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CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq ? While typical college students head into the "stretch run" of the current fall term, several collegians have withdrawn from their studies to deploy with the West Virginia Army National Guard's 151st Military Police Battalion in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Just months removed from everything that accompanies college life, these students now face the daily rigors of life at Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq.

Spc. Joshua O. Walker, a 22-year-old paralegal specialist from Dunbar, W.Va., is a business major at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. Walker put his educational dreams on hold to take part in the deployment.

"I knew the possibilities when I signed the dotted line," said Walker.

Like many deployed service members, Walker has not given up on academics while in Iraq. He is pursuing certification as a personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise. Walker contends that his short time away from his studies has renewed his commitment to education.

"I now know that my focus should be on my studies," he said.

Sgt. Jessica M. Hammett, a 23-year-old human-resources specialist from Martinsburg, W.Va., is looking forward to resuming her studies upon returning home. The computer technology student from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va., said that she misses her friends and family, but she is able to maintain communication via the Internet.

"I have a better outlook on things now. Sometimes you can take a day off of work or skip a class, but it's not like that here. I think that my time management skills will be much improved when I return home," said Hammett.

Criminal justice major and Army Spc. Jamie Lyle is a 22-year-old assistant supply sergeant from Bridgeport, W.Va. Lyle enlisted under the College First program and waived her College First option to deploy with the unit.

Lyle traded the friendly campus of Salem University, where she normally competes in softball and soccer, for the mission here in Iraq. Upon learning of the deployment, Lyle had mixed emotions.

"At first I was both excited and apprehensive, but now that I'm here and have made the adjustments, it's really not that bad," she said.

Pfc. Tosha Baker, a 20-year-old nursing student from Lafferty, Ohio, not only volunteered to deploy with the unit, but undertook a last-minute reclassification to become a paralegal specialist in addition to her normal military police military occupation specialty.

Baker seems to have found her comfort zone through military service.

"I'm not sure about returning to [Austin Peay University] right now. I really enjoy the military. One day I'll return to school, but for now I feel I have a duty to my country," said Baker.

Sgt. 1st Class Steven G. Taylor, a 31-year-old nuclear, biological and chemical staff noncommissioned officer from Morgantown, W.Va., is an international studies student at West Virginia University. While his professors are lecturing about the conflict in Iraq, Taylor is getting a first-hand account.

"The situations here are relevant to classroom activities" said Taylor. "This is my second deployment, and in the past, the professors have welcomed my input."

Spc. Roger W. O'Neilan is a 24-year-old intelligence analyst from Coxsackie, N.Y. O'Neilan is a history major at Columbia-Greene Community College and a member of the New York Army National Guard. Not only did O'Neilan put his education on hold, but he volunteered to be an individual mobilization augmentee, meaning that he has deployed with a unit that he is not normally assigned to.

O'Neilan believes that this deployment is important and pertinent to both his education and his hobby, the study of the Arabic language. "This experience has given me the opportunity to learn a great deal about events pertaining to my major. I now have a better understanding of the Muslim world and its culture," he said.

Although distance learning programs exist, the deployment has left very little time to hit the books. Students can earn their degrees online, but since these soldiers are just getting settled into their new environment, it has been somewhat difficult, they said.

Staff Sgt. David P. Hunter, a 44-year-old motor transport sergeant from Walton, W.Va., has worked hard to find the time to devote to his studies at Mountain State University through their online programs.

All of these students look forward to completing the mission and are even more excited about returning to their studies in the coming semesters. For each, the level of sacrifice means something different, but each has demonstrated that they live the Army value of selfless service by postponing their own personal development for the mission.

As our military continues its role in the war on terrorism, each of these students continues to uphold the promise to serve, an oath each took to heart as they put aside college dreams so that others can have the opportunity to enjoy the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the long and proud tradition of the "citizen soldier."

Source: dvids

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