PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- Being in the Army can be a tough prospect for anyone who has had challenges. One Soldier has made the most out of the challenges in his life.
Sgt. Nicholas A. Albers, a medic with Headquarters Service Company, Special Troops Battalon, U.S. Army South from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, didn't come into the Army hoping to become a medic; he originally wanted to be a military policeman (MP).
"I sort of ran out of options because I'm color blind," said Albers.
Albers doesn't consider being color blind a hindrance. It does not hamper his ability to do his job in any way. Despite being color blind, Albers is making the most of his opportunity.
"Like any job, you have your good days and bad days," said Albers.
You might think Albers was disappointed not getting his first choice for a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), but that is just not Albers style. When the recruiter came to Albers with the prospect of being a medic, he took the job because it sounded like a job that would be worthwhile. Albers tries to be the best medic he can be.
"I will bust my hump to make sure that people are taken care of," said Albers. "If you don't have a good medic in your unit, the unit is going to suffer."
On Albers' first deployment he had one of the most difficult moments of his life. He was in Samarra, Iraq and lost a patient. The medical unit he was in did not receive a warning call that a patient was coming in. The Soldiers' wounds were beyond anything that they could repair and the Soldier died later on after being in a coma for a while. Albers saw the look in the eyes of Soldiers from the victim's unit after he died.
"It was like they were asking 'how come you couldn't save him''" said Albers. "Even though the doctors said that there was nothing I could do, it was hard."
"On my second deployment I was just happy to have all my people come home," Albers said. Albers was attached to two different companies in northeast Baghdad and neither company lost a single Soldier or had anyone hurt the whole deployment.
Though Albers didn't get to be an MP, he got a job he loves.
"I don't think I would trade my job for anything else," Albers said.
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