Russell, Samuel L., COL

PLEASE DESCRIBE WHO OR WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE ARMY.

Military Family

Family tradition.
My Brother, Col Tom Russell, was a Marine Officer. My Sister and her Husband were Air Force Officers. My Father, COL Tom Russell, was a career Army engineer. All of my Uncles served. Both my Grandfathers, LTC Lawrence Russell, Jr. and COL Sammy Samouce, were career Officers and WWII vets. One of my Great-Grandfathers, COL Warren Whitside, was a career Officer and a veteran of the Great War (WWI). His Father, BG Sam Whitside, was a career cavalry officer and a veteran of the Civil War, Indian Wars and Spanish American War. I guess that makes me a fifth-generation Army Officer.

WHETHER YOU WERE IN THE SERVICE FOR SEVERAL YEARS OR AS A CAREER, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECTION OR PATH YOU TOOK. WHERE DID YOU GO TO BASIC TRAINING AND WHAT UNITS, BASES OR SQUADRONS WERE YOU ASSIGNED TO? WHAT WAS YOUR REASON FOR LEAVING?
I was branched Quartermaster and have served in the logistics field for all of my 24 years of service. Going to Ranger school right after QM Officer Basic definitely helped to set a "Warrior first, Logistician second" frame of mind and has carried with me through my entire career.

Class 8-89

It is a shame that it is so difficult for today's Sustainment Officers to get slots in Ranger school, as it really is the Army's premier small unit leadership course.

I was fortunate, lucky really, to have made it through without recycling--I received goes on all my patrols, and I attribute that more to luck and some damn good squad members than anything I did. As anyone who has traversed the woods of Benning, mountains of Dahlonega, swamps of Eglin--and in my time the deserts of Dugway--knows, any ranger instructor (RI) can fail any student on any patrol over any number of lapses. I had a couple of the toughest gut checks of my life at the school, and coming out of the then all-male Virginia Military Institute I had already experienced a few.

There was the 12-mile ruck march during the Darby phase at Benning where my urine was orange before we started (not a good sign). The "bat boy" next to me predicted I'd drop before the end of the march. My feet swelled to the point that I couldn't take off my boots and didn't want to because getting them back on would be impossible. In fact, I didn't want to stop at mandatory rest halts because my body went numb while moving but was wracked with pain at halts. The heat cramps began at about mile 8, and I remember saying over and over again in my head--and by the end, out loud--"never say die" to the point that I likely resembled a walking zombie more than a disciplined soldier. I finished only because I was determined to literally drop from heat exhaustion before quitting. Fortunately, 12 miles ended before I did. My peers, who almost ended my journey at the conclusion of that phase (I was second to the bottom in our first peer evaluations) took a rare moment of pity on me and pulled my tasks for the next two hours while I drank every drop of water I could fit in my gut and lay on my back with quivering heat cramps. At least that's how I recall it 26-years removed.

The second and greatest gut check came in the East Bay Swamp. It was my turn to "hump the pig," that is to carry the squad's M60 machine gun. After traversing down the Yellow River in zodiacs, we disembarked, and I took possession of our unit's greatest casualty producing a weapon. If memory serves, it weighed about 25 pounds including the ammo I carried in my ruck, which was probably around 65 pounds itself. Most of the ammo and the tripod was carried by my ranger buddy, a Force Recon Marine, who served as the assistant gunner. If you've carried an M60 you know there is no easy way to distribute its weight for a long duration. That night in the East Bay Swamp probably didn't last more than eleven hours, but it seemed unending to me. I recall the Ranger Training Battalion commander accompanied our platoon that night. Every ranger school class is different depending on the time of year and weather. In our case, it was late April, and unseasonably dry. It didn't rain a drop during the two weeks we were in the swamp. The result was the swamp, which is normally about waist to armpit deep with water, was drained leaving a bed of mud and muck. Every step saw my feet sink about a foot and required precious energy to extract from the mire. The "pig" seemed to catch on every vine and branch in the swamp, requiring me to yank it free. Within a few hours, my noise discipline was non-existent as I swore with every step I took. By 0200 or 0300 I had come to the conclusion that I was done, mentally if not physically. Quitting was the only logical choice to end my misery. I kept going for two reasons. I knew there was no way to get a helicopter or boat to our location, and even if I quit then and there, I would still have to hump out of that swamp. And, if I quit, that meant someone else would have to hump that pig, and most of them already had a turn at it.

