Be All You Can Be meets Army Strong: Gulf War veteran volunteers for duty in Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

01.18.2008

Story by Pfc. Daniel Rangel 

22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

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By Army Pfc. Daniel M. Rangel
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team is now the responsibility of a new security force made up of Soldiers from the 838th Military Police Company, Ohio Army National Guard, who arrived Jan. 1.

Among the new arrivals is a Cleveland native, Army Staff Sgt. John L. Brickman of the 838th MP Co., who works as a PRT Security Force squad leader for Parwan province.

Brickman first enlisted for active duty in 1989 and deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990 during the first Gulf War as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. He returned to the region in 1991 on a second deployment.

After eight years of military service, Brickman moved into the civilian workforce, then in 2004, three years after the Global War on Terror had started, Brickman joined the National Guard.

"After the attacks [on Sept. 11] I was upset, but I felt like I had already done my duty, so I didn't bother to try and re-enlist," Brickman said. "But as the war kept going on and I saw what was happening in Iraq ... It upset me. And over time, that wore on me. That's when I decided to re-enlist."

Soon after Brickman re-enlisted the nation was faced with another crisis, a crisis in which the National Guard played a vital role in helping fellow Americans survive.

"We did deploy for [Hurricane] Katrina," Brickman said. "It was my first deployment with a Guard unit. It was a lot different than active duty with the way things were run, but it was efficient and I was kind of surprised that we were able to go down there and help without the larger headquarters units being right on top of us and telling us what to do like I was used to on active duty."

Brickman explained what it was like being deployed with the Sky Dragons during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

"I was working out of a tactical operations center for a patriot missile unit," Brickman said. "I remember the first scud alert we had. The people with the good radars would tell us when one was launched out of Iraq. We were in Saudi Arabia then, and we jumped around [trying to avoid the scud missiles]."

As a Soldier on the ground in both wars, Brickman noticed the recent emergence of the Forward Operating Base and the amenities that come with them.

"As a patriot unit in Desert Storm we were so far behind the lines. We were quite isolated," Brickman said. "There was no [Forward Operating Base] around us. There was nothing. We were just sitting in the middle of the desert with some concertina wire we put up. We did a lot of moving around during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. There were no tents, there was no infrastructure. During the first war the only time I saw the enemy they surrendered."

Brickman is impressed by the new gear, technology and improvements that are part of today's Army.

"The Blue Force Tracker is the greatest invention ever," Brickman said about the onboard Global Positioning System. "It's an invaluable asset, and it will allow practically anybody to find where they are on a map and be able to orient themselves. In case a team leader should go down, the gunner, or practically anybody, can go on there and have a good idea of where they're supposed to be. That's training that I ensure that the Soldiers in my truck get."

Through intense training, Brickman shares what he's experienced and leads the Soldiers of today in the GWOT.

"Training is by far the most important thing," Brickman said. "The training is what will keep you alive. Always rely on the training you've got. In my opinion, it's important for the younger Soldiers to have training above what they're supposed to have. I think good leaders do that for their Soldiers and groom them not just to take their own spot, but to survive on the battlefield."

As a team leader on the security team, Brickman listed some of the duties he is charged to perform.

"I prepare the trucks that are going to be escorting [engineers and key leaders of the PRT]," Brickman said. "I get their intelligence and what they want to do and I plot out the maps; I get the trucks all ready and put the individuals in the trucks."

Brickman also summed up his fundamental leadership style.

"[Leadership is] taking care of the troops, doing Pre-Combat Checks and Pre-Combat Inspections, ensuring that everybody that I have control over knows what to do in all the situations that I can foresee."

Brickman's Soldiers trust him. He knows how to quickly build rapport and after only a few weeks has gained the loyalty of his driver.

"He's awesome," said Army Pfc. Erin M. Bell, an 838th MP Co. Soldier.

"I got switched over to him as soon as we got here, and it was probably the best decision my platoon sergeant could make," Bell, a Toledo, Ohio, native said about being placed under Brickman's responsibility. "If I need anything, I always go to him. I'm very comfortable going to him and talking to him about anything."

Brickman is also able to build a rapport with Afghan children and encourages his Soldiers to do so as well.

"I love children. I have six of my own. I think kids are great, and I don't believe they are born with hatred. It's something that's bred into them. When I see them I try to make them feel at ease. I don't want them to be afraid of me."

Brickman knows that Afghanistan's youth truly are its future. As for his own future, he intends to do much more for the Army.

"I intend to go back to active duty after this deployment," Brickman said. "I feel that my leadership skills will benefit people."

Brickman comes from an earlier era. A time when being a Soldier meant to "be all you can be."

"I try to be as best as I can be and I want others to excel at what they do," Brickman said. "I'm a 'Be All You Can Be' Soldier."