Photograph and interview
By Jason Johns

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05054 - North Thetford, Vt.

Published October 4, 2009
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The Rev. Gail Dimick, pastor of the United Church of Thetford, presents Capt. Christopher M. Brooks, commander of the Bradford Armory of the Vermont Army National Guard, with a box of devotional booklets in a ceremony last Sunday in North Thetford. The books, titled Strength for Service to God and Country, feature nondenominational prayers and spiritual readings and were purchased through fundraising efforts by the United Church of Thetford, the Bradford United Church of Christ and the New Hope United Methodist Church in Waits River. They will be distributed to soldiers at the Bradford Armory before their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. At right, Jim Perry, trustee of the Bradford church.

Capt. Christopher M. Brooks lives with his wife and three children in Walpole, N.H., and is a police officer in Bellows Falls, Vt. He served with the National Guard in Iraq and Kuwait from 2004 to 2005. His unit is expected to be redeployed to Afghanistan within a few months. The following is an edited interview.

Last time the deployment was one year, give or take. That was 2004 through 2005. So it’s been a while. Now our turn has come up again.

The first time over, my kids were babies. When I came back they were like, “Who’s this guy walking in the door?” Now they’ve had time to really get to know me, so this time will probably be a little harder. A lot of soldiers are going to go through this; we’re going to miss a lot. That’s part of the service and the sacrifice.

When someone says, “What are you in it for?” it’s not an easy answer. The soldier doesn’t put himself on a pedestal; he’s just doing what he believes and what he knows.

When I’m over there, I expect everyone back here to be living the ideals we’re fighting for and that those freedoms are being given to our children. The fact that they can go out there and play sports, that they can grow up and be whatever they want to be, that’s what this is about. That’s what makes America the country it is. That’s what we will sacrifice for.

There are forces in this world that do not agree with that, and we understand that. We hope that we can get to the point where there’s just peace in the world, and every one can get along. But unfortunately history hasn’t prevailed in that regard.

As a commander, I’m there to serve my soldiers and bring ’em home. I’m also there to serve the mission. It’s a really hard environment over there, and sometimes those two duties conflict. It’s very hard as a leader to deal with that.

When you’re over there and bad stuff happens, well, that’s war. We understood that when we signed on. The hardest part about it is that it puts your morals into view. You have to act on what you truly believe.

In a free society, you don’t always have to face that. Here you have so much given to you, and when you’re given something over a period of time you forget what it took to earn it.

For soldiers, service is to god and country, whatever god they serve. When you look at it, the ultimate service is the ultimate sacrifice. We’re ready to do that, but hopefully we never have to get there.