NEWS, SPORTS, COMMENTARY, POLITICS for Gloucester City and the Surrounding Areas of South Jersey and Philadelphia
By U.S. Army Sgt. James Hunter
Special to American Forces Press Service
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| CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq,, April 24, 2008 - The nearly 200 soldiers, sailors,
airmen and Marines who became U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony at
the Al Faw Palace here on April 12 each took a different route to the military
and their service in Iraq.
U.S. Army Spc. Vivek Mishra, a native of
central India, raises his right hand and recites the Oath of Citizenship during
a U.S. naturalization ceremony at the Al Faw Palace at Camp Liberty, Iraq, April
12, 2008. Mishra serves as a chemical operations specialist for Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division,
Multinational Division Baghdad. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. James Hunter,
Multinational Division Baghdad
(Click photo for
screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.
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Spc. Vivek Mishra, a chemical operations specialist born and raised in central
India, took a rather unusual route to his new life. Mishra serves in
Multinational Division Baghdad and is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
His
father was a doctor, serving at the head of India's Department of Pharmacy.
Mishra's family was wealthy; famine or war didn't bring him to the United States
of America. His studies did.
He grew up in a large household that held
anywhere from 25 to 40 family members at any given time. There was a lot of
respect among the household's members, he said, and a major focus on family and
religious values.
Often, Mishra spent time with his friends at clubs or
dining out at the restaurants that lined the highways near bodies of water. When
it was time for Mishra to go to college, he knew exactly the field he wanted to
join. He felt he was not good at math, and he didn't like art. He wanted to be a
chemist.
"At that time when I was in India, they considered it a very
big thing to be a doctor," Mishra said, "but my dad never forced me to do
anything. He said whatever I wanted to choose to do, do it."
After three
years at the Government Science College, Mishra earned his bachelor's degree.
Then, less than three years later, he earned his master's degree in chemistry at
the Rani Durgeivati University in Jabalpur, India.
"In chemistry, I love
reactions," he said. "You cannot see it how it changes into another substance.
When you mix two substances, it will have a reaction. I love being able to
understand those things."
After earning his master's degree, Mishra
joined the doctorate program. During his studies, he said, his professor asked
if he was interested in getting another master's degree at a school in the
United States. He said he thought it would be a good choice, but wanted his
parent's opinion on the matter first. His father told him if he stayed in India,
he would just know his surroundings; however, he would not know the "real
world."
Mishra arrived in the United States in 2002 and enrolled at
Illinois State University to work toward another master's degree in chemistry.
He was nearly complete with his degree, he said, with one semester left and 80
percent of his thesis done, when he decided he needed to take a break from
school.
He was recently married, and said he didn't make much money
working as a graduate assistant at the university. He had to put college aside
to provide for him and his wife. He worked a numerous jobs, but never really
found his true calling. He said he wanted to work in a lab as a chemist, mixing
different substances.
"At that time, I said, 'Well, I do not have this
much patience to continue to look for a job,'" he recalled. After seeing an
article on recruitment, he decided the next best thing for him would be the
military. Mishra recalled with a chuckle that he didn't tell his parents he'd
joined the Army until he graduated from advanced individual training, where he
became a chemical operations specialist.
"They were in shock," he said.
His mother didn't want him to join the military, he said, but his
parents understood he wanted to make a difference. His mother thought that no
matter where he was as a soldier a bullet would find him, he said. That has not
been the case.
Mishra said being in the military is his true calling.
"I will be in the Army for about 20 to 25 years, as long as my body
permits it," he said. "It's like a big family. It's a big mental support. I have
made a lot of changes within myself."
When growing up, he said, he
wasn't given orders; he simply was given the choice if he wanted to do something
or not.
"I have learned responsibility and order," he said.
Now
that he's a soldier and a U.S. citizen, his next goal in his career is to become
an officer in the chemical field.
"War is completely changing, but
chemicals are still an issue," Mishra said. "The chemical corps is growing, and
they need really good soldiers to understand all these things."
He said
he wants to maximize his abilities with chemicals in relation to the military.
In the meantime, however, he will first soak in his new status as an American
citizen.
"It's completely different now to be an American citizen. It's
a good feeling," Mishra said. "Now I am on the same track as everyone. I don't
think anyone treated me differently because I wasn't a citizen, but it's a
mental thing."
Becoming an American citizen is an honor Mishra deserves,
said Army Capt. Robert Woodruff, his commander.
"Specialist Mishra
exemplifies all that is good in an American soldier, even before he officially
became a U.S. citizen," Woodruff said. "He's been through a roller coaster ride
for the two years to get to this culminating point in his life. He is
technically and tactically proficient in his skills as the chemical, biological,
radiological and nuclear expert in the company, routinely filling the shoes of a
noncommissioned officer on a daily basis. He definitely deserves this."
(Army Sgt. James Hunter serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with
the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)
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Related Sites:
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