a contractor for the DOD working with the Army. As a National Guard Soldier, from 2005 -2020 I would spend over 12 years in some type of active duty or deployed status. Almost 5 years accounted for Iraq Deployments or Deployment related time.
As an idealist I am glad that I have the opportunity to served my country - as a pragmatist the Army is no longer the place for me, and hasn't been for a long time...
September 2001 lead to a path I had never considered, and that has brought me to today...I would do a lot of things differently and I would do some things again...
I would cherish time more preciously and place more emphasis on the truly valuable. I would give more of myself, I would live fuller and love better. So tomorrow is another opportunity to do that...
