Photo By Spc. Micah Clare | Army Sgt. Bill Weigle, a gunner in 3rd Platoon, Troop B, 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Army Pfc. Micah E. Clare
Task Force Fury Public Affairs Office
AFGHANISTAN - Looking out over the rugged, mountainous countryside of Afghanistan filled with mud houses, children with no shoes and men with brightly colored turbans, Army Sgt. Bill Weigle's world had gotten a lot bigger since leaving his central Kansas hometown.
"Some of these little Afghan villages have more people than my home town," said Weigle, a cavalry scout gunner in 3rd platoon, Troop B, 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
Weigle was born and raised on a farm in Ness, Kan., where he spent many hours a day on tractors, combines and trucks plowing and harvesting the fields.
"I love Kansas," Weigle says. "It's where superman grew up!"
Now, at the age of 26, Weigle spends most of his days sitting behind a .50 caliber machine gun on top of an armored vehicle, watching as the rural fields of eastern Afghanistan fly by in an endless blur of dust, rocks, irrigation trenches and waving villagers.
Still, this country on the other side of the world can remind him of home sometimes.
"In fields like this, I and a dozen or so of my buddies would gather around for a pasture party," Weigle remembered as the 3rd platoon stopped their convoy for the night. "We'd drop the tailgate of the pickup truck, get out the grill and start up a big bonfire."
Of course, being in a small town, he found ways to get in trouble with his other friends.
"I used to be pretty mischievous when I was at home," he said, remembering the time he and his friends got in trouble for putting fish in the school air vents.
"We got a couple of days off of school after that," he said.
Even though he had many good times at home, Weigle always felt an itch for adventure in life.
"When I was 12 years old, I saw 'Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom,'" he said. "I wanted to be the next Indiana Jones, travelling all over the world finding priceless little artifacts."
He spent a few years working on oil rigs in nearby states, but at the age of 21, he joined the Army.
The world was about to open up before him.
"My first assignment was in Germany," Weigle recalled. "A lot of people in my generation are always talking about how great it would be to drop everything for a month and see the world; I did on the spur of the moment for four years."
During his time in Europe, Weigle travelled all over Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Austria, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ireland.
"Some people plan their entire lives to do things; it took me and my friends about five minutes to decide whether or not to go to Rome," he said.
Weigle even had an opportunity to visit Israel.
"It wasn't very fun though," he groaned. "We spent most of our time there building a parking lot out of sandbags."
His family back in Kansas missed him after being gone for so long.
"Sometimes, I made them pretty mad growing up, but they really wanted me back," he said
After four years overseas, Weigle was finally told that he was returning to America.
"I was pretty excited to be going back," he said.
It turned out that his new assignment was to be in Fort Bragg, N.C., with a newly formed cavalry unit in the 82nd Airborne Division.
"It sounded like it was going to be pretty quiet, until I sat down to the newcomer's brief, and they told us that the unit was being deployed to Afghanistan in less than a month," Weigle remembered.
Four months later, he was in the middle of "Operation Khels Fury," part of a counterinsurgency operation by the 82nd Airborne Division's Task Force Fury to separate Taliban infiltrators from the peaceful population of several remote districts in the province of Paktika.
"For someone who joined the platoon a month before deploying, he showed a lot of character and class," said Army 1st Lt. Adam Taliaferro, platoon leader, 3rd Platoon. "He has really ingrained himself in the team."
He even brings his sense of hometown Kansas life to the rest of the team.
"He gives us the best jerkey he gets from home," said Army Sgt. Nicholas Heurich, a team leader in 3rd Platoon. "It's delicious!"
"My dad makes it for me," Weigle laughed. "It's been one of his hobbies he's picked up over the years."
"He's one of the best non-commissioned officer's we've got," Heurich continued. "He's always taking care of things, leading his Soldiers, and keeping his truck in good condition in the maintenance bay."
"I love working on trucks, but my driver is starting to push that to the limits," he said jokingly, referring to the extremely rough terrain they travel over.
During the many breaks and stops they make in the villages throughout the countryside, Weigle has had the chance to interact with the Afghan soldiers and villagers.
When the children ask for his name through a translator, Weigle has a ready answer.
"Clark Kent," he says with a big grin on his face.
"I figure if they meet someone from Kansas, it should be somebody famous," he says.
No matter where he goes, Weigle keeps a positive attitude about life.
"There are good days and bad days, people you get along with, and some people you don't," he said.
"No matter what we're going through or how bad it is, you can always look to him to help you feel better," said Army Pfc. Mychal Prieto another 3rd Platoon gunner. "When everyone's mad, he'll be the one with a smile still on his face."
"I can't change anything in life," Weigle said. "I just do my best to help other people get through it."
| Date Taken: | 05.07.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 05.07.2007 11:30 |
| Story ID: | 10254 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 50 |
This work, Cavalry sergeant brings touch of Kansas to Afghanistan, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
