Story and photos by U.S. Army Sgt. Jerome Bishop
2nd SBCT PAO, 25th Inf. Div., MND-B

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Every Soldier has a different reason for enlisting to be in the Army. Some do it for patriotic reasons, others for help paying for college, but one Multi-National Division – Baghdad Noncommissioned Officer signed up in 2005 for an entirely different purpose.

Before enlisting, Sgt. Wyatt Karney, an Albuquerque native who serves as a mortar man and Personal Security Detachment NCO with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, MND-B, led a life of hard work, shared custody of a child and an unwanted drug problem.

"I decided to join the Army because I had a drug addiction and I had to get out of my home town," said Karney who now calls Colorado Springs, Colo., home.

Karney's addiction cost him his Family. It ended his marriage and resulted in shared custody of his son.

"At the time we were divorced and I had joint custody of my son, I tried to get off drugs several times for years and couldn't do it," he said.

For Karney, the worst was telling his son.

"He didn't ever see it, but I would explain to him that I had a drug problem and he didn't notice it, but I just got sick of myself," he added.

Karney said he decided he had to leave the town where he was born and raised so he could rid himself of his addiction.

"I have close Family members and a lot of friends who are involved with drugs and I had to get away from it."

The call to serve came, as it did with many Soldiers, when the attacks on New York and Washington happened Sept. 11, 2001. Even though he felt the call to duty, it was several years before he enlisted.

"I wanted to join when the towers fell on 9/11, but because I had joint custody of my son, I didn't want to leave him,” he said.

Karney said he would join if there was a chance he would defend his country.

"I've always liked the military, but I never wanted to join unless there was a conflict going on. I didn't want to just join and do garrison stuff," he said. "My grandfather served in WWII and my father served in Vietnam, and I wanted to serve only if there some kind of war going on."

In the end, his close relationship to his son eventually led him to leave.

Two weeks after he pledged his commitment to the Army, Karney said goodbye to his son and headed toward a new life in the Army.

"I'm kind of a perfectionist," he said. "Even though a lot of people said I was a good dad, I knew I could do better, and I didn't want to keep myself down and not be the best dad I could be so I needed the change."

Since enlisting, Karney was able to clean up his life. He credits being away from his hometown and the people associated with his drug problems, as well as the Army's no tolerance stand on drug use as reasons for his success in getting sober.

Today, Karney is contributing to the mission of providing security on a routine basis for the commander of the squadron in which he serves.

“Many Soldiers in my command have long histories. What makes the Army great is it is not about what you have done in the past, it is how you carry yourself into the future that truly matters," said Capt. Ken Bernier, a Garland, Maine, native who serves as the commander of HHT, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cav. Regt. “Sgt. Karney is a reliable member of my team, who can be depended on to be a riflemen, vehicle commander and a proficient mortarman."

Back home, his son is waiting for his return, but he is not waiting alone. There is another member of Karney’s Family who waits for him. He said she was instrumental in him turning his life around.

The woman Karney speaks so highly of is his ex-wife, who he remarried in 2007.

"I didn't have a squared away mind to be able to deal with things that she was going through, but she dealt with her stuff and I dealt with mine while we were separated and we've both grown a lot so we decided to get back together," he said.

After his four years of service are up and his duty fulfilled, Karney hopes to one day take a job as a government employee in Colorado Springs. Until then, he's sure to continue to fight the good fight, both against the enemy in Iraq and against the ghosts of a former addition.