Jeffery J. Dale
Active Duty, Navy, Master at Arms 1st Class
From Indianapolis, Indianna
Navy, Builder 2nd Class
IED Road Repair Crew
AL Anbar province, Iraq 3/06-10/06
Words Provided 2013
Written Statement
From Indianapolis, Indianna
Navy, Builder 2nd Class
IED Road Repair Crew
AL Anbar province, Iraq 3/06-10/06
Words Provided 2013
Written Statement
WAS IT WORTH IT???
The average IED attack in ’06 killed or injured 4-6 people& we averaged over 285 +/- IED’s found over our deployment estimating that approximately 1,710 service men & women might’ve been saved by us doing our job. Therefore, I truly believe we made a difference there. We were fighting to make sure our brothers and sisters came home. Was I scared? Hell yes every day! But, you learn to use that fear & push yourself forward to complete the missions; it was for survival. I’ve never worked with a finer group of individuals as I did with the members of NMCB 25 “KILLERBEES” & the Marines from the 9th ESB “GRIM-REAPERS”. They were my family, and I would’ve laid down my life for any one of my brothers or sisters on that crew. Was it worth it? To me Hell yes! Even all the battles I’ve gone through personally since returning; the anger, nightmares, & the depression, I’ll always be proud of what we accomplished in Iraq and I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for the Road Crew “MISFITS”. I’m not the man I was before I left for Iraq and I’ll never be him again. War changes you. For some it’s for the better and others for the worse but the experiences I went through are mine and I’ll reflect on them every day for the rest of my life for good or bad … That was my war.
The average IED attack in ’06 killed or injured 4-6 people& we averaged over 285 +/- IED’s found over our deployment estimating that approximately 1,710 service men & women might’ve been saved by us doing our job. Therefore, I truly believe we made a difference there. We were fighting to make sure our brothers and sisters came home. Was I scared? Hell yes every day! But, you learn to use that fear & push yourself forward to complete the missions; it was for survival. I’ve never worked with a finer group of individuals as I did with the members of NMCB 25 “KILLERBEES” & the Marines from the 9th ESB “GRIM-REAPERS”. They were my family, and I would’ve laid down my life for any one of my brothers or sisters on that crew. Was it worth it? To me Hell yes! Even all the battles I’ve gone through personally since returning; the anger, nightmares, & the depression, I’ll always be proud of what we accomplished in Iraq and I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for the Road Crew “MISFITS”. I’m not the man I was before I left for Iraq and I’ll never be him again. War changes you. For some it’s for the better and others for the worse but the experiences I went through are mine and I’ll reflect on them every day for the rest of my life for good or bad … That was my war.