At the age of 20, I made the pivotal decision to join the U.S. Army. My journey began with basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. It was during this time that Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to my deployment to the Middle East where I participated in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. A decade later, following the tragic attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I was called to serve again. This time I cross-leveled to a unit base in Fort Totten, New York, which required me to reclassify into a new Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Upon joining the new unit, I was entrusted with the role of 2nd Squad Leader. During pre-deployment operations at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, our unit received an unexpected assignment: to assemble a Special Operations Team tasked with carrying out "secret combat missions" throughout Iraq. I was selected to lead this elite group and took great care in choosing my team members. Over the course of our 18 month  deployment, based in Ramadi, approximately 70 miles west of Baghdad, we executed several successful missions. My leadership and dedication were recognized with a promotion to Sergeant First Class, and I was honored with several awards, the highest being the Bronze Star Medal.