By the time we got back to Benning at the end of the Florida phase and were awaiting our airborne trip out to Dugway, Utah, for the desert phase, I was pretty sure I had received a "go" in all of my patrols (you didn't see your results until the end of the course). I recall one of the RI company commanders asking me publicly if I knew that the Quartermaster Corps was undefeated. I didn't know what he was talking about then but realized later that he was indicating I had passed all my patrols. I was one of only about five in the platoon that had no negative major or minor spot reports and had passed all patrols. So, I was picked to be the squad leader for our airborne assault into the desert.

As I recall, our mission after a successful airborne insertion was to conduct an assault on some fighting positions around the airfield. It was our second jump at ranger school, as our jump in the swamps was scratched. I had attended Airborne school as a cadet almost four years earlier, so my experience was nil and the only airborne refresher I received at ranger school was practicing parachute landing falls (PLF) off a trash can. My jump into Dahlonega out of a Blackhawk was an inglorious tree-landing where I was wedged about 100 feet up in a hardwood oak--emphasis on the HARD. Trees weren't an obstacle in the deserts of Dugway. After a four-hour stomach-churning flight where my not-for-preflight-or-inflight-use-MRE ensured I was as nauseous as a greenhorn sailor, the doors of the C-141 Hercules opened, and that air beckoned a quick leap into the slipstream. It was my worst exit. I staggered to the door, handed off my static line to the safety, turned about 15 degrees and walked into the side of the door, which spun me out of the aircraft. I entered the blast spinning like a top twisting my risers and suspension lines as my chute deployed. I felt the shock of my chute opening and tried to check my canopy.

The twists in my chute kept my head down, and I fell back on my pre-jump training. Grasping the risers I pulled them apart and began bicycling furiously. It seemed like a couple of minutes--but likely was less than 60 seconds--before I felt the final twist pop out and I began spinning the other direction twisting my suspension lines the other way. Finally, all the twists came out and I then checked for fellow jumpers to see my rate of descent. No one was around me. Apparently, my twisted lines had decreased the size of the opening in my chute and caused me to descend faster than my fellow jumpers. I looked for the ground and realized I was almost on it. I released my ALICE pack, which smashed into the ground before it reached the end of my lowering line. I had no time to release my weapon, and I came down on top of my rucksack with my weapon still attached--an imperfect three-point PLF: feet, ass, head. On the ground and uninjured, it was a successful jump.

For the first time during our training at ranger school, we dawned MILES gear for the assault on the fighting positions. My squad leader duties weren't over until we had secured our objective. The assault required about a 1,500-meter movement to the enemy positions, bounding by buddy teams. We started taking fire but continued to move in an upright position. My RI started killing off squad members with his "god" gun if they weren't bounding properly, that is three to five second rushes before diving into the prone position and providing covering fire for the next buddy team rush. Before long, I was taken out. Only three of our members were bounding to the RI's satisfaction, and they made it to the enemy position and quickly dispatched them. As I had been "killed" early in the assault, I was sure I had my first no-go, but since my squad mates successfully completed the mission, I passed the patrol. No one makes it through ranger school on their own.

IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN ANY MILITARY OPERATIONS, INCLUDING COMBAT, HUMANITARIAN AND PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, PLEASE DESCRIBE THOSE WHICH MADE A LASTING IMPACT ON YOU AND, IF LIFE-CHANGING, IN WHAT WAY?
Following is an email I sent to family and friends during my Battalion Command tour in Baghdad.

From: Russell, Samuel L LTC MIL USA FORSCOM
Sent: Thu, 3 Apr 2008 4:10 pm
Subject: Another Memorial

Family and Friends...

I've been trying to get out another update on the events of the past

My Military Operations

two months, but we've had a busy couple of weeks -- a large spike in insurgent activity. Unfortunately, our brigade lost several Soldiers. Again, my battalion was spared any casualties. I can't bring myself to write about my trivial goings on with the weight of the latest combat operations and the burden of the associated loss. That will have to wait.

One of the missions my unit performs is recovering heavily damaged vehicles that units are unable to self-recover. We had several over the past week into heavily contested areas. Our follow-on missions after recovery are to sanitize the damaged or destroyed vehicles, process the human remains and prepare the fallen Soldiers for transport through the mortuary in Baghdad and on to the mortuary in Dover. Unless out on a mission, I am always present when remains are brought back and vehicles are sanitized. It is the most solemn of missions and at the same time potentially the most psychologically demanding that my Soldiers encounter.

