Two warriors give advice to cadets
San Diego Cadet Squadron 144 welcomed two guest speakers on 6 January 2009: Pvt Samuel DeCraen, US Army, a former Sq. 144 cadet and Sp4 Ra'Shaun McDowell, US Army, son of LtCol Elbert McDowell, a current member of Sq. 144.
Pvt DeCraen left this squadron about four years ago, having advanced to cadet C/SSgt. Upon graduation from high school, he wanted to attend a trade school in the mid-west and set out to do just that. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out and after holding down a restaurant job, he joined the USMC. Sam stated that this is where his CAP training kicked in and he stood out as a leader because of his CAP leadership experience. After six weeks of training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, here in San Diego, a new rule about tattoos was established and he was discharged by the Marines because of visible tattoos on his lower arms. His chain of command fought to keep him in the Corps, but no waivers were granted. Samuel regretted his past decision about tattoos and really enjoyed being a Marine Recruit. After some soul searching, he inquired about joining the U.S. Army. The recruiters jumped at the chance to bring him in because of his excellent performance as a Marine Recruit and his honorable discharge. The only stipulation was that he needed to blacken in a few tattoos on his lower arms and off he went to Army Basic Training. There he excelled armed with his CAP and USMC experience and immediately applied for U.S. Army Ranger School. Although he described the training as the hardest life experience he has ever had, he proudly passed and is now a Ranger! Pvt DeCraen described his weapons training, jump training, and the physical endurance one must survive. His advice to the cadets: take advantage of every leadership school you can attend, pay attention to detail, and think about the decisions you make now that could affect you later in life, i.e., tattoos, drugs, criminal records, etc.
He went on to update the squadron about his younger brother, Michael who was briefly a CAP cadet. Michael was not motivated to do something with his life, but saw what his brother was doing, and he too joined the Army. Pvt Michael DeCraen is now a member of the U.S. Army Washington DC Honor Guard, performing military funerals, memorials, and marching in parades! He told his brother his CAP training came in handy too, especially the part about uniform maintenance! His goal is to be a member of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Honor Guard!
Finally our second guest speaker was Sp4 Ra'Shaun McDowell, who is a “Wounded Warrior” recovering from a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) hit to his left leg. He is not sure if the doctors will be able to save it. His platoon was on patrol and observing a village from a rocky hill, looking for known enemy insurgents in Afghanistan early in September 2008. They observed what they thought was an Afghani Army unit in the area and unfortunately lost sight of them. This unit was in fact, an insurgent element that was able to move in back of Sp4 McDowell’s platoon and attack them. Ra’Shaun was hit badly by that RPG but kept firing with his rifle at the enemy. A covering AH-64 Apache helicopter was called in and made quick work of the insurgents, killing them all. Ra’Shaun was immediately medivaced out to an aid station and on to Germany for surgery. Once stabilized, he was sent to Balboa Naval Hospital so that he could be near his father. Sp4 McDowell told us about how important it is to take care of your fellow soldier, how they looked after each other, the camaraderie you can only experience in combat, and the precious support of your family. Ra’Shaun only wished that he too would have had CAP training from what his ‘CAP father’ told him. We were very humbled when this Purple Heart recipient spoke to us, standing for 45 minutes with the aid of his crutch next to him.
Each one of us, both young and old took advice from both of these speakers. We thanked them for their service to our country and wished them well and Godspeed. Ra’Shaun will continue his therapy at the hospital and Samuel reporting to Fort Lewis, Washington for advanced Ranger training. Both parents of these two warriors were present; you could see the pride in their respective faces. They are just two outstanding examples of the thousands servicing our country today, keeping us FREE.
Semper Vigilans!
Respectfully,
Maj Dennis Ammann
Commander, San Diego Cadet Squadron 144
