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Making it in the military

Frye said taking a hiatus from earning his degree to serve in the military wasn’t a hard choicečrather, he said, he saw it as an opportunity to help protect the country to which he had always felt loyal. Upon joining, he underwent three months of basic training in downtown San Diego. This was followed by infantry school in South Dakota and additional training later at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Frye was trained to be a field artillery scout observer, which means he used reconnaissance tactics to find targets in the field. While he admits this was a lot of work, Frye also believes the experience was interesting and even fun at points.

Frye got his first taste of international military work on March 20, 2003, when he and many other members of the U.S. military began the initial invasion of Baghdad, Iraq, with the ‘Shock and Awe’ campaign. Although many consider this action controversial, Frye says he still stands behind it “100 percent.”

When he first crossed into southern Iraq, Frye said he “could tell the sanctions were not working,” adding that under Saddam Hussein, “the system was basically genocidečexcept instead of using bullets, they were starving people to death.” It was hard for him to see the terrible conditions citizens of Iraq were living under, but says the Shiite Muslims living in the area he was stationed in seemed excited to see the troops from day one. The residents would often bring the U.S. Marines vegetables to eat and point out where roadside bombs were likely to be.

Unfortunately, that didn’t always help Frye escape danger. Only six days into his stay in Iraq, Frye was catching some much-needed sleep in the passenger seat of a Humvee driven by another Marine one night, after being awake for two days. Frye remembers waking at one point and noticing that he no longer heard sand being ground beneath the tires. Outside of the cars he could only see black. Due to the extreme darkness of the desert during nighttime, Frye and the others in the Humvee were unable to see where they were headedčwhich happened to be off the top of a twenty-foot cliff. “It busted my face up pretty good. I still have a scar.”

In July of 2003, Frye returned home for retraining, renting an apartment in San Diego. While the experiences of the Humvee accident, going without running water, and discovering the hard way how cold Iraq can get at night, all may have been the more shocking parts of his military experience, he was about to undergo what he says was the hardest part of his trainingčthe point where you learn to be shot at in order to ensure you don’t kill innocents.

“I’m a religious guy, so I just think, you know, when it’s my time, it’s my time,” Frye said of the training, and mentions that his religious beliefs often comforted him while abroad, along with the camaraderie felt between himself and his fellow soldiers.

That camaraderie came about in many ways-some of the more memorable ones were having to share razors, sleeping bags, and even toothbrushes. This was especially true in his first stay in Iraq, when routines were always changing, versus his second round in the country when daily orders were much more set. Frye says that the experience is one that makes complete strangers feel like “brothers.”

He did experience homesickness, though, missing his brother and the rest of his family. His family, as well, had mixed feelings when he returned home the first time, knowing that he would be leaving for Iraq to continue with his missions in August of 2004. Although homesickness was something he felt often, Frye says it wasn’t something he spent a lot of time being consciously aware of.

“It becomes who you are after a while- getting deployed, going into the field, missing your family. It’s part of the job.”

Politic’s influence

Frye’s sense of loyalty to his country coincides with his political beliefs. Starting at a young age, Frye can’t remember a time when he wasn’t politically inclined.

“I’ve just always loved this country, and politics have always been my passion,” he said. “My parents got me interested at a young age, and I picked it up and ran with it.”

Frye believes that far too many people are apathetic about politics and the events that shape the community they live in, remarking that the way some people can ignore what is going on in the world “baffles” him. Even if you aren’t interested, he said, you should at least recognize that they are important and pay attention.

This is part of the reason why, when his reserve status is up in 2009, he probably won’t pursue any further career with the military. He feels he served at a time when it was appropriatečthat is, when there was an issue he cared deeply about that he could help with firsthand. Rather, Frye is currently pursuing a major in political science with a minor in world religion, and hopes to one day be a political adviser in a government agency. While being an officer in the military is something he thinks would be interesting, his zeal for political issues is too strong to ignore. A government think-tank is something he can see himself being a part of much more easily.

“I’ve had girls break up with me because they say I’m too political,” Frye said.

Home, Hamline, and meatloaf

After 15 months in Iraq, Frye has re-enrolled as a first-year at Hamline, ready to pick up where he left off, though this time he’s opted to live and work off-campus. The transition has proved to be a little bit of a shock. After spending all day doing intensive work in a foreign country, the return to sitting in classes and doing homework seems like a standstill.

“I don’t feel like I’m doing anything here,” Frye said. “It feels like I’m treading water. But I know down the road it will be worthwhile.”

Frye said one thing that he thinks would help would be to play football for the university again, as he did during his first enrollment here. Unfortunately, he said he feels he will be spending too much time working and keeping his grades up to pursue that or cross-country, which he would also like to do.

When he does find some free time, Frye spends much of it working out and keeping up with sports, along with reading the newspaper and the Drudge Report each day. Another favorite pastime is listening to talk radio. Michael Savage on The Patriot is a favorite of his.

Frye said that his return to Hamline has been great-saying that the professors and students are still great, even if it is a new batch-but also believes that many people around the Twin Cities “have misconceptions about what the military is all about and what it’s like over there in Iraq.” Many people, he feels, are too quick to blame the military and don’t pay attention to the good things they are actually doing.

His family continues to worry, most likely because they fear he will decide to go back to Iraq. Frye said this is understandable, as he has a tendency to keep working at something until the job is done. On the other hand, that same attitude is what made him come back to Hamline.

“I said ‘I’d be back,’ and I’m back,” he said, adding that keeping his word is of utmost importance to him.

As far as his family goes, Frye said it is a little surprising sometimes to be around them again simply because they keep trying to spoil him- a sharp contrast to the confines of the military.

Frye goes on to say that, of course, this isn’t really a bad thing.

“After being on my own for several years, it’s nice to be able to just come home and have Mom’s meatloaf whenever I want again,” he said.