# 42 months in Iraq and he wants to go back



## Crusader74 (Jul 7, 2008)

*42 months served in Iraq - and he wants to go back*

*By NANCY A. YOUSSEF,* McClatchy News Service 
July 6, 2008
FORT LEAVENWORTH, KAN. - As Command Sgt. Maj. Philip Johndrow was getting off the airplane at the end of his third tour in Iraq, his wife, Vickie, said simply: "We have to talk."
Johndrow had served 42 months, about three-fourths of the Iraq war at that point, on the ground, more combat time than almost any other U.S. soldier.

 Between tours, he and Vickie had moved their U.S. home twice, because of his promotions. Half his 23-year marriage had been spent away, either in a war zone or training for one, and she was having anxiety attacks.
Couldn't he find a job in the military that would keep him home longer, she asked, in an ultimatum couched as a plea.

That's what landed him at Fort Leavenworth, the military's academic hub, where he serves as an adviser to the commander, Gen. William Caldwell IV. 
His position as command sergeant major is crucial in the military, informing commanders about what subordinates are doing and advocating on behalf of lower-ranking officers. He holds one of the highest positions on base for a noncommissioned officer. 


But here, Johndrow is known simply as "the 42-month guy." His service in Iraq lasted almost as long as the U.S. commitment in World War II. But he seems uncomfortable with the "42-month" moniker.
"I didn't go there to have 42 months. I went there to be with the soldiers," said Johndrow, an Army brat who now calls Townsend, Mont., his hometown. "I heard someone say once that if the good guys didn't stand up, the bad guys would win. I just did my job."

Soldiers here say Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, also is in the running for most months served there. They joke that if the ever-competitive Petraeus found out, he'd extend his tour. (Petraeus, now at 41 months, is due to leave this fall.)

Yet Johndrow, 49, feels anxious that his job will keep him away from Iraq for about two years. This fall, the 1st Cavalry Division is scheduled to head back to Iraq without him.

"It sounds strange, but you feel guilty," Johndrow said. "You want to see it through the end."
Thousands of soldiers have served three tours in either Iraq or Afghanistan, but most served 12-month rotations. In Johndrow's case, the military extended two of his three tours.
Ask him about his most dangerous experience in Iraq, and he says only that every day was dangerous.

                                Source:http://www.startribune.com/world/239...lightModules:2


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## Poetic_Mind (Jul 7, 2008)

Now, that shows commitment! I want to be like that when I begin my military carreer in the near future.


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## RackMaster (Jul 7, 2008)

Oustanding!  That is a shining example of leadership.


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## rv808 (Jul 7, 2008)

No doubt!  Right on CSM!


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## car (Jul 7, 2008)

Hooah, CSM!

I totally agree. That's where the work is.


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## HoosierAnnie (Jul 7, 2008)

That's leading by example


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## Snowbird (Jul 7, 2008)

Good shit that he's leading from the front like that.  That kind of motivation and mentality surely flows through his soldiers' ranks.  That's leadership right there.


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## car (Jul 7, 2008)

I know I've posted this here before, but back in '03-'04, Michael Jordans's brother was CSM of the 35th Signal Bde in the 18th Airborne Corps. CSM Jordan was coming up on 30 years and mandatory retirement. When his Brigade got notification that it was deploying to Iraq, he got a waiver (went all the way to DA) to stay another year so that he could take his Brigade to war.

My Corps replaced them, and I got the opportunity one night in the DFAC at Camp Victory, to tell him that I knew his story, and to persoanally thank him for his service.


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## Snowbird (Jul 7, 2008)

car said:
			
		

> CSM Jordan was coming up on 30 years and mandatory retirement. When his Brigade got notification that it was deploying to Iraq, he got a waiver (went all the way to DA) to stay another year so that he could take his Brigade to war.
> 
> My Corps replaced them, and I got the opportunity one night in the DFAC at Camp Victory, to tell him that I knew his story, and to persoanally thank him for his service.



That's awesome.

That stuff (leadership) gets me pumped up as much as it's opposite form drags me down and pisses me off.  

It's all right there: never asking anything you won't do yourself, shouldering your share of the burden . . . simple stuff like that gets me all excited.


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## Scotth (Jul 8, 2008)

Great story, both of them


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## Gypsy (Jul 8, 2008)

Much respect...


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## Rabid Badger (Jul 9, 2008)

Poetic_Mind said:


> Now, that shows commitment! I want to be like that when I begin my military carreer in the near future.



Great goal PM!! :)

Keep that attitude and much respect out to the SGM for sticking it out with his troops!!!! ;)


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## 8'Duece (Jul 9, 2008)

That's what' good NCO's are made of.  He's there for his troops when he could retire and go home. 

Good on ya SGM.


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