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Shane Aguero

The Long Road Home: Lessons Learned

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(Photo: National Geographic/Van Redin)

When we last left the eighteen trapped soldiers in The Long Road Home (National Geographic), they were surrounded on all sides by enemy insurgents carrying human shields.  Lt. Shane Aguero (EJ Bonilla) gave the command to open fire while the screen went to black.  It was an effective way to end an episode, that’s for sure.

The final three episodes chronicled the continued search and rescue of not only Aguero’s team, but a second platoon led by Staff Sgt. Robert Miltenberger (Jeremy Sisto) who had a broken down vehicle, limited protection, no method of communication, and a bunch of soldiers who had never fired a gun in combat before.  Sadly, the result was exactly what you might expect.  Insurgents saw the weakness and attacked it mercilessly, leading to a number of significant injuries and deaths.

Aguero’s team was also in significant danger after the shots rang out in Episode 5.  They still had a house of refuge, but insurgents were still swarming.  The main problem was a lack of ammunition, dwindling by the second. Their interpreter  Jassim al-Lani (Darius Homayoun) was still around, but even he was in trouble if the ammo ran out.

As you might expect, there was some good news. A tank finally found them, but only after Aguero put himself in the crosshairs of death for the third time, chasing the tank down with a flashlight. Miltenberger makes a dash to keep an insurgent from bringing friends, but finds himself looking down the barrel of a gun—just as he predicted.  Thankfully, the person wanted to help him.  In the end, the soldiers in both platoons were rescued and taken to the base, where their injuries were treated.

But not everyone was able to successfully recover.  Pfc. Tomas Young (Noel Fisher) was left paralyzed thanks to a bullet that hit him before he ever fired a shot.  Specialist Israel Garza (Jorge Diaz), always the jokester, didn’t survive his wounds.  The scene where members of the Army inform his unprepared wife Lupita (Karina Ortiz) was difficult to watch.

I thought the ending was well done as Lt. Col. Volesky (Michael Kelly), in a gathering of the soldiers, called out the names of the eight soldiers who died, giving them the honor they deserved.  The role of the surviving soldiers was reinforced when they had a meeting the next day and told about their upcoming mission.  It wasn’t a ‘one battle and you get to go home’ deployment; it was ‘stay until the mission is complete, then go home.’ In the end, the ambush cost eight lives, injured over 60, and left soldiers with physical, emotional, and spiritual scars.  War isn’t fun; that’s for sure.

(Photo: National Geographic/Van Redin)

So what can we learn from all of this?

* As just noted, life doesn’t stop just because an attack occurs. We sometimes have days when it seems everything goes wrong.  We’d like to crawl into the bed and hide until the sun shines again.  But that’s not the way life works.  Instead, we have to draw on our reserves of courage and determination (or just ask God for some wisdom – see James 1:5) and go out again into the world.

* Sometimes bad things happen, as with Pfc. Young. We have to choose how to handle the adversity—can it be used for good in some way, shape, or form? If so, we can make a positive difference in the lives of those we come into contact with (see Romans 8:28).  Or we can choose to wallow in negativity, passing that on to people who don’t deserve it.

* I was struck by the role hope played in The Long Road Home. It would’ve been extremely easy for Aguero to give up as the odds were definitely against his squadron. But deep inside, he continued to hold out hope of being rescued even when the world around him was burning. That didn’t mean he was able to sit idly by; he had to lead his troops, play the role of counselor, and go after the tank after it drove by them numerous times.  Hebrews mentions faith “is the confidence that what we hope will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (11:1 NLT).  That hope turned into faith, which eventually saw his troops rescued with only Chen dying.

The Long Road Home brought the realities of the Iraq War into homes across the country. It wasn’t easy to watch at times, but was a necessary reminder of the sacrifice and bravery our soldiers make on a daily basis. Thank you, men and women of the Armed Forces, for all you do!

The Long Road Home Ep. 5: Choices

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Lt. Shane Aguero has to make a decision no one should ever have to make. (Photo: National Geographic/Van Redin)

In the National Geographic miniseries The Long Road Home (Tuesdays, 10 PM/9 CT and on demand), the focus has been on the US soldiers during their attempt to survive an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq.  It has not been pretty—several soldiers have been injured and a few have died. The families of the battalion still do not know what’s happened or if their loved ones are okay.  But a different individual was the main focus of the fifth episode: Jassim al-Lani, the Iraqi interpreter embedded within the First Calvary Division.