One of my recovery teams went out with 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment -- Rangers -- to bring back a destroyed HMMWV and two of their fallen comrades. This mission involved running a gauntlet of improvised explosive devices (IED), rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) and small arms fire--there and back--and, thank God, our guys returned unscathed, despite being hit by all three. I was there when we downloaded the severely damaged gun truck, which was missing an armored door after receiving the full blast of an explosively formed projectile (EFP). After taking the tarp off the vehicle and beginning the sanitization, I moved to the mortuary affairs collection point where I met those two young Rangers, not in life but in death. The earthly remnants of their bodies were void of the souls and spirits that so recently filled them with life and aspirations, but had now moved onto a better place. After fourteen months of hard-fought combat, these two Rangers were only days from going home; each was in his early twenties. I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with my chaplain as he prayed over the bodies of these two fine young men.

No movie can capture the essence of war, not even the beach landing scene in Saving Private Ryan. Rightfully, such true to life experiences should not be seen and felt by anyone. Beyond the sights and sounds of battle, the movies can never bring to the viewer the overwhelming crush to the other senses: touch, taste, and smell. My attempts to describe the variety and severity of each sensory input would make this message unreadable. So, I'll spare you those details. Suffice it to say that the most overwhelming sense is that of loss.

Today we held the traditional memorial ceremony for both of them. It was comforting to see photos of them when they were whole, strong, motivated and proud to serve. Unfortunately, what I'll carry with me is the images of my meeting with them at my mortuary as we prepared them for their hero flight home.

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur once said, "The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."

While this is true, the Soldier also prays for his life, the life of his buddy next to him, the loved ones he is serving to protect, and his safe return home where he can peacefully enjoy that blanket of freedom for which he has sacrificed so much. He prays for victory, for strength in battle, for the annihilation of his enemy, and for retribution of fallen comrades. But what separates a Soldier's prayer from any other God-fearing American, is that he puts his prayers into action. Wielding his God-given strength he storms into the cauldron of fire, takes the fight to the enemy, places his life on the line for his buddies, seeks vengeance for his fallen comrades, and annihilates the enemy.

May God continue to bless our Nation with young men like Specialist Durrell Bennett and Private First Class Patrick Miller, young men that not only pray for peace but are willing to answer the prayers of millions of Americans by waging into battle to protect and preserve that blanket of freedom. Sleep gently tonight America, for your brave young men are standing firmly at their post.

God Bless, Sam

SAMUEL L. RUSSELL
LTC, LG
94th BSB Commander
FOB Rustamiyah

OF ALL YOUR DUTY STATIONS OR ASSIGNMENTS, WHICH ONE DO YOU HAVE FONDEST MEMORIES OF AND WHY? WHICH WAS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE?

My Fondest Military Assignment

My first assignment was to Wiesbaden Air Base, West Germany. It was an outstanding community--Army, Air Force, and German. It also was a phenomenal time to be in Germany, from 1989 to 1992. We were able to see the Berlin Wall come down and East and West become a unified nation again. Our trip through Check Point Alpha, through the East German corridor, to Check Point Bravo, and ultimately through Check Point Charlie to East Berlin was one of the highlights of my early career. Being able to chip on the Wall and secure a large chunk of it was priceless.

FROM YOUR ENTIRE MILITARY SERVICE, DESCRIBE ANY MEMORIES YOU STILL REFLECT BACK ON TO THIS DAY.

Remembering My Military Service

There are so many memories. One particular memory is of perhaps my most emotionally demanding duty in the Army, notifying a young wife that she was now a widow, and telling her mother-in-law that her Soldier-son was gone.

WHAT PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF FROM YOUR MILITARY CAREER?

My Military Achievements

No valorous awards here. I received a Combat Action Badge in March 2005 because the Combat Logistics Patrol in which I was traveling through west Baghdad came under small arms fire. One Iraqi truck driver (white trucks) was wounded. I was the Brigade S3 out observing the patrol. We halted the patrol to assess the casualty and swap out drivers. My sole role was to dismount, move to the nearest Blue Force Tracker, and send up a SALUTE report. My two bronze stars are for meritorious service in combat.

OF ALL THE MEDALS, AWARDS, FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND QUALIFICATION BADGES YOU RECEIVED, OR OTHER MEMORABILIA, WHICH ONE IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU AND WHY?

