Photo By Staff Sgt. James Hunter | Pfc. Christopher Stephenson, a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., pulls security from his...... read more read more
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By Sgt. James Hunter
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
BAGHDAD – The life of Pfc. Christopher Stephenson began a little more than two decades ago and developed over time while growing up in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Stephenson, 20, serves as a gunner with 1st Platoon, Company A "Hard Rock," 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, grew up playing baseball, football and skateboarding.
His true love, however, was baseball, where he played for his church as a catcher. If he wasn't playing baseball, he said he was going to school and working to earn his certification as a computer technician.
"I was always good with computers," he said.
He worked at a computer store until he received his certification and became a senior technician mentoring future techs.
Life wasn't always fun or easy for Stephenson while growing up. Just like many people in life, he had obstacles he had to maneuver around prior to getting to where he is today.
Like some kids, he got in trouble. However, there to pick him back up whenever he was down was his father, who he said is an inspiration in his life.
"I really think, without my dad, I would have got in a lot of trouble," Stephenson said. "I had a lot of friends who got in a lot of trouble – who are in jail right now. Without my dad's influence on me, I would have probably been a lot worse off."
His father, who was once an alcoholic, he said, taught him that you can't find happiness at the bottom of a bottle. He also taught him perhaps the most important lesson in life: If he worked hard, his hard work would pay off and he would succeed.
His father, who had worked as a mechanic at the same job since he was 18, never gave up at the chance of moving up the ranks within the company.
Stephenson, who will turn 21 in June, said he didn't have a lot growing up in his life until his dad finally landed the managers job. It showed him that giving up was never an option.
Even when he gained nearly 80 pounds when he hurt his knee training for his baseball team, he never quit.
"I hurt myself during winter training, and after that, I stopped playing baseball and football. I just didn't do anything, and that is when I first started getting fat," Stephenson said. "I got myself up to 250 pounds."
There were bumps along this path; however, he was going to change himself and his appearance.
Upon graduating from North Side High School in 2006, he had to make a decision on what to do next. He knew he didn't want to go to school for another four years.
"I just decided that I wanted to do something in my life," he said. "I was like 'well, I have always been active my whole life.'"
Stephenson saw how his brother, who served as a Marine and was another big influence in his life, had accomplished well for himself during his time in the service.
He said he thought to himself: "The Army is going to give me a lot of benefits, and I can still serve my country," said Stephenson. "I will be able to get myself back active, and that's one of the reasons I joined the infantry instead of doing computers or anything with what I was already trained for. That gave me the motivation to loose all the weight."
And that is exactly what he did. From the time he joined the Army through the end of basic combat training, Stephenson went from 250 pounds, down to 170 pounds, which he maintains as his current weight today.
He arrived at Fort Campbell, Ky., in October. The first person he met was Sgt. Brandon Griffis, his current squad leader.
"When I first met him, he was like any other new guy: scared and timid," said Griffis, a native of Pendleton, Ind.
The first thing Griffis mentioned to Stephenson was that the guys in his platoon were going to become brothers as they prepared and conducted their next mission in Iraq.
"We did a lot of training, a lot of dismounted stuff," Stephenson said, about his training at Fort Campbell as the unit prepared for its deployment. "We trained so much back at Fort Campbell. Honestly, a lot of the training we did back there was harder than what we do here."
Now, Stephenson serves with Hard Rock's 1st Platoon, where he works as a gunner, running day and night missions in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Hurriyah. His team patrols the streets in an attempt to defeat criminal and terrorist activity while simultaneously meeting the challenge of helping to improve the economy, government and infrastructure within the community.
"(Iraq is) way different than anything I ever expected," said Stephenson. "I expected it to be a lot worse. Everybody speaks a different language. Surprisingly though, when you talk to people, they really do understand you with what broken Arabic you know, and the broken English they know, and with the hand gestures.
"I thought it was going to be a lot different. I didn't expect people to be waving at us and coming up to us. Right now, it just seems a lot more peaceful then I could have ever imagined. It's a different world."
Though a different world, many miles away from his homeland in Fort Wayne, Stephenson said he is adapting to the situation and helping accomplish the mission of the securing and improving the area.
"He's got a tremendous work ethic," Griffis said. "If you give him something to do, he will get it done. If he can't figure it out, he'll go ask somebody else. He's a go-getter. I think with some more professional development down the road, he'll be a good leader."
With the potential Stephenson has, Griffis said it will be hard for the Army to loose someone like him.
"I am sure whatever he does after the Army, he'll be good at it," he added.
After his enlistment is up, Stephenson said he plans to work as a police officer, maybe doing computer forensics. In the meantime, he will continue to plan for his wedding in the summer of 2009 as well as continue to bond with his brothers – just as Griffis told him he would.
"Sometimes, we have disputes; but when it comes to going out on missions, we are all really in synch because we have been doing the same training and mission together," Stephenson said. "One of the reasons I like Alpha Company so much is because they are all my boys."
| Date Taken: | 03.26.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 03.27.2008 10:57 |
| Story ID: | 17806 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 229 |
| Downloads: | 171 |
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