McCowan 1
Maria McCowan
Instructor: Victoria Lara
English 1301
June 2, 2017
A Narrow Escape
Seven plus years of training had led up to this moment of my life. Uncle Sam had sent
me on numerous training exercises all over the world to prepare myself for times like this. I can
vividly remember the airplane landing in Manas, Kazakhstan, the rumble of the wheels hitting
the runway, and silence of the passengers. During the flight, the flight attendants appeared as a
haze through my eyes as they moved about the cabin. I could feel my heart beating profoundly, a
pounding that I never felt before. The passengers on the plane grew quiet; looking straight ahead,
wondering what our world would be like shortly. I had butterflies in my stomach and my heart
beating faster, but as a leader, I keep my nervousness and feeling held deep within. I was trained
to portray self-confidence in difficult situations
I had made it through the first hurdle of the deployment. This time, Uncle Sam had
taken me to the Manas, Kazakhstan to prepare for his next command. I knew this was my last
stop before I get on the C-17 Aircraft to go in Afghanistan. I thought they are shipping me out
that day, but it was snowing. I stayed there for four days before shipping out. My unit called and
they want me on the next Aircraft going to Afghanistan. On the fourth day, the snow wasn’t too
bad, so I got shipped out. It didn’t take long, and we were in the country, I was very nervous, but
I didn’t want the other leaders to know. I could hear explosion not too far from the landing zone.
Around 1800 hours I found out there is no Snook or black hawk going to the Forward
Operation Base (FOB) that I am headed to. My 1ST SG and Commander tried to get me on the McCowan 2
black hawk but was late when I got there, so there were none flying out that day. I had to find a
unit that was going to that Forward Operation Base (FOB). I loaded one of the vehicle with all
my duffle bags and all my stuff that I brought with me. I got in full battle rattle, switch my
weapon’s selector switch from safe to fire. There was a convoy brief before leaving the Forward
Operation Base (FOB). We got in the vehicle, check and make sure our radios work, and
everybody got all their equipment.
We went through three gates; I was so amazed how tight the security was there. We
finally were out in the danger zone. We got a call over the radio from Bravo 05. We were
informed to halt movement until the road overhead secured our heading. But we stop our
vehicles to begin finding another route. I got out to stretch my legs. After a minute, I saw a bright
flash of light. Violently, the ground beneath me shook, and it threw me off my feet. I felt the
explosion throughout my body. The shockwave rattled my bones. I struggled to regain my
eyesight back, and my ears rang loudly. I removed my helmet, so I could easily rub my eyes to
regain my vision. When I could see again, time appeared to be moving at much slower pace. I
shook my head time and time again, attempting to regain my equilibrium. I finally got back to
my feet and began going from vehicle to vehicle to check for injuries or casualties. I found only
some shaken soldiers.
I spent the next several days wondering and asking myself what happened. It didn’t
matter; all I knew was I had escaped the explosion with my life. I thought about my son back in
North Carolina often. When I looked at the pictures I had brought with me, they brought a smile
to my face and gave me the strength to continue.

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Status NEW Posted 16 Jun 2017 04:06 AM My Price 10.00

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