Courtesy Photo | Pvt. Salim Jamal Srouji, of Norco, Calif., mechanic for the Automotive Maintenance...... read more read more
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By 2nd Lt. Anthony Asciutto
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Public Affairs Office
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Pvt. Salim Jamal Srouji found himself looking for a way to get out and make it on his own.
Armed with pride, a small background in automotive maintenance and wide eyes, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in January as a wheeled vehicle mechanic. In fewer than nine months, he found himself just south of Baghdad.
"I wanted to pay for college on my own without anyone's help. I wanted to do something good for not only myself, but for my country," he said.
Srouji joined the Automotive Maintenance Platoon of Company B, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division for the remainder of the unit's deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His section maintains and repairs more than 300 vehicles at Forward Operating Base Kalsu.
Before his time with the Army, Srouji also worked private security for NASCAR events, the Emmy Awards and elite neighborhoods. These experiences alone make for interesting stories. Srouji has much more to share.
Srouji, 22, grew up in Norco, Calif. His father, Jamal Salim Srouji, an immigrant from Lebanon, brought Islamic and Middle Eastern ties to his household. His mother, Jessie Lee Srouji, was born and raised in Southern California as a Christian.
"My parents each wanted me to be their own religion – one Muslim and one Christian. They told me to learn about both of them and then make up my own mind," Srouji said.
Srouji attended Muslim school for a short time as a child where he learned some spoken and written Arabic as well as the basic foundations of Islam. He switched to public schooling in kindergarten and attended Corona/Norco Adult School to receive his General Educational Diploma in 2007.
Srouji's education also took place outside the classroom. The cultural diversity at home took him around the world, visiting the Middle East and Europe. He traveled to France, Syria and Lebanon, seeing family and friends along the way. The focus of his travels, however, was to see many historical and religious sites, including mosques, churches, monuments, palaces and ruins. With his father, mother and brother, Nader, Srouji learned of foreign lands by witnessing them with his own eyes.
Now, in the Middle East as a Soldier, Srouji plans to work hard, assimilate into his mechanics team and contribute until mission complete with his fellow Soldiers.
"My friends call me the 'Motorhead,'" he said, due to his life-long love for designing, building and operating go-carts and scooters from scrap.
His past experiences and skills add to his new training and achievements as he serves here with the automotive maintenance platoon.
| Date Taken: | 09.25.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2008 03:27 |
| Story ID: | 24117 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 275 |
| Downloads: | 223 |
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