Lessons Learned From 'Reporting For Duty' by Randy Brown (AKA Charlie Sherpa).
Randy is a retired citizen-soldier, and is now a poet and freelance journalist. He also wrote "Welcome to Fob Haiku: War Poems From Inside the Wire." He was part of the Red Bull - the 34ths Infantry Division. It was founded August 1917. Its motto is "Attack! Attack! Attack!"
Lessons Learned From 'Reporting For Duty' by Randy Brown (AKA Charlie Sherpa).
Randy is a retired citizen-soldier, and is now a poet and freelance journalist. He also wrote "Welcome to Fob Haiku: War Poems From Inside the Wire." He was part of the Red Bull - the 34ths Infantry Division. It was founded August 1917. Its motto is "Attack! Attack! Attack!" Mike Wunn's team overseas collected and posted content online to share. As a few years passed and personnel changed, less content was posted. He believes that it is important to record what happened in order to share the story with people back home now and in the future. It is hard to tell a story without a picture.
2010-2011 Brigade Mission was "Clear, Hold, and Build." This meant to clear the area of the "bad guys," hold and protect the terrain, and build community services and business opportunities. The current mission overseas is more focused on counter-terrorism. When deployed, Randy used to be involved with community journalism. This would include documenting fairs, funerals, hosting VIPs in the area, etc. It's important to note there was also a female engagement team. This was crucial since the infantry men were unable to speak directly to local women, they relied on female members of the military.
Randy discussed specific pictures that bring back memories of a time. This includes the MRAPs - the vehicle used in Afghanistan that has a v-shaped underneath so when a bomb goes off underneath the vehicle the impact is dispersed outward. Other notable events were Operation Bullwhip - the largest aerosol mission in 2010-2011, and a picture that perfectly captured the saying "We stand 'shoulder to shoulder'".