Why me?

In two weeks, I will be mobilised in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. I'm setting up this blog to keep people updated about my goings on and the like. You are welcome to e mail me at jeff.f.hartline@gmail.com or at my "work" e mail which is jeffrey.hartline@us.army.mil. I'll try to put together an e mail list and put out my APO address as I receive it.

The schedule of events (from what I know) is that I will report to my mobilization center on January 7, 2010. This is located at Camp Atterbury, outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. There, we will train for our mission for about 45-50 days. We will then be heading overseas shortly thereafter. From what I understand, everything is tentative and subject to change.

It was about 4 years ago that I was in the basement of a church in northern Baltimore. A family friend was being ordained as a deacon at church. Afterwards, they had a celebration where they invited the church family and family friends to eat dinner. I was a 21 year old college student at the time. I was talking with two ladies from the church and told them that I was a junior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Being polite, they asked me what I planned to do when I graduated from college. I responded, "Well, I'm an ROTC cadet at the moment. When I graduate, I will most likely commission as an officer in the United States Army and serve there." This was greeted by surprise from the two women. After a moment of silence, one of them leaned toward me and said, "Well that seems like a step down now, doesn't it?" I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything at all, but I wondered whether being an Army officer was a step down or was selling myself short.

As a kid, my mom told me (and she has photographic proof) that I would don military apparel and would march around the house. Allegedly, I also would jump out of the side of the van and roll onto the ground all the while shouting "Airborne!" My youthful desire to become a soldier dissipated over time as I thought myself destined for a career in Major League Baseball. This dream was shattered by my utter inability to hit a curveball. I was nearly 18 years old when 9/11 occurred. It was at that point that I made a conscious decision to join the military. I came to the conclusion that I did not want to sit on the sidelines and cheer the effort of others. I would rather be involved. I applied for and was fortunate to receive an ROTC scholarship to attend the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

When I graduated college, I was given the option to become an active duty Army officer or to join the Reserves or Maryland National Guard. I decided to join the Maryland National Guard and I was given my option of what branches I would like. Naturally, many, including my parents, believed that the best option for me would be in a support role - i.e. intelligence, but I didn't want that. It seemed attractive at one point in time, but I didn't feel strongly that intelligence work was where I should be. After further thought, I decided that I wanted to be an infantry officer.

Most people were shocked that I wanted to be an infantry officer. After all, I had gone to a decent school and graduated (albeit without having attended many of my senior year classes). The world was my clichéd oyster and I chose the infantry. Many of my peers who graduated around the same time I did made their way into the business or political realm. Others continued on with school either to medical school, law school or for further graduate studies. I was and am happy for all of them but I didn't feel led to go back to school for further studies or to jump immediately into a career. Looking back, I think I chose it because I wanted to do more than to be a cog in the system. I wanted to be a part of something greater. I felt and still feel that the best I can offer is to pick up a rifle and rucksack and lead soldiers. Otherwise, someone else is going to do it.

An infantry officer's primary task is to be a leader to accomplish the infantry's primary task: to close with and destroy the enemy. As a junior officer, my role is a platoon leader. A rifle platoon is about 35-40 soldiers divided into 4 squads. A squad is about 8-10 soldiers and is generally led by a Sergeant or Staff Sergeant.

I was unable to deploy to Iraq with my unit from Maryland as I was attending Basic Officer Leadership Course II and then Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course from July 2008 - November 2008. However, I knew that someday I would most likely be mobilized in support of the Global War on Terrorism. As events unfolded after college, I came to question what I was doing and why I was where I was. I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to deploy with a unit that was heading overseas. I wanted to be a part of something greater than myself. After a fair amount of phone tag, I came into contact with the right people and was picked up by a unit from Massachusetts that was deploying to Afghanistan. I signed the paperwork at the first available opportunity.

From what I understand, our mission in Afghanistan is to operate as an Embedded Training Team or ETT for short. In essence, we link up with a local Afghan army unit or police force, train them and go out on missions with them. I'm sure more information will become available as time progresses.

So, I'm proud to go. I don't think that this effort is a step down for me. I'm proud to be continuing in a family tradition that extends nearly 80 years. My grandfather Franklin Hartline was an infantryman, Great Uncle Richard was an infantryman, Second Cousin "Little" Doug was an infantryman and a member of the Special Forces community, Uncle Frank was a tanker, Uncle Rick was an infantryman, Cousin Andrew was a Military Policeman, Cousin Carey is a fighter pilot and lastly, my father was a tanker. Their service is an inspiration to mine and I aim to live up to it.

I know that it sounds hoary, but I would very much like to hear from as many people as possible, even if it is random occurrences, the scores of the Orioles games, the good, the bad and especially the amusing. Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas. God bless.

J.