Three Rakkasans earn fifth combat patch with 101st

First Sgt. Chad Gore, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 1st Sgt. Randal Underhill, Company C, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, and Lt. Col. R.J. Lillibridge, 1- 187th Inf. Regt., are now eligible for their fifth “Screaming Eagle” combat patch - four of which are from deployments with the Rakkasans of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT)

BY Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – Multiple deployments have become a common occurrence since the start of the global war on terrorism.
Sure, there are people out there who have five or more patch-earning deployments. But not many can say they’ve all been earned with one division.
The Rakkasans of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) boasts the highest percentage of multiple deployers in the Army.
Lieutenant Col. R.J. Lillibridge, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 1st Sgt. Chad Gore, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-187th Inf. Regt., and 1st Sgt. Randal Underhill, Company C, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, are now eligible for their fifth “Screaming Eagle” combat patch.
Of the five combat tours, these Soldiers each served four tours with the Rakkasans.
“There’s just something neat about being a Rakkasan,” said Lillibridge, from Smithfield, R.I. “There’s a whole lot of goodness in it.”
Underhill, originally from Booneville, Ind., now considers Clarksville, Tenn., home since he has spent 14 of 17 years in the 101st. He said he feels like he now has roots with the 101st and has a loyalty to the division.
At the end of this deployment, Gore, a native of Gridley, Calif., will have spent 13 of 20 years at Fort Campbell. “I like the area, the unit’s great. The professionalism, the history the unit has – it’s nice to be a part of that,” he said.

Deciding to stay
Like many Soldiers, none of the men joined the Army thinking they would stay as long as they have.
Underhill was bored with his civilian job. “My impulse said, ‘Hey I’m going to do something different.’ (So I) joined the National Guard and I kind of liked it.” A couple years down the road, he decided to go full-time just in time to go to Desert Storm – his first deployment with the Rakkasans.
Lillibridge said he came into the Army with no preconceived notions, and didn’t know if he’d like it or not.
“I had a five-year commitment,” he said. “After five years was up, I didn’t suck at it, but I wasn’t a superstar.”
He decided to stick in there for a few more years. He’s at 18 years now.
“When I came in the Army, I was trying to figure out what I was going to be when I grew up … I still don’t know,” Gore said with a chuckle. “The first 10 years kind of snuck up on me.” He realized the Army was going to be a career between deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Taking a toll
All of the men are married with children and say each deployment is a little harder to take and more difficult for families than for Soldiers. They all credit their wives with being the true heroes for staying home and being both mom and dad and keeping everything intact until their Soldiers come home.
Deploying for the first time only two months after getting married, Underhill had no way of knowing that separations would be such a common occurrence.
“I think it gets progressively difficult with each rotation to make a break with your family and kids and come over and do it,” said the father of three who has been married 17 years. “At the same time, I started with the Rakkasans … and I don’t want to leave.”
Underhill said his wife is by no means happy about the deployments, but she has grown accustomed to being self-reliant and taking care of things.
Lillibridge, who has been married for 15 years and has two children, acknowledges that families are growing tired of the frequent, extended deployments and said that one year between deployments is not nearly enough. “I’ve lost track of all the birthdays and (holidays) I’ve missed,” he said, adding that his last anniversary was only the second one he spent at home in the last five or six years.
“It’s definitely harder with each deployment,” said Gore, who has been married for 10 years and also has two children. “The kids are getting older … now (they) understand it’s going to be for a long time.” He said his wife is the reason his children have handled it so well.
The seven-month deployment for the Gulf War is short compared to the now 12- and 15-month deployments Soldiers now face.
“We could stand on our heads for seven months now,” Lillibridge said. “I think most of us would like to have a break and not deploy, but I think most of us – after two years – would be going stir crazy and want to get back to this because we’d all feel guilty about not being over here.”

What lies ahead?
As emotionally and physically taxing as these deployments can be, many have soldiered so long that they can’t imagine doing anything else – Lillibridge, Gore and Underhill are no exception.
“There’s nothing I would rather do,” Lillibridge said, echoing the sentiments of Gore and Underhill. He added that he hasn’t stayed in the Army for 18 years for any reason other than the people. “There’s nothing in the civilian world that compares to the Army – especially an army at combat. “
And combat is one thing these Soldiers have seen their share of, from Desert Storm to Afghanistan and multiple tours in Iraq.
Still, none can say for sure whether or not a sixth combat patch is in their future.
All just a little short of meeting the minimum 20-year requirement for retirement, it’s up in the air as to whether they’ll go past that mark.
Gore said the toll this 15-month deployment has on his family will determine whether or not he’ll stay past 20 years.
“I have a friend who used to be a Rakkasan who’s retired … and he always tells me what I’m going to end up doing. He’s been right so far,” Gore recounted. “He says I’m going to stay in.”
Whether it’s 20, 30 or somewhere in between, whenever these Soldiers bid the Army adieu, it will be difficult to walk away from what they’ve known for so long.
Camaraderie, incomparable trust the Army puts in subordinate leaders and make-it-happen attitudes are just a few of the things they say they’ll miss.
“The Army’s a neat place with a whole bunch of great people in it,” Lillibridge said. “I think that’s why most of us stay in … in spite of some of the hardship.”