CAMP SHELBY JOINT FORCES TRAINING CENTER, Miss.— Following in both of his parents footsteps, Spc. Charles Corbin, information technician student at Augusta Technical College, prepares to deploy to Afghanistan.
“I joined the Army to become an officer,” said Corbin, who used to go to work with his dad on post all the time. “Both of my parents were active duty: my mom served six years as an officer, and my dad served 20 years enlisted as a cable specialist. So when it came time for me to decide what I wanted to do with my life, I chose what I knew.”
Only serving for three years thus far in the Georgia Army National Guard, Corbin was hand chosen for this mission by his executive officer, Maj. Nathaniel Stone. “I asked Corbin if he wanted to deploy last year because he had worked for me here at 2-121st Infantry Battalion,” explained Stone. “I knew first hand that he was a hard worker, very dedicated, always doing whatever needed to be done. And I knew that he would definitely be an asset to whatever team he joined on the deployment.”
Corbin said that he feels fully prepared, as he has spent the last year completing one training event after another with the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. “I feel almost overly prepared. We have done absolutely every training event available to us, I feel like my leaders are the best possible leaders I could be deploying with. They are very competent in everything they do, and they share their knowledge, teaching us what they know along the way.”
Within his team, Corbin has a wealth of knowledge to pull from. Most of the soldiers deploying with him have very diverse backgrounds of military job specialties, additional identifiers and multiple deployments. Corbin said that his group and their backgrounds make him feel even more prepared to deploy, confident in his team and ready to go.
“They truly take time to teach each other their knowledge in their field,” explained Corbin. “For example, the other day, Lt. Col. Chris Kemper, our team’s executive officer, took time to explain to me the planning process and show me the process as he worked on it.”
Looking forward to deployment, receiving his combat patch and letting his ‘hero complex’ shine as he obtains veteran status, Corbin said he is most excited to get back to his girlfriend, Sophia and finishing his degree so he can make the transition from Green to Gold.