Profile, Pvt. Brian McAllister

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Pvt. Brian McAllister
By Spc. Roderick Turner, USA
314th Press Camp Headquarters
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan ? Pvt. Brian McAllister was sitting on his bunk at basic training when his drill sergeant roused him and others to come downstairs to see news reports on television. The 19-year-old was in disbelief. He thought someone was playing a cruel joke.

?I saw one of the World Trade Center towers on fire, and my first thought was, ?This has to be fake or some kind of joke,?? McAllister said.

But the reality of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon soon sank in.

?I was just sitting there with my jaw dropped and my eyes bugged out,? he said. ?I was saying to myself, I couldn?t believe this was happening.?

Just three months before the September 11 attacks, McAllister had graduated from Merced High School in Merced, Calif. He enlisted as an infantryman in the U.S. Army in August and was shipped off to basic training at Fort Benning, Ga.

With payback on his mind the remainder of his basic training, McAllister said the attacks served as a motivator for him and other soldiers in his platoon.

?Whenever we lagged or wanted to quit, our drill sergeant would remind us about the attacks,? said McAllister. ?He told us to remember why we were doing this training ? because this was real ? and to realize that the training we were receiving would help us when we got out there for battle.?

After basic training and AIT, or advanced initial training, McAllister was assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, at Fort Drum, N.Y. Just a few weeks later, he was sent to Afghanistan to fight in the war against terrorism.

Still, McAllister was apprehensive.

?I have to be honest. When I got to Afghanistan, I was scared at first and not so sure if I wanted to be out here,? he said.

But his confidence grew after he settled into the tent city at Bagram Airfield.

?I?m ready to come out here and support the guys who have been out here a couple of months and do whatever they need us to do to accomplish the mission,? he said.

McAllister had once reconsidered his decision to join the Army, but now has no regrets. ?At first I used to think to myself, ?I can?t believe I gave up civilian life for this!?? he admitted.

?I think that every soldier at some point during basic training has that thought. But the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon confirmed that the decision I made to join the Army was the right one,? he said.