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thedrifter
03-05-09, 06:54 AM
March 5, 2009
Soldier wants to face danger under water

By JAKE LOWARY
The Leaf-Chronicle

FOB SHARANA, Afghanistan — Pfc. Ethan Martell says it might be a death wish, but it's something he hopes to try one day.

Martell, 21, a member of 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, wants one day to scuba dive off the coast of South Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, a place where he said no diver has survived. Scuba is a passion of his, and he hopes one day to take the ultimate test.

"I love the ocean, love the water, but I hate pools," he said.

He said no one has successfully dived there because three ocean currents collide and create a death trap for ships and divers, not to mention the high population of sharks.

Martell is a computer and network specialist with 1-506 — the Red Currahees. He comes from a long line of military service members, but he gets prodded about being the only enlisted soldier in the family.

"Every time I walk in the room, the conversation stops," he joked.

Martell's father is a retired major, his brother a captain at Camp Victory, Iraq, his uncle is a colonel in the Marines and his father retired from the Army as a lieutenant after serving in World War II.

Although it's his first deployment overseas, Martell said he's "experienced the effects of six deployments" because of his family's lineage and the stories he's heard.

He does hope to attend Officer Candidate School at some point, if for no other reason than to lessen the playful abuse from his family.

Surprisingly, Martell said it wasn't his family's strong ties to the military that led to his enlistment.

"Really and truly, I joined the military once I got out of high school. I was like, 'I'm done with this school thing,'" he said.

He said his time in Afghanistan, which is winding to a close, has been better than expected, and he plans to continue his service for years to come.

"Yes, it's going to be a career," he said.

That career will soon take him to another duty station, hopefully Fort Detrick, Md., or Fort Eustis, Va., where he can expand on his computer proficiency and continue his service.

"I love the Army," he said, "I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."
Additional Facts
MISSION TO AFGHANISTAN


Leaf-Chronicle reporter Jake Lowary left Feb. 9 to embed with the 4th Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan. This package is part of our Mission to Afghanistan series, which will run daily while he is overseas.

Ellie