Using flashbacks, Jassim’s story came to life as he sat at a table with his aunt, repeating, “I should have been there.”  She was beaten and robbed, but the American contingent there did nothing to help her.  It didn’t make Jassim (Darius Homayoun) thankful for the US; that’s for sure.  When he was later asked if he would be an interpreter for the US, he refused, choosing instead to follow the insurgency.  He was passed over for a higher position but later discovered that being a part of the rebellion had potentially grave consequences for himself and others close to him.

On the battlefront, Lt. Shane Aguero (EJ Bonilla) and the trapped soldiers on the roof were quickly running out of supplies.  Aguero was injured by a grenade but still continued to lead his men. Inside the home, Jassim remained with the family along with one soldier.  The inability to communicate with the family made for some tense sequences as the father needed his medicine for a heart condition and nearly died. When the bullets suddenly stopped flying, an uneasy calm fell over the area.

In another section of town, Staff Sgt. Robert Miltenberger (Jeremy Sisto) and his contingent continued to hide, having no way to communicate with the rest of the battalion.  A group found them (thankfully), but they were in no less danger than before.

After the skies had gone dark, Aguero’s troop suddenly found themselves caught in the middle of two groups of fighters using Iraqi civilians (and children!) as human shields. Jassim attempted to talk sense to the insurgents, but got nowhere. Lt. Aguero had to make a soul-scarring choice: either let the groups come closer and kill/capture his contingent and the family housing them, or start firing on everyone in self-defense—men, women, and children included.  With one word, a hail of bullets pierced the night as the scene cut to black.  Ouch.

Jassim has to take up arms when the troops are surrounded. What would you do?  (Photo: National Geographic/Van Redin)

We’re used to making numerous choices before leaving home for work—what shampoo to use; whether to shave; if Cheerios or a bagel will constitute a good breakfast. Sometimes our choices can be more significant in nature—whether to challenge another person about an incorrect viewpoint; if we should befriend someone who’s treated us wrong in the past; attending a child’s piano recital when there’s mountains of work to accomplish at the office.  But we’ll probably never have to make a decision such as Lt. Aguero’s, where someone’s going to die regardless of the choice.  That scene caused me quite a bit of anguish—and it was just actors performing.

The point is this: choices are the fabric of our lives.  In many cases, we can quickly sense the effects of our actions (if we eat; we’re not hungry, for example). But for many of our choices, the effects may not be seen immediately and can have far-reaching consequences that can last for generations.  Therefore, we need to be wise with our actions in there here and now.  The book of Proverbs talks about wisdom in numerous locations—to be wise is to make the right choice consistently as we listen to God.   It’s certainly not easy, but with practice, we’ll be ready to take on both the easy decisions as well as the difficult ones in life.

Be warned: in the next episode, Staff Sgt. Miltenberger’s troops will be challenged in the ways of war.  Bullets will fly.  And more choices will be made that impact others’ lives. Make sure to tune in (or set your DVR)!

The Long Road Home Ep. 4 – Faith in Uncertainty

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(Photo: National Geographic/Van Redin)

The situation in Sadr City wasn’t getting any better for the soldiers depicted in National Geographic’s The Long Road Home (Tuesdays 10 PM/9 PM CT and on demand).  In fact, it was getting significantly worse. All three platoons had come under heavy fire and numerous men have been injured or killed.  What do you do when the threat of death is pervasive in the air?

The fourth episode focused on Staff Sgt. Robert Miltenberger (Jeremy Sisto), who was called back to duty beyond his contract date (known as stop-lossing). He was portrayed in the earlier programs as a calm veteran who seems to have a laissez-faire attitude about the whole concept of war. In fact, that was far from the truth.  Miltenberger was on duty in Kosovo during an earlier tour of duty and watched helplessly as a woman carrying her dead baby walked directly towards him, then headed into a live minefield.  As a result, he had numerous dreams about the lady and developed a fatalistic outlook on the whole mission, even going so far as to write a letter his wife was supposed to find after he died in battle.

