University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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LOSING SIGHT CDF BAGHDAD The Iraqi sniper had eluded American soldiers all morning. Army Captain Tim I-Iornik scanned the busy intersec- tion through binoculars, searching for the shooter who I had successfully wounded another soldier in the security team only 20 minutes before. It was early November 2004, and citizens of Baghdad had been on edge since U.S. Marines began their bloody assault on Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold 43 miles west of the capital. Hornik and his men had been assigned to provide security for the Iraqi Army as it quelled possible uprisings against the operations in Fallujah. It started out as a crappy day, I-Iornik, Chicago graduate student, said of the chilly afternoon. It was about to get worse. Although the sniperis bullet severed Hornik's left optic nerve and partially destroyed his right ocular orbit when it exited his skull, special surgical stitches secure a prosthetic lens and corneal transplant to I-Iornik,s right eye. With Hornik in his sights the sniper squeezed the trig- ger one more time. It was a clean, straight shot that pierced I-Iornikis left temple. The bullet traveled behind his left eye and exited millimeters away from his right one. I-Iornik collapsed from the turret of the Bradley vehicle heid been commanding and was caught by his comrades, who methodically applied primary Hrst aid as the tank-like vehicle roared through the pock-marked streets toward Baghdad I-Iospital. The immediate attention I-Iornik received from his squad saved his life, according to Hornik's wife Cate, an Army captain. The dependency troops have on one another is one reason I-Iornik would want to return to Baghdad and Hn- ish his deployment, despite injuries that would eventually cause him to lose his sight. The camaraderie formed be- tween soldiers is an unbreakable bond, I-Iornik said, and it isn't uncommon for troops to want to deploy to a war zone in order to stay with their units, no matter the cost. I have unfinished businessf, he said, L'Many ofus who had it short often want to go back. I only spent 49 days there. Lt. Col. john Basso, battalion commander and professor of military science, said the camaraderie was also necessary for safety reasons. Basso said soldiers and Marines worked in small groups where each person had a different, specific duty. Self anyone gets injured or fails in that mission, there's an increased chance another one might lose their life, Basso said, lf something happens to you and you canat be a part of that team, it's a real blow because you feel like you,ve let them downf, Cate said she understood the desire to stay together as a team and the disappointment that came with being left be- hind. Cate was about to embark on her Hrst deployment to Iraq when her husband was injured. She wouldnit be going. When a direct family member is injured in action other fam- ily members are no longer deployable to combat zones. 'iYou spend this time training with these people and you develop these unique friendships,'I Cate said. It makes you a lot closer to be with them 24-73 they're your family. 'I Part of the disappointment Cate said she felt in not being able to deploy was because ofthe desire to look after the men and women of her unit. It's sort of hard to watch your friends go down range because you're worried about them too and when you see what happened with your husband, you know that that could happen with them toof Cate said. Captain Gates Brown, Lansing graduate student, said he understood wishing to return to combat after being injured because ofthe loyalty to the other men and women in a unit. When Brown learned he wouldnat be returning to Iraq after being injured he said he felt guilt and frustration at having to leave his comrades. I realized, 'l'm leaving themf' Brown said, lt didn't matter the circumstances, I wasn't there, I wasn't going through the same things they were, l had abandoned theinf' I-lornik said he didnit feel any anger that his assailant would probably never be captured or punished. It was a time of war,H he said. c'It's the antics that, 'All's fair in love and war,, and well, he just happened to be a little better than we weref, Though he wasnit able to return to Baghdad and finish his deployment with the rest of his unit, I-Iornik is thinking positively. I-Ie said the ordeal had strengthened his marriage and given him a new lease on his passion: helping those who need it most. I-Ie currently works with the Douglas County Correctional Facilityls pilot re-entry program, designed to help inmates learn skills for the future. He has a new desire to work with the disabled and said his ordeal had given him the ability to identify with those who had experienced a physical loss. IRAQ WAR IPART nj l 84