FORWARD OPERATING BASE ARIAN, Afghanistan (May 11, 2012) -- The characters were in Dari, so Spc. Denzell Robert John Ward had no idea what his Afghan National Army counterpart was penning on his palm.
Ward is what's known as an "eleven bravo" in the United States Army, shorthand for infantryman. He and fellow paratroopers with "Charlie Company" of 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, were about to roll out on a foot patrol with ANA soldiers of the 203rd Corps.
One friendly Afghan soldier wrote something on his hand. When finished, he held up Ward's palm and said a single word.
"Obama."
That brought on fraternal laughter from Afghans and Americans alike, but Ward wasn't too surprised by the incident.
Adopted as a boy, Ward's biological father was half African American, half white. His mother was Sicilian. It's a pedigree not far removed from that of the 44th president.
"I guess I really do look like Obama," said the native Californian, who on official forms identifies himself as African American.
In basic training, his senior drill sergeant saluted him one day, and with a wry smile, said, "Mr. President."
"Back home before I joined the Army, my best friend's uncle used to call me Obama too," said Ward.
"It doesn't bother me at all. It's just a nickname," he said.
The active life of a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team suits the young man, who played every sport available to a kid in Susanville, Calif.
"I quit playing sports just before high school," he said. "I guess I just wanted to rebel then."
Ward joined the Army in 2009, partly to stay out of trouble and partly to jumpstart his life toward becoming a U.S. marshal with the ultimate goal of working for the Drug Enforcement Agency.
"I'm actually doing something with my life," he said. "I have a lot of friends back home that aren't really doing anything. Some did go to college. I joined the Army. When I go to college next year, I won't have to pay for loans like they do."
Ward, who has carried a weighty machine gun for the last two years, said the Army has helped him to mature beyond getting him into great shape.
"I manage my money pretty well now, and I actually have savings," he said. "And I don't get in trouble anymore."
Ward deployed with his current unit to Iraq's Al Anbar Province in 2009 for one year. The unit arrived in Afghanistan's restive Ghazni Province this March.
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