Miltenberger’s brigade in Iraq was dealing with numerous issues—notably driving into the middle of a city under attack with an unarmored vehicle and no radio communication (big no-nos). He sensed an ambush and got the squadron out of certain death, only to have the truck’s radiator crack a short while later.  While attempting a patch, he saw a group of unarmed residents—one who looked eerily like the lady he saw in Kosovo.  Was this a premonition of something?

As for the original platoon, led by Lt. Shane Aguero (EJ Bonilla), they were still hunkered down, but the militia against them was slowly closing in.  The soldiers were running out of ammunition and had no night vision gear as the sun slowly set.  You could sense fear in theiir eyes.  The head od the forces, Lt. Col. Volesky (Michael Kelly), had his life flash before his eyes after being trapped by insurgents, only to be spared at the last minute.  Some of the wounded, thankfully, were evacuated to base camp to receive treatment for their injuries.

(Photo: National Geographic/Van Redin)

Back in the US, the news outlets reported fighting in Sadr City, understandably causing the soldiers’ wives to panic. Gina Denomy (Kate Bosworth) and LeAnn Volesky (Sarah Wayne Callies) were the point people but were limited as to what could be shared due to Army regulations, infuriating some of the wives.  Lt. Aguero’s wife later learned of the attack, causing her son Elijah to run to his room and cry, “Dad’s going to die and it’s all my fault.”  It’s heartbreaking, considering his reaction to the deployment in the first episode. Uncertainty hangs in the air, with lots of men still in harm’s way and darkness closing in . . .

Though they’ve played a small role in the program, the army wives have fascinated me. They had unknown fears going into the deployment.  Some were new mothers while some were expecting a child in a matter of months.  All were trying to keep life as normal as possible–not only for their children, but for themselves.  When the news began reporting on the situation in Iraq, it understandably caused the wives to worry: Were there casualties?  If so, was my husband one of them?  If so, how am I going to live life without them by my side? If they’re hurt, can I deal with taking care of them, no matter what the injury (physical or mental)?   The hardest thing in those moments is faith–faith in God, faith in the commanders, faith that all will be okay. The Bible says faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NASB).   That’s incredibly difficult for most of us in ordinary life, much less people in the military.  However, without faith in something to stand on, we just exist.  In the case of the military wives, faith is all they had to hold on to even with the swirling winds of conflicting news reports all about them.

Tomorrow evening’s episode will look at the situation in Sadr City from the eyes of an unlikely person—the interpreter.  It should be quite interesting.

The Long Road Home Ep. 3: War Challenges

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Captain Troy Denomy has no clue his unit is about to be ambushed (Photo courtesy National Geographic).

When we last left the members of the First Calvary Division, Fort Hood in the National Geographic series The Long Road Home (Tuesdays 10PM/9 CT [note the time change] and on demand), two separate divisions of the brigade were heading into Sadr City to rescue an ambushed unit.  The third episode brings the viewer closer to the fighting—and it’s not pretty to watch.

First Lt. Shane Aguero (EJ Bonilla) and his men are attempting to hang on until rescuers arrive.  That means going back into harm’s way to retrieve flares to indicate their position to the other units.  The problems are many–first, the attack is well-conceived and each of the other units are walking into a trap.  In addition, the units are ill-prepared for conflict of this nature, be it communication (some vehicles have no radios), armor (one truck is completely open, leaving at least twelve soldiers in the line of potential fire), or experience (the fear some of the soldiers display is palpable). Camp War Eagle knows it’s not going to be pretty, so they start preparing a medical unit for treating injuries.  Problems exist there as well—their main doctor is a pediatrician and there are no units of blood available in case something happens.

Troy and Gina Denomy (Photo courtesy of National Geographic).

The focus of this episode is Captain Troy Denomy (Jason Ritter), who feels remorse for sending Aguero’s unit out and learning one of their own has died in the process.  He’s married to Gina (Kate Bosworth), who sits at home with a newborn while trying to recover from a C-Section.  Troy does what he’s been trained to do: rushing into the middle of the fray in order to rescue people. However, he soon finds his group pinned down as bullets rain through the sky, injuring himself and multiple members of his vehicle.

