As we wait for Chris and the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment to deploy, LCPL Spencer Dierenfield (front row, right) who is in the fight, has been on my heart. Spencer is currently working in a location that has some huge challenges...as described in this article carried in the Los Angeles Times that you can read here. Ever worked in an environment like this? I bet not...Spencer and his teammates are tasked with hunting insurgents and...watching their six every moment. Nothing or no one is taken for granted unless he/she has an American flag on the shoulder of their combat uniform. Probably a routine day for those who have felt the chaos called Iraq for an extended period of time...but an eye opening experience for a young warrior like Spencer who has been on the ground for all of 52 days. Put yourself in his boots for just a moment...working alongside various factions in this building that have a deep hatred and mistrust of one another...where its all about turf, power, control, political parties, allegiances ...and we thought our jobs were difficult...
Tonight I will spend time in prayer for Spencer and his team...as I do every night since he has deployed. However, seeing the pictures of Spencer along with his written refections has moved this struggle from my head to my heart in a flash...this is real...not an exercise or some mock war game...just as it will be for Chris and his Stryker team in the coming days and months - and I have to be honest...those are thoughts that rattle my mind and challenge my faith to its core...
As I listen to people discuss the war as they go about their lives in this great country I am struck by the lack of insight and awareness of what our warriors face every day on the ground in Iraq...maybe, just maybe I behaved the same way before Spencer and Chris got their orders...ouch...how about you?
Friend or foe...looks so easy in a movie...but in real life for these warriors it's a challenge with potentially deadly consequences...
v/r,
Collabman
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