“Every war is the same. 90-percent boredom, 10-percent adrenaline rush. All the movies made are made from that 10-percent.” — Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Vorpahl
The HMMV Vorpahl was in shot into this ditch at 55 mph after hitting a roadside bomb in Iraq. Photo courtesy: Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Vorpahl.
Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Vorpahl of the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 32nd Brigade served overseas in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Jumpstart and Taskforce Noble Badger.
“The National Guard plays a unique role because we are soldiers of different skills,” Vorpahl said. “I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.” Excerpts:
Q: Why did you join?
A: I wanted to see what basic training was all about, but mostly for college money so I could go to school.
Q: What was serving like?
A: Serving in the Guard was for the most part pretty easy. One weekend a month plus two weeks during the summer. When I joined in 1998 things were calm around the world. It was like hanging with the boys for the weekend. Train by day, party at night. After Sept. 11, things got serious. By that October, I was already deployed for armed airport security for Task Force Noble Badge patrolling the Appleton, Wisc., airport for seven months. Two days on and two days off. After that I began school to get my associate’s degree.
Staff Sgt. Vorpahl in Iraq. Photo courtesy: Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Vorpahl.
Q: Did you think you’d be deployed once, let alone three times?
A: After I got my associate’s degree, I wanted a bachelor’s. Iraq had kicked off by that time. We thought we would never deploy. Wrong. President Bush activated the National Guard for deployments. May 2005, walking out of school I got the call. After seeing the television footage, I was completely terrified, yet overwhelmed with excitement.
Q: What was deployment like?
A: Leaving my wife and kids was definitely the hardest part. Two-and-a-half months training in Mississippi. Barely any sleep and heat and humidity like you wouldn’t believe. Summer in the South in full uniform and 40 to 60 pounds of gear. Iraq was actually a blessing. Temperatures hit well over 130 in the summer, but it was a dry heat. Once there, missions were scheduled, so it was like going to work, except work was driving all over that country, for my unit anyway. I got to see so much, but driving means roadside bombings and ambush attacks. Daytime driving was the worst. The gun trucks run at 220 degrees plus the outside temp being so hot. Depending on road conditions, bombs and such, you could be out for hours.
Q: What happened during the roadside bomb?
A: I never heard, saw or felt anything. It hit so fast and hard I was instantly knocked unconscious. Which was bad because I felt like driving that day. 55 mph, the truck vested off road and we crashed. Bodies sprayed with shrapnel and a dead stop that snapped the frame of the High Mobility Military Vehicle, a 13,000-pound truck. I woke up scrambling halfway under water. We crashed in a marshy low area off the side of the road. I freed myself and doggy paddled in the water. What a relief. It was 135 degrees in the hot sun. The water felt so nice.
Q: What went through your mind?
A: I began to realize how injured I was and kept vomiting large volumes of bright red blood. I blacked out shortly after that completely at peace. I awoke to the helicopter landing and heard the constant agonizing screams of my gunner. After emergency surgery in Iraq and Germany, I awoke in Washington D.C. in the ICU. Three of us survived, my gunner did not.
Q: What’s recovery been like?
Staff Sgt. Vorpahl receives a Purple Heart from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Photo courtesy: Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Vorpahl.
A: I spent three months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center receiving top care. Doctors said my recovery was remarkable. I tribute that to my healthy lifestyle of nutrition and exercise and my will to get back to my family. I’m disabled now, and 5 years later, I still have upcoming surgeries to go through. The chronic pain and flashback anxiety is the worst burden of all. I moved up north to live in peace and raise my kids. Spending a lot of time working on my yard and playing at the parks.
Q: And you were deployed again?
A: After the whole Iraq and hospital thing. I get back to my unit and we deployed stateside in Arizona for border patrol, watching for drug smugglers and illegals crossing the border. It wasn’t that bad, 24 hours on and 24 hours off. Scanning day and night with binoculars, night vision and thermal scopes. That only lasted three weeks. Then it was train up time for Iraq deployment No. 2. How’s that for family life? Luckily my condition got me out of the second Iraq deployment.
Q: And now as a veteran?
A: Being a combat vet, especially in my case a disabled vet, opens the door to even better benefits. I receive tax-free compensation monthly, better schooling for myself and free schooling for my family. Government health insurance for my family and my no-down payment house loan with no property taxes. A hell of a price to pay for all that. It makes some people mad so I mostly keep that stuff to myself, but hey, they could have signed up and put their life on the line. I go to counseling and I’m building the courage to get back into school. I think I might go to become a counselor or social worker to work with other veterans.