Gina knows being the head of the Family Readiness Group has its blessings as she finds out what’s happening before the rest of the wives.  Then again, it has its trials when she learns the team has been attacked. Because of her husband’s status, she knows Troy is going into harm’s way, but she no clue that he’s been wounded in battle.  However, she has to stay calm and let the rest of the wives know an attack has occurred–something nobody on base expected or wanted to occur.

I struggled with this episode, especially one scene where one of Aguero’s men keeps watch while on the top of a building.  He sees a young boy playing with a machine gun, then watches in horror as he points it directly at the soldier.  When the gun is fired, the soldier shoots the kid.  His father hears the commotion, sees what is going on, then takes up the gun to fight—he is also killed.  Finally, the grandfather grabs the gun and is killed.  There’s significant remorse in the soldier’s voice as he laments he killed three generations of a family.  In split-second decisions, how do you know what’s the right thing to do when neither option is truly acceptable?  This is where moral wounds arise.  I could imagine this being the reason why so many of the soldiers found a measure of comfort from the words of David in the Psalms.  Green pastures and still waters (Psalm 23:2-3) are a whole lot peaceful than desert sands and dry streams. But the soldiers have to be vigilant, knowing one wrong move could be their last.  That vigilance will be further tested in the next episode; that’s for sure.

The Long Road Home Ep. 1&2: Come Together

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(Photo: National Geographic/Van Redin)

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
–The Apostle Paul

Peacekeeping was the goal for the members of the First Calvary Division when they headed to Sadr City, Iraq in 2004.  It was a quiet area with one incident in the previous calendar year.

Two weeks later, that peace turned into war and a desperate fight for survival.

The first two episodes of National Geographic’s new series The Long Road Home (tonight, 9 PM/8 CT) chronicles the events of Black Sunday and paints a multifaceted picture of war and its effects on not only the soldiers but their families seven thousand miles away.  Based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name by ABC Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz, it’s intense, violent, and sad—sometimes all at once.  It’s definitely must-see-TV (or at least must-DVR).

Each episode focuses, to some extent, on one of the main players in the Black Sunday attack on April 4, 2004.  1st Lt. Shane Aguero (EJ Bonilla) is the focal point of episode one as the leader of the group initially attacked.  The viewer sees him at the outset playing with his two kids, each of whom are taking his deployment hard.  His daughter is clinging to his side while his son wants absolutely nothing to do with him.  His wife Amber (Kate Paxton) is left to deal with things until he returns, but she has a group of wives on base who have banded together to provide support until the boys come back (if they do).

Life at Camp War Eagle seems quite boring, but who really wants action when it could mean dying in the process? When Aguero’s battalion is ambushed, it’s the first time many of the troops have ever experienced live fire of that nature.  It’s easy to tell the soldiers are a band of brothers, and when one of their own gets hit, it’s a race against time to keep him alive.

Courtesy National Geographic

The second episode looks at the situation through the eyes of Lt. Col. Gary Volesky (Michael Kelly, seen above), a calm, mild-mannered man who lives a life of faith back home.  There are flashbacks to his family praying before dinner and a few situations where he is asking God for faith in what would become two days of nightmares.  One of the most heartbreaking parts of the episode is when a soldier introduces his mom to Volesky, who promptly demands reasons as to why her son is being forced to deploy.  After calming her, he promises that everyone on the journey will return home alive. You can see his resolve shaken when he later learns one under his charge was killed.  Aguero’s team calls for reinforcements, and when they head out (inadequately protected, BTW), Volesky stands beside the chaplain as he prays a long prayer for them.  It’s easy to tell that the situation is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

I was immediately struck by how galvanized the troops were to each other.  Sure, they got on each other’s nerves and struggled with making the right decisions at times, but in the end, they all came together and took care of each together.  This was in direct contrast to the interpreter they had on board (Jassim al-Lani, played by Darius Homayoun), who seemed to be dispensable—especially to Sgt Eric Bourquin (Jon Beavers).  The writer of Ecclesiastes notes that “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up” (Eccl 4:9-10 NASB).  It works in friendship, it works in marriage, and it works in life-and-death situations. That writer was pretty wise!  We were not made to life live alone, and the first two episodes of The Long Road Home are testimony that is the case.

