Soldiers continue serving despite troop cuts

Courtesy Photo | Maj. Gene Souza (left), brigade intelligence officer with 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, re-enlists Staff Sgt. Uriah Jones, a brigade intelligence analyst with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, during a re-enlistment ceremony held at Camp Nathan Smith, Afghanistan, May 30. Jones enlisted into the Army in 2005 after graduating from high school in Tampa, Fla.  

AFGHANISTAN

06.03.2012

Story by Staff Sgt. Bryan Dominique 

2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Thousands of soldiers from across the Army received news that their jobs may be in jeopardy after the Department of Defense announced earlier this year the intent to slim its forces.

The Army has already started the process of realignment. In September 2011 the Army announced that it would cut its ranks by more than 50 thousand over the next five years.

However, the uneasy future of service has not been enough to deter some. Soldiers currently deployed to Afghanistan as part of Combined Task Force Lancer, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Lancers, have raised their right hands to recite the oath of enlistment once again.

“I wanted to re-enlist again because my job in the Army is something I love to do,” said Staff Sgt. Uriah Jones, an intelligence analyst with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd SBCT. “It gets rough at times, but all in all I have enjoyed every minute that I have been in.”

Jones has served for more than seven years and has been stationed in four different countries, to include, one combat tour to Iraq and a current tour with 2nd SBCT in Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class Donna Campany, career counselor for the 2nd SBCT, is the first person many soldiers, including Jones, will see before choosing to re-enlist.

“If you ask a soldier why they re-enlist, they will say for the money, job security [or] retirement, which are good reasons,” said Campany.

Campany enjoys assisting soldiers with the reenlistment process and ensures the soldiers receive all available reenlistment incentives, but she knows that for each soldier there is a personal commitment to continued service that goes beyond monetary gain.

“Deep down I think they also do it because of the sense of pride they get knowing that they are truly making a difference and doing their part to make the world a better place,” said Campany. “We are the proud one percent of the population.”

During 10 years of war, many soldiers and families have experienced multiple combat deployments.

“Joining the Army is a lifestyle choice,” said Jones. “You have to be able to adapt on a moment’s notice.”

Although the military may be demanding, it is a challenge shared with everyone who has served.

“Knowing that the person standing beside you day in and day out will lay their life on the line to protect you, and you will do the same for them, is an amazing thing most people in the world will never experience,” said Campany.

• Date Taken: 06.03.2012
• Date Posted: 06.07.2012 03:38
• Story ID: 89560
• Location: AF