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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
Feb 6, 2012 - 5:49:45 PM |
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Blackanthem Military News
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| Sgt. Joshua Durbin, of Taylorville, Ill., and a squad leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan., demonstrates how to properly clear an M-4 carbine assault rifle to six World Wrestling Entertainment superstars, Dec. 3. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Shantelle J. Campbell, 4IBCT PAO) |
FORWARD OPERATING BASE PALIWODA, Iraq - About four years ago, at age 17, a young man from Taylorville, Ill. was looking to get away from trouble, and soon, found himself swearing an oath to defend his country as he joined the military.
Today, Sgt. Joshua E. Durbin, a squad leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan. said that his ability to work well with others helps him in being a good squad leader and is something that he learned from dealing with many types of people in his past.
He is currently on his second deployment to Iraq with 1-28 Inf. Sgt. Durbin first deployed with the "Black Lions" to Baghdad during the surge in 2007.
"We were in western Rashid," he said. "There was a lot of sectarian violence but we did pretty good because we were able to push all of the bad guys out of our sector. I think after about three months of being there, there were no kids on the street. You didn't see anybody, but [eventually] people slowly started to come back and move back into their houses … and you saw kids playing on the streets. There was definitely effective change there."
Iraq is not the only thing Sgt. Durbin has seen change though out his career. He says the military has certainly influenced a noticeable change in him as well.
"When [I go home], they always say that I'm different, I act different and the way I handle stuff is different," he said. "I'm more confident."
Sgt. Durbin said that one reason for the change in him is his former squad leader, who had a tremendous impact on the person, Soldier and leader that he has become. He admitted that he at times finds himself acting like his former boss.
"From the squad leaders that I've seen, that I saw when I was a private growing up in the Army, I'd say that he was probably one of the best squad leaders that I ever saw," said Sgt. Durbin. "He genuinely cared. He was always about training and he made sure we knew what we were supposed to do."
"I was on an M-240 gun team," he continued, "and I knew that gunnery forward and backwards because of him. Sometimes it wasn't because I wanted to learn it but because he just made me."
From a troubled teen to a successful squad leader, Sgt. Durbin has been in the military for four years and is already up for promotion to staff sergeant. He says that he wants to remain with the "Black Lions" and is considering becoming an officer. He said he also hopes to attain a degree in criminal justice.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| Sgt. Joshua Durbin, of Taylorville, Ill., and a squad leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan., assists one of the Bella Twins with loading a magazine into an M-4 carbine assault rifle when some World Wrestling Entertainment superstars visited the "Black Lions," Dec. 3. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Shantelle J. Campbell, 4IBCT PAO) |
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| Sgt. Joshua Durbin, of Taylorville, Ill., and a squad leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan., stands outside of a school in Balad, Oct. 22. (Photo by Spc. Matthew Mireles, Co. A, 1-28 Inf.) |
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