The Long Road Home: Interview with the Cast

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Every individual who enters a branch of the US Armed Forces understands there is a possibility of having to be in a combat situation. They also understand there’s a chance they will be wounded or potentially killed while attempting to complete their mission.  The First Calvary Division from Ft. Hood TX was on a basic peacekeeping mission in Iraq in 2004—the city they were placed in, Sadr City, had been incident-free for nearly a year.  Nice and easy, right?

On Palm Sunday (April 4, 2004), the First Calvary Division came under a surprise attack resulting in nearly fifty soldiers being wounded, along with eight deaths. It was horrible, to be sure—an event that was written about by ABC Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz in her book The Long Road Home.  On Tuesday, November 7th, National Geographic will broadcast an eight-part miniseries chronicling that day in Iraq.  I had the recent opportunity to interview members of the series and discovered that despite the difficult circumstances, the concept of family and faith was critical to the survival of both the soldiers and their families seven thousand miles away.

(Photo: National Geographic/Van Redin)

For the soldiers, the situation was pretty dire—but they didn’t fight alone. Katie Paxton, who played the wife of 1st Lt. Shane Aguero in the series, said that, in reality, “Every soldier is you, is me, is your neighbor.” As a result, the families deploy with the soldiers (though not physically), constantly worrying if their loved one will return to embrace them again. It’s a sense of sacrifice that isn’t lost on the children. Karina Ortiz, playing the wife of Spc. Israel Garza, noted that the soldier is seen to some kids as abandoning them instead of a hero.  Others attempt to cling to them in a sense of desperation. It manifests itself into varied and unpredictable forms of behavior as a result.

War is a test on couples as well.  Paxton noted that the wife is basically a single parent.  It’s an additional level of stress and trauma to deal with. Martha Raddatz added that since the families don’t know anything, they’re constantly terrified. As a result, the wives have no real choice but to form a close-knit community.  Jorge Diaz, who played Israel Garza, shared that it’s also tough on the soldiers who constantly think about their families back home.  The occasional phone call helps but doesn’t relieve the worry.  In addition, the soldiers miss out on large chunks of family life.  In the case of Shane Aguero, his tours of duty caused him to miss 65 months of his kids’ lives.

When soldiers get into the heat of battle, they are forced to make split-second decisions affecting people’s lives.  But that’s not all they deal with in those moments.  Sometimes, a soldier is hit by gunfire or shrapnel and has to deal with physical injuries. But Aaron Fowler, US Army veteran, mentioned a unique term in my interview: moral injuries.  Moral Injuries are unseen and involve doing something that is legally correct but violates a person’s morals (such as killing a child who has a suicide vest on). In these cases, deep spiritual trauma can occur.

To this end, faith in God is almost a requirement for a soldier.  Chaplains are deployed just like soldiers and help the soldiers spiritually, but they don’t have weapons.  Mikko Alanne, executive producer and screenwriter, added that each episode of the series has a focus on a specific character and theme.  The second part of the episode on Tuesday evening has a theme of faith—and it’s readily on display for the viewer to see. He referenced Psalm 130:1, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,” mentioning that faith can give people the will to survive in a difficult time. Eric Bourquin, US Army veteran featured in the series, noted that “if you have nothing to believe in, you have nothing to hope for.”

It’s important to know not only what happened, but why it happened, according to Alanne. The Long Road Home was created with meticulous attention to detail to honor the soldiers who were a part of Black Sunday.  As Fowler noted, why would you sacrifice the relationship with your brothers for something that’s not accurate?  It became a solemn responsibility for them.  Raddatz mentioned that when the event happened in 2004, she received two photos of the whole thing, so her reaction to first seeing the final product was one of “absolute awe.”  After seeing two episodes, you’ll probably say the same thing.

The Long Road Home premieres Tuesday, November 7th at 9 PM (8/CT) on National Geographic and will feature the first two episodes.

Special thanks to National Geographic and Andy Peterson from Different Drummer for coordinating the interview sessions.