When our Soldier was five years old I knew he was born to the military. I could see by his behavior and temperament that he would wear a uniform one day. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up during the interview for Kindergarten, he answered without hesitation that he wanted to be in the Air Force just like his dad. He was a part of the JROTC program in high school, but when it came to enlisting, he chose the Army and chose to be a Combat Engineer aka "Sapper" for his military career.
A Sapper is considered an "elite combat engineer". The tasks of Sappers go way back to Roman times. They built the 'engines' for battles. Catapults, battering rams are among the early 'engines'. According to Sapper history, it was Napoleon who created the first military engineer corps. During the American Revolution, the Continental Army deemed there would be a Chief Engineer and two assistants. The ratio between Infantry and Combat Engineers today is just a tad bit more. Sappers make up less than one percent of the Infantry troops.
Modern Sappers serve as an auxiliary to the infantry with mottoes that send chills up and down a parent's spine. "We pave the way", "First In - Last Out", and "Essayons" French for "Let us try". Before the infantry will be sent in, Sappers forge ahead clearing IEDs, breech buildings using explosives, build fortifications, set perimeters........the list goes on.
After reading about Sapper history, I should not have been surprised that our Soldier decided on this field. He was always interested in the military watching movies and documentaries as well as reading books. He once asked me to take him to Barnes & Noble for a book. He and his brother loved going to B & N to scour the couches for change. (They once found enough change to purchase a pack of Pokemon cards.) So when he said he wanted a book, it was let's go. I didn't even ask what book -- which turned out to be "Backyard Ballistics".
With Dad's help, the boys made a catapult and a potato-shooting gun. The catapult could have lifted a heavy rock to send it far and wide, but Dad didn't completely hook it up considering we live in a populated neighborhood. Soldier knew something was wrong, but lucky for neighbors nearby he couldn't figure out why.
His boyhood dream was realized during his early Army training days when he learned about C4 and other munitions. He has set detonators to blow bridges as well as heavy doors and other fortifications. And apparently he's very good at it.
Our Soldier has made us proud by receiving several merit medal awards for going the extra distance during training missions. He earned the call name "Sapper Ghost" which certainly sounds cool, but do I really want to know how he came by that name?
With little media news pertinent to our Soldier, we can't help but wonder what his new normal is working and living in Iraq. He did write a friend that there is much destruction, but also new life as ISIL is pushed back from Mosul. As a parent I cannot help but feel apprehensive knowing my son is a part of a front line unit. The phrase, "First in. Last out" brings chills knowing a Sapper unit will go ahead and clear the way for other troops. But I also know from accounts of his previous training missions that he will do the job and it will get done. Let me wallow in the pride I feel for my Soldier. Please let me cast aside all maternal fear to make room for more pride.
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