My Most Meaningful Awards

My 10th Mountain Division Shoulder Sleeve Insignia-Foreign Wartime Service or combat patch is my most meaningful badge, as I wear it in memory of two Soldiers that were killed in action under my command, SGT Mark Stone and SGT Marcus Mathes, as well as for all the Soldiers that I was privileged to serve alongside in Iraq. Everything else on my uniform is bling.

WHICH INDIVIDUAL(S) FROM YOUR TIME IN THE MILITARY STAND OUT AS HAVING THE MOST POSITIVE IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY?

My Most Influential Person

There have been so many mentors and friends, subordinates, peers and superiors alike. Perhaps the one that has shaped me more than any other, is my good friend, Shawn Morrissey. I served as his executive officer when he commanded the 559th Quartermaster Battalion, then as a Brigade S3 Operations Officer when he was the Deputy Commanding Officer, and finally as his deputy when he was the 3d Infantry Division G4 Logistics Officer. Through war and peace, he has been a trusted friend and mentor.

CAN YOU RECOUNT A PARTICULAR INCIDENT FROM YOUR SERVICE, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN FUNNY AT THE TIME, BUT STILL MAKES YOU LAUGH?
One stands out. As a green 2nd Lt. and Platoon Leader, I was on my first and only REFORGER (Return Forces to Germany). It was January or February 1990 in Ingolstadt, Germany, and bitterly cold. I was checking my Laundry and Bath site and noticed that the 1,500-gallon stave tank

My Funniest Military Memory

in the back of the shower tent had a thick coat of ice on it. I took my M16 and used the butt of the rifle to try and crack the ice. Just when I broke the ice, the weapon slipped from my hand and sunk to the bottom of the tank. As I was staring into the tank contemplating how to retrieve my rifle from the icy water, two of my Squad Leaders, Sergeant Warner and Sergeant Burkhalter, appeared from behind me and asked what I was looking at. I explained what happened and told them to fetch me a rake, and not mention the incident to anyone. One retrieved a rake while the other ran back to the company headquarters. When I returned to the headquarters, the Company had formed an impromptu gauntlet that I had to traverse, with my Company Commander at the end waiting with a weapons cleaning kit.

WHAT PROFESSION DID YOU FOLLOW AFTER YOUR MILITARY SERVICE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY SERVING, WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY?
I am currently serving as the Chief, Mobility Division at Thrid Army (USARCENT) G4--Patton's Own!--Shaw Air Force Base, SC.

WHAT MILITARY ASSOCIATIONS ARE YOU A MEMBER OF, IF ANY? WHAT SPECIFIC BENEFITS DO YOU DERIVE FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIPS?
I am a lifetime member of the Association of Quartermasters and have served as the active duty member of the board. I joined the Society of the Third Infantry Division after completing my first tour in Iraq with the 3d Infantry Division Support Brigade.

While home on R&R during my Battalion Command tour in Baghdad, I visited some of our wounded warriors in Walter Reed Hospital. One of my Soldiers, a double amputee, had just returned from a vacation with his wife in Alaska. When I asked who sponsored the trip, he mentioned that it was funded through the 10th Mountain Division Association. I've been a member ever since.

Two years ago I joined a hereditary organization, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States--MOLLUS. My Gr-gr-grandfather was an original member, and my gr-grandfather also was a member. I thought I would pay them respect and homage by joining as well. Most recently, while at Carlisle, PA, I became a lifetime member of the Army War College Foundation.

IN WHAT WAYS HAS SERVING IN THE MILITARY INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU HAVE APPROACHED YOUR LIFE AND YOUR CAREER? WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT YOUR TIME IN THE SERVICE?

Personal Influence Of Military Service

It has influenced everything I do, from the way I approach solutions to problems to how I interact with family and friends, from inspiring me with a desire for life-long learning to instilling me with the Army values.

BASED ON YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY JOINED THE ARMY?

My Advice on Military Service

God bless you. Enjoy, or at least appreciate, every day in the service and every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and Marine that you're privileged to work alongside.

IN WHAT WAYS HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM HELPED YOU REMEMBER YOUR MILITARY SERVICE AND THE FRIENDS YOU SERVED WITH.

Together We Served and Veteran Community

Togetherweserved.com has been a great outlet to commemorate the service of some outstanding Americans that have gone before me: those with whom I have had the privilege of serving alongside, and those who have served as sterling examples to me of service to our Nation.

KC 7/5/19