In Close Contact: A Special Forces SoldieraEUR(tm)s Fight against the Taliban, Alcoholism, and Post Traumatic Stress

By S.F. Guy

Battling the enemy, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress disorder--often at the same time--requires superhuman strength. Truth of it is: it's outside of human ability to do so for very long. Many times, the harder battle is the one found when the physical fight is over. PTSD and substance abuse are in a spiraling symbiotic relationship that gets worse over time and has claimed countless lives of service members, police, and other first responders. Those trained to run to the sound of the guns often don't have the capacity to recognize when they are outgunned and refuse or don't know how to seek help. Often they also believe that they are the only ones facing these personal battles. This book is meant to shed light on those battles from a firsthand perspective, both physical, mental, and spiritual.

As a Special Forces (also known as Green Berets) soldier, I found myself at the lowest point of my life. When I ran out of my own answers and bravado, I was led to the solution to the problems I was facing. It wasn't one I would have explored in normal circumstances--it was literally the last place I looked. It took running out of options and being beat to a point I was ready to listen and actually hear.

That answer carried me through over a decade of turmoil and chaos and continues to carry me today, provided I rely on Him. There is no way I would be here and able to tell you this story otherwise. Reaching out and asking for help is the first step and often the hardest part.

Trust me when I say, I didn't believe it either.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798891301856

Book preview

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In Close Contact

A Special Forces SoldieraEUR(tm)s Fight against the Taliban, Alcoholism, and Post Traumatic Stress

S.F. Guy

ISBN 979-8-89130-184-9 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89130-185-6 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by S.F. Guy

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

This book is dedicated to my long-suffering wife and family, the men who, as instruments of the Lord above, helped me get out of a situation I couldn't begin to deal with, and also especially to those in close contact with the enemy right now and looking for an answer.

Introduction

Chapter 1

The Beginning

Chapter 2

The Enemy Within

Chapter 3

Friends in Low Places

Chapter 4

The Answer

Chapter 5

My New Employer

Chapter 6

The Living Word

Chapter 7

Before 9/11

Chapter 8

9/11

Chapter 9

Operations

Chapter 10

Daily Duties

Chapter 11

Ambush

Chapter 12

The Alamo

Chapter 13

Back in the Saddle

Chapter 14

Close Calls

Chapter 15

Lessons Learned

Chapter 16

Returning Home (Again)

Chapter 17

Answered Prayer

Chapter 18

Another Enemy Revealed

Chapter 19

Back in the Saddle Again

Chapter 20

Continuing to March

Chapter 21

Checkpoint

Chapter 22

The War Continues

Chapter 23

Charlie Mike

About the Author

This book is dedicated to my long-suffering wife and family, the men who, as instruments of the Lord above, helped me get out of a situation I couldn't begin to deal with, and also especially to those in close contact with the enemy right now and looking for an answer.

Introduction

In Afghanistan, a Troops in Contact call, or TIC, is a call over the radio to inform higher headquarters that your element is actively engaged with the enemy. This allows the headquarters element to start sending help your way—in the form of close air support or indirect fire—and monitoring the situation. The radio net that was primarily used was a countrywide satellite band, so every Special Forces unit in the country can hear the call. You could generally tell how bad or good the situation was by the tone of the caller, and always: if a MEDEVAC was involved for friendly casualties, it was a bad day. The title I chose seemed fitting because I was actively engaged with the enemy when I cried out for help—although it was an enemy I never saw coming. Close contact implies that the enemy is so close that close air support or other supporting artillery fire can't be employed without hitting friendlies. At several points in my journey, I was fighting alcoholism, PTSD, and the Taliban at the same time. At close contact, it required the close air support that only God above can provide. Hence the title; it wasn't me by any stretch of the imagination that had the power to get through it.

Jesus Christ provided the close air support I needed, and it is by His grace and mercy that I am on the winning side of it. I also know I am the only one that can shut that love and support off. If that previous sentence evoked a visceral response from within you—I understand; I felt the same way toward the whole religion thing.

