Marine reflects on tour in Afghanistan

Stephenie Livingston Suwannee Democrat

Live Oak — After only being home from Afghanistan a few weeks, Marine Lance Corporal Frank Lee says he misses the simplicity of military life.

"I miss the rigidness of it all," he said. "You get used to the routine: wake up, patrol, eat, sleep."

"I'm glad to see more colors than just brown, though," he laughed.

The ex-professional bareback bronc rider, wearing faded overalls and a trucker's cap, said becoming a Marine was something he always wanted to do. One day, while training an untamed horse, he decided to make his dream a reality. Only 11 months after enlisting, Lee, 23, volunteered to go to Afghanistan. He finished his stint there and returned in early June after seven months.

"I wanted to see what it was all about. I wanted to go to war and represent my country's efforts," he said. "Some people just do it for the college."

Lee was part of the 2nd AAV platoon out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., and was stationed in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Lee said being there was like taking a step back in time.

"We lived in a mud brick hut for seven months. No electricity or running water," he said. While there, he and his troop established a school and helped improve the locals' livelihoods.

The Suwannee native said the riskiest part of his job was setting up checkpoints and searching cars and people who could be carrying explosives. Of course, Lee wasn't authorized to discuss the most interesting parts of his time in Afghanistan.

Still, most of the time, Lee said things were relatively quiet. No Blackhawk choppers or raging sounds of war for the most part. More time was spent having Chi tea with locals and listening to their concerns, or going in search of food at the local market after tiring of Meals Ready to Eat. Lee would buy chickens and potatoes, and other items that reminded him of home and his downhome upbringing.

"I showed them how we eat back home," he said.

However, reminders of war were ever present. The snap, snap, snap of not-so-distant machine gun fire echoing in the air as U.S. forces surged a nearby Afghan city is one of Lee's last memories before returning to the States.

At home over the past few weeks, Lee has mostly hit the gym or "done his own thing," he said. He contemplates his experiences. In the beginning, he wanted to know what it was all about. Now he knows. But he wonders, is it possible to miss Afghanistan? Will home ever feel the same? These are questions he can't yet answer. But he does know one thing.

"I'm ready to get back to work," Lee said as he flipped through photos of camels and sand dunes on his laptop.

His mom and dad, Tonya and Frank Lee, are just glad to have him home, if only for the time being.

"It's such a big relief to know he's home safe," said Tonya.

Lee said if he's sent to Afghanistan again, he wouldn't hesitate.

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