CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Step back, and take a look at the life of any average young American. Look a little closer, and glimpse into the life of the young American Soldier. What is seen may seem anything but ordinary.
For most Americans in their early 20s, "normal" may mean going to college and living in a dorm or renting an apartment with friends. Waiting tables or working in a clothing department, for example, are ordinary jobs that can pay for classes, expenses and upcoming weekend fun.
Soldiers, however, have shown that their day-to-day lives aren't your run-of-the-mill routine jobs. Some of these exceptional jobs are carried out every day by Soldiers with the 1st Air Cavalry "Warrior" Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
One such Soldier is Glendale, Ariz., native Spc. Brian Lenhart, 3rd "Spearhead" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, who works as a UH-60 Black Hawk crew chief.
"I come into work, preflight the aircraft for any deficiencies that could cause us to crash, and then we wait for launch time," Lenhart said. "When we launch, we go fly a certain amount of hours, then we come back. Then we do the opposite at the end of the day."
Usually a normal work day for Lenhart, like many other Spearhead Soldiers, lasts 12 to 14 hours. Since being deployed to Iraq for almost a year, weekends for the Spearheads are few and far between.
Lenhart was recently recognized by Traverse City, Mich., native Col. Dan Shanahan, the Warrior Brigade commander, after being singled out by his supervisors for his selfless service and dedication to his mission as he flies the skies of Iraq.
Although Lenhart said he felt privileged to be recognized, he said he doesn't do any more than his battle buddies to his left and right do every day.
"You still have Soldiers who do what they're supposed to on a day-to-day basis," Lenhart said. "The genuinely honest individual that does the right thing 95 percent of the time, but doesn't do anything extraordinary; they should still get recognized."
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