Sitting in a tent in Queensland, Australia, 18-year-old U.S. Army Pfc. Ivan Issac has no doubts about the choices he’s made since graduating high school in Huntsville, Alabama, just over a year ago. A fire control specialist for 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, Issac is on his first trip outside the United States.“I had many reasons for joining the military,” Issac said. “I wanted a step up in life. I also wanted to travel. Since I joined, I went from Alabama, to South Carolina, to Oklahoma, to Washington, and now Australia. Not a lot of people can say they just went to Australia.”
Issac’s battalion brought Soldiers and high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) across the Pacific Ocean to participate in Talisman Sabre 2025, the largest bilateral military exercise between Australia and the United States advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening relationships and interoperability among key allies and partners, while enhancing collective capabilities to respond to a wide array of potential security concerns.
Since being in country, he has worked closely with service members from Australia and Singapore, and participated in a joint live fire mission on July 14, 2025. Hundreds of visitors from across the world and international media watched as guided multiple launch rocket system munitions streaked through the sky, thanks to calculated targeting information from Isaac and his counterparts.
Issac isn’t only a benefit to his unit during fire missions. According to Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Rivera, his motivation and attitude improve the morale of everyone around him. “He is always happy. We call him ‘Smiley’ because he’s always smiling. I could be walking around looking at soldiers, and then I see him, and I’m like okay, everything’s going to be okay.”
Joining the Army is a choice Issac would make again. “After high school, I thought I was done with school, but the Army has schools for literally everything, and there’s always something new to learn. Being here, being in the Army, it’s just cool. I’m waiting for more adventures to come.
Date Taken: | 07.16.2025 |
Date Posted: | 07.19.2025 00:57 |
Story ID: | 543267 |
Location: | AU |
Hometown: | HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, US |
Web Views: | 17 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A Long Way from Home: A Smiling Soldier Joins International Live Fire Mission, by CPT Brittany Whitehead, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.