NEW VIDEOS

John Brusa

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Once fighting season was underway, there was contact or an IED every day. John Brusa's platoon was lucky or maybe they were making their own luck. They would move by difficult, indirect routes to stay away from the booby trapped roads and paths. (9:21)

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It was like a movie. John Brusa saw his platoon leader shouting and waving but could not hear what he was saying. Finally he understood. A man had been wounded and he needed to pull him to safety. It was the most tense few minutes he would experience in Afghanistan. (Caution: strong language) (5:06)

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Morale was not good at the end of that deployment. It was time to leave but John Brusa's unit was given one more assignment. They had to go support another company that was even more beat up than they were. Finally the time came and then the question. Do I want to reenlist? (6:07)

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Good leadership means a lot and John Brusa gives a shout out to several leaders who had a big influence on him. And what was his biggest leadership challenge once he was promoted? (6:23)

Hank Derenoff

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Growing up, Hank Derenoff enjoyed the hunting and fishing in his native Alaska. As a kid, he dreamed of being Special Forces but the emotional upheaval of seeing 9/11 unfold on television gave him a sense of urgency. (5:02)

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Hailing from Alaska, Hank Derenoff may as well have been on another planet when he arrived at Fort Benning for basic training and Airborne school. He shrugged off the heat because he was determined to succeed and he did. Then it was on to Fort Bragg where the hazing actually had a point to it. (5:46)

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Hank Derenoff could never remember the names of the bases and combat outposts in Afghanistan. Not until his unit got to COP Nolan in the Arghandab Valley. They arrived during winter before the fighting season began which gave them the chance to get to know the locale and the locals. (4:59)

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They thought Afghanistan was going to be warm. The 100 plus temperatures were coming, but the first night Hank Derenoff was on a night patrol, he nearly froze. His newly arrived unit was also tested in its first firefight at a so-called abandoned village. (5:30)

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The trailer was jinxed. Hank Derenoff couldn't believe it. It had already hit an IED once and they wanted the unit to take it, loaded with supplies, back with them to COP Nolan. On the most dangerous highway in Afghanistan, no less. Something was bound to happen. (7:53)

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Spring came, the vegetation flourished and fighting season began. Combat Outpost Nolan was being hit every day by the Taliban. In particular, Hank Derenoff remembers the 3rd and 4th of July as two days of tragedy. Part 1 of 2. (6:47)