Veteran of War in Afghanistan
Duane Doolittle

Interviewed by:

Hannah Brunelle and Melissa Ednie

"I was ready to get out, I had enough."
~ Duane Doolittle

Duane Doolittle's Story:

Duane's story all starts when he was younger, growing up he always knew he wanted to serve for his country. He had strong influences to go into the military with his grandfather, father and his older brother being veterans. He knew he didn't want to follow in his brother's footsteps and he didn't think college was for him.

He did some research and decided the Navy Seabees would be the best fit for him. Duane didn't want to go into full combat, and found he wanted to be a tradesmen for the military. The Seabees are based off the motto, "We build, We fight." They are a construction unit, (http://www.seabeesmuseum.com/history.html) which Duane wanted the experience of a trade, which helped him a lot once he was out of the Navy.

When Duane first entered the military he was excited and never expected to be sent of overseas. In 2010, Duane found out that he was going to be shipped to Afghanistan. He had been sent to California for training. Duane was excited when the plane first landed, and went on to explain how the feelings of when he first arrived was nothing like he had ever felt before.

He goes on to explain how being in Afghanistan was like being in a different world, nothing could ever compare to it. As the interview became more personal, the subject of Duane and his crew had come up in the conversation. Duane told us that almost everyday there was an attack at his base. One day him and his crew were in a truck that had driven over a bomb, luckily they had all survived. He then started to tell us a little more about his role overseas, which was an electrician. He said that he would work on repairing generators since there is no grid in Afghanistan. He would do anything from fixing the wires so people wouldn't be electrocuted in the shower, to putting plugs in so the soldiers could charge their laptops.

Duane had many stories to tell about his life in and out of the military. He uses his experience from the Navy Seabees, in his current life now. He's currently an electrician. He says he was ready to leave the Navy, when he did. He learned a lot and created many stories to tell. He currently lives in a house in Brewster, which he bought right when he was been shipped overseas. Duane is an amazing role model to all young people.