Photo By Sgt. Anthony Herrera | U.S. Army Sgt. Jason Okeefe, a bradley vehicle crewman with 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor...... read more read more
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Over a Bulgarian forest on a freezing night in 2021, multiple C-130 Hercules aircraft fly hundreds of feet off the ground. Their cargo, airborne soldiers from allied nations all over the world, prepared to participate in a mock airfield seizure exercise. Amongst their ranks is Sgt. Jason Okeefe, an infantryman assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. While other soldiers were rehearsing the mission in their heads, fighting the urge to sleep, or just taking the opportunity to discuss cultural differences with their NATO counterparts, Okeefe could only focus on his rucksack. More specifically, the fact that his rucksack weighed practically as much as he did, and it had been strapped to him for the entirety of the 7-hour flight.
Amid all the excitement, a single word would cut through the tension of the moment. “STANDBY,” the jumpmaster would scream, indicating that the exercise was about to begin. The hatch had opened, greeting the soldiers with a freezing reminder of the decisions that led them to that moment. Okeefe and the other paratroopers prepared themselves to jump into the midnight air. Okeefe fixated on the red glow sticks attached to the paratroopers’ boots as his only means of light guiding him toward the exit.
One by one, as each soldier began descending from the aircraft, the faint sound of simulated anti-air opposing forces grew louder and louder until the blasts could be seen from directly under his feet. Without hesitation, Okeefe launched himself into the amber filled night sky. As he ejected his parachute, he reflected on his fellow paratroopers, and how, although they had all come from different parts of the world, for that one moment, they all shared one thing: the accomplishment of the mission.
“I’m working with guys that I would have never met in the states,” said Okeefe. “Australians, British and French guys; it’s that across-the-nations comradery where we all have the same goal and the same mission. At the end of the day, that shows you that this is all a lot bigger than you realize.”
While realizing that this incredible reality was his occupation, he remembered a time when a moment such as this would have only ever been a distant fantasy. How a simple impromptu decision to visit a recruiter's office would introduce a small-town boy from Georgia to a world of excitement and adventure.
“We’re kind of spoiled with the opportunities we have,” said Okeefe. “Experiencing other cultures and being able to do things spontaneously that some people have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to be able to do is really eye opening.”
After years of traveling the world, Okeefe was prepared for a change of pace. He traded his wings for an M2 Bradley and was awarded the title of fighting vehicle crewman.
“Six years as an infantryman was making me kind of sore, and I was honestly very stagnant where I was,” said Okeefe. “Being around Bradleys definitely made me want to reclass. Helping out with the gunneries, seeing the maneuvering, and watching the engagements with a 25-millimeter M242 chain gun reach out 1500 meters away and absolutely laser beam a target is something I never thought I’d be able to do as a kid. It’s surreal that I get paid to shoot cannons and rip machine guns, and that’s kind of crazy.”
Prepared to end his military career, Okeefe requested a permanent change of duty station (PCS) to Fort Stewart, Ga. Only thirty minutes away from his hometown, Richmond Hill, Ga., Okeefe had returned a world traveler, and with a lifetime of experiences. The Army had placed him in the most ideal location to close this chapter of his life, and transition gracefully into the civilian world. Unbeknownst to Okeefe, the Dogface Soldiers were prepared to adopt another member into their pack. Despite being headstrong on leaving his military career behind him, nothing could have prepared Okeefe with just how comfortable, and happy he would be with the 3rd Infantry Division.
“I actually put in a request to reenlist to come to Fort Stewart because the whole plan was to get out of the Army back home and make the [expiration of terms of service] process as easy as possible,” said Okeefe. “But after getting here, I realized that this really wasn’t bad. My parents live 20 minutes away, the rest of my family is very close, and this is just such a solidified job, so I reenlisted for six more years somewhere that I was planning to live in anyway. It’s all kind of a relief, knowing that I’ll be here for another six years.”
It was with this realization that Okeefe had truly embraced just how much he had accomplished, and just how far he had come, despite only being 30 minutes away from where he started.
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2025 15:18 |
| Story ID: | 491683 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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