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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s own Roy Stout.<\/p>\n
Stout said he remembered watching the coverage of 9\/11 in junior high. That, along with his father\u2019s military service, inspired him to sign up for JROTC in high school. He enlisted in the U.S. Army when he graduated in 2008.<\/p>\n
Just one year later, at only 19 years old, Stout was deployed to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t even drink alcohol,\u201d Stout recalled. \u201cAnd I was getting ready to fight in a third-world country, a war in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He recalled an instance where his unit was exchanging fire with the Taliban.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe woke up and it was an immediate firefight; bullets were going over our heads,\u201d Stout said. \u201cIt was very intense, very quick. This isn\u2019t Call of Duty; this isn\u2019t a video game. There\u2019s no reset button.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without going into detail, Stout said a lot of the firefights with Taliban forces in the mountainous Afghan range was similar to what\u2019s depicted in movies. He called it the \u201cWild West.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe terrain was harsh and unforgiving. Going up and down the mountains with ammo and water, sometimes guys would need IVs because they\u2019re so fatigued and depleted,\u201d Stout said.<\/p>\n
Despite the difficulties of fighting an enemy in unknown terrain, Stout said he didn\u2019t feel afraid until one particularly harrowing firefight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d Stout said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
That effort to help locals across Afghanistan is something many troops did over the span of the 20-year war. <\/p>\n
Stout said they didn\u2019t always know who was Taliban and who wasn\u2019t, but they made the effort to help the people whose backyard they stormed into.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would try to have conversations with the villagers, the elders. The Taliban was harsh on them as well, probably more so,\u201d Stout said.<\/p>\n
He said the U.S. Army would often work with the Afghan National Army, training their soldiers and helping where they could.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember sitting on guard sometimes and I\u2019d share my music,\u201d Stout said.<\/p>\n
As he reflects on his service and the anniversary of the war\u2019s start, Stout says he wants people to understand the sacrifice he and fellow servicemen made.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t ask for the war, and it was a 20-year war. I think it\u2019s one of the longest wars that we\u2019ve had. It\u2019s something that a generation doesn\u2019t ask for. It\u2019s burdened on them,\u201d Stout said.<\/p>\n
Stout says he\u2019s proud to have worn the uniform and to fight alongside others who shared his dedication to freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust reflecting on the sacrifices, the inception of the war, the ending of the war, all the men and women that gave their lives, didn\u2019t get to come back home. It\u2019s meaningful,\u201d Stout said.<\/p>\n
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