Sons of Indiana in Iraq: Quietly awaiting word from the war

Joe Hornaday

Tue, May 13 2008

— Editor’s Note: This is another story in an ongoing series highlighting the efforts of local soldiers in the Indiana National Guard 76th Infantry Brigade stationed in Iraq. The next few stories in this series highlight the families left behind while soldiers answer the call of duty.

When a young soldier from Greensburg headed to the frontlines in Iraq, a family began worriedly awaiting word from their son.
Army SPC Brent Howard Crouch II, of the Indiana 76th Infantry Brigade combat team recently deployed to Iraq from Kuwait. Crouch joined the Indiana National Guard in 2004 at the age of 17. At the time he enlisted, he was a student at North Decatur Jr./Sr. High School. While in school, Crouch played basketball for the North Decatur Chargers, and was a starter on the Charger 2005 Sectional Championship team.
“Basketball was his game,” his mother Debra Crouch said.
While juggling his duties as a basketball player and as a student, he would attend weekend drills and training sessions for the Indiana National Guard before he graduated in 2005.
The young soldier had a military career in mind since his childhood. His maternal grandfather and great-grandfather were both soldiers. Their participation inspired Crouch to join the service. At a career fair during his junior year of high school, he came upon the literature and information from the military and excitedly brought it all home. His excitement peaked, and that is when he joined the Guard.
Like many others in the 76th Infantry Brigade, Crouch attended military police training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. His further training brought him to Camp Atterbury in Indiana, where he underwent mission specific training. In early January, Crouch left Indiana, his family and his girlfriend, Stacie Wade, behind. His final departure took place at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. More than 3,000 other soldiers also took that opportunity for goodbyes.
“The ceremony at the RCA Dome was wonderful,” Wade said.
While heartfelt goodbyes and sobs of sadness permeated the air of the RCA Dome, the soldiers all had smiles. According to his mother, the atmosphere was one of friendliness.
“It felt like everybody knew everybody,” she said. “There was a lot of handshaking and hugs.”
After leaving their home state, Crouch and his fellow soldiers were brought to Fort Stewart, Ga. There, the soldiers would experience more mission specific training for upcoming duties in Iraq. At the beginning of March, Crouch was fortunate enough to enjoy a four-day pass of leave to see his family and girlfriend. While spending time with them in Georgia, the group was able to take stock of the region’s rich Civil War history at the request of the young soldier.
“We were only a few miles from the base, and we just got to spend some quality time with Brent,” his mother said.
The reunion was short-lived, and on March 5 Crouch left for Kuwait, the country that acts as a staging base for many operations in Iraq. As his leave drew to a close, his family encouraged him to put on his uniform to take some pictures with them. He refused, according to his mother, stating that he did not want to put on the uniform until he was ready to leave. Just before he left, he was beginning to feel very nervous. When he finally put on his uniform before his departure, he noted the butterflies had gone away, and said he felt like he never left it.
On Friday March 14, the young soldier arrived at Fort Anaconda in Baghdad to begin his duties in convoy security. As commodities are escorted throughout Iraq, the convoys carrying them can become potential targets for attack. The military utilizes convoy security operations to ensure the safety of the equipment on board. These convoys carry both military and civilian products, including food, fuel and other equipment. Specifically, Crouch is a gunner on the military Humvees that lead the convoys through the country.
During training, Crouch was given the nickname ‘Hawkeye’ by a commanding officer for having the best vision and marksmanship in the brigade. He was able to spot IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and hit targets from great distances, according to Wade.
While training, the lines of communication between Crouch and his family were open. Getting in touch with him has become increasingly difficult since arriving in the war.
“We were able to communicate with him while he was in Kuwait,” his mother said. “But since he arrived in Iraq, we haven’t been able to get in touch yet.”
His mother added that her son had mentioned that it would take time to get settled in Iraq before he could call or e-mail home. She is eagerly awaiting a call from him. In the meantime, she has been sending him care packages while always worrying about her son.
“It’s scary, it’s definitely scary,” his mother said. “You don’t even want to watch the news.”
Despite her misgivings about the situation, Crouch understands that going to Iraq and fighting for his country was something her son wanted to do.
“When Brent was signing up, we all didn’t think it would still be going on. We didn’t think for a minute that he would have to go to war,” she said.
His family looks forward to seeing him when he comes back from Iraq, and plans on having him home before the end of the year.
“We’d like to have him home by Christmas,” his mother said.

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