LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – The attacks on September 11, 2001, not only claimed thousands of American lives, but also sparked a 20-year effort that would claim several thousand more.
On October 7, 2001, just weeks after those attacks, President George W. Bush announced that the U.S. military had initiated strikes against al-Qaeda terrorist training camps and Taliban military installations in Afghanistan.
The 9/11 attacks and the newly launched War on Terror inspired many people to enlist in the military and serve their country. One of those people was Lubbock’s own Roy Stout.
Stout said he remembered watching the coverage of 9/11 in junior high. That, along with his father’s military service, inspired him to sign up for JROTC in high school. He enlisted in the U.S. Army when he graduated in 2008.
Just one year later, at only 19 years old, Stout was deployed to Afghanistan.
“I couldn’t even drink alcohol,” Stout recalled. “And I was getting ready to fight in a third-world country, a war in Afghanistan.”
Stout knew what enlisting during the War on Terror meant and says he knew he would be deployed. Despite that knowledge, Stout says the realities of war quickly became clear.
He recalled an instance where his unit was exchanging fire with the Taliban.
“We woke up and it was an immediate firefight; bullets were going over our heads,” Stout said. “It was very intense, very quick. This isn’t Call of Duty; this isn’t a video game. There’s no reset button.”
Without going into detail, Stout said a lot of the firefights with Taliban forces in the mountainous Afghan range was similar to what’s depicted in movies. He called it the “Wild West.”
“The terrain was harsh and unforgiving. Going up and down the mountains with ammo and water, sometimes guys would need IVs because they’re so fatigued and depleted,” Stout said.
Despite the difficulties of fighting an enemy in unknown terrain, Stout said he didn’t feel afraid until one particularly harrowing firefight.
“It started out as a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a bridge we had just built for the village. We were just trying to help bolster their community,” Stout said. “We got into a really nasty firefight. We took some casualties. The other machine gunner got hit three times, so I had to get his ammunition and do the best I could. That was probably the time I got the most fearful because it was getting really real, really quick.”
That effort to help locals across Afghanistan is something many troops did over the span of the 20-year war.
Stout said they didn’t always know who was Taliban and who wasn’t, but they made the effort to help the people whose backyard they stormed into.
“We would try to have conversations with the villagers, the elders. The Taliban was harsh on them as well, probably more so,” Stout said.
He said the U.S. Army would often work with the Afghan National Army, training their soldiers and helping where they could.
“I remember sitting on guard sometimes and I’d share my music,” Stout said.
As he reflects on his service and the anniversary of the war’s start, Stout says he wants people to understand the sacrifice he and fellow servicemen made.
“We didn’t ask for the war, and it was a 20-year war. I think it’s one of the longest wars that we’ve had. It’s something that a generation doesn’t ask for. It’s burdened on them,” Stout said.
Stout says he’s proud to have worn the uniform and to fight alongside others who shared his dedication to freedom.
“Just reflecting on the sacrifices, the inception of the war, the ending of the war, all the men and women that gave their lives, didn’t get to come back home. It’s meaningful,” Stout said.
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