There are a couple reasons you may have picked this book up. You are battling alcoholism, PTSD, or know someone who is. There are resources at the end of this book, points of contact that can help. I would encourage anyone in similar straits as I was to reach out sooner rather than later. None of it made sense to me when I started the journey. I was beaten to a point and in ways I had never experienced. I am thankful today that my options were limited (none) and the pain was great enough (a lot) that I would listen. That pain put me on a path that brought me to a life I couldn't have imagined.

I try to relate my experience in the hope that someone else may find similarities and reach out as I did. I know of many people who aren't alive today because they couldn't or didn't know how to ask for help. Two of those people I knew personally, and a slew of others professionally. As I was writing this book, another former coworker of mine made the choice to commit suicide. He literally would have been the last person you would expect to do that.

Alcoholism isn't anything I blame on my environment, what I did, or how I was raised. It was a crisis I had created. I may have had an innate proclivity for it, but at the end of the day, my choices and how I chose to navigate life put me in that position. I could blame whoever or whatever, but that wouldn't change anything. I was responsible.

If you are in a similar position, know that nothing changes—if nothing changes. If I wanted something different, I had to do something different in spite of my preconceived notions. I know what it's like to keep up the facade and not show weakness, all the while coming apart privately. Having been exposed to people battling alcoholism and coming from many different circumstances, no matter the vocation or status, the emotion and pain associated with it is a common denominator in literally every case.

I met God at my lowest, battling the toughest enemy I have ever faced—myself. A crisis I created many years before that eventually blossomed into my own personal hell on earth. It took me a long time to realize that. It's by His grace that I am here. He has always been there and was the same as I had been taught as a child; I just wasn't ready to listen.

In this book, I detail my journey with alcoholism and later PTSD. I encountered both on active duty as part of a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (SFODA or A-Team), also known as Green Berets, heavily involved in the global war on terror. The first portion deals primarily with alcoholism. The later chapters detail the situations and circumstances I encountered and the resulting PTSD. I don't have a magic pill for either, but I know what carried me through it and still does today. Open and honest conversations with someone who could relate, a framework to handle problems as they arose with guiding principles, and most importantly, a relationship with God.

At the end of the day, as stressful as some of those experiences were, there is nothing like being an active participant in a combat zone to provide clarity for what really matters. The sense of purpose, the camaraderie can't be replicated anywhere I have found. This is also a contributing factor for many veterans to flounder when that finally stops.

I go into some detail about some of the operations and methods Special Forces (or SF) operate in to provide context and a greater understanding. Hopefully, this adds some entertainment value as well as insight. It's said that nothing spoils a good war story like the truth. The experiences in this book are from my own perspective. My aim is to provide some bona fides and help others relate. It is important to note though that the experiences I am retelling are commonplace in Special Forces.

The true point of this book isn't the war stories though I just wrote those that came to mind with as wide a spread of experience I could recall. It's the spiritual battle I fought with myself before, during, and after combat. That fight wasn't one I could win on my own. I also wrote this anonymously. Names and identifying details are changed; no team numbers or exact locations. I'm not a super soldier or a spiritual giant, and I don't want that perception by anyone who reads this or people who know me. Some of the guys who were there on my team will recognize situations.

I refer to a fellowship that saved my life by introducing me to God and removing the thought processes that inhibited a relationship with Him. I don't name this group, though they are in the very front of any old-fashioned phone book. It isn't one that is under any specific religion or denomination, but in spite of that, it brought me to a relationship with Jesus. This fellowship doesn't seek to promote itself but prefers the attraction of people who need help and seek them out. They are not hard to find and are located literally everywhere.

I hope you enjoy the book, and more importantly, I pray if you need help you find it.

Chapter 1

The Beginning

Praise be to the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.

—Psalm 144:1

I had been raised in the Midwest in a fairly rural community with quick access to larger cities. My immediate family didn't drink and had warned me against the dangers of it. I had always felt apart from most other people, even when in a crowd. Until I had my first run-in with alcohol. It was magic; any nervous tension I felt went away. That experience instilled a ready skepticism for authority—especially my parents. If they were that wrong about alcohol, what else were they wrong about?

I had always wanted to be a soldier. I read books constantly about past conflicts and the experiences they had. I knew that's what I was going to do when I left