Courtesy Photo | Army Reserve Pfc Zeyad Al Mifrij, left, poses for a photograph with New York Army...... read more read more
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FORT JACKSON, South Carolina --In 2008, when New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Brian Napier was a lieutenant running an ad hoc route clearance platoon north of Baghdad, he developed a bond with Zeyad Al Mifrij, his Arabic interpreter.
Al Mifrij rode with Napier on 210 missions, and they worked together every day, Napier recalled. And not only did he speak to the locals for Napier, Al Mifrij helped develop intelligence that identified IED locations and saved lives.
“In order to be effective, and rather than just waiting for the bombs to show up, we tried to get ahead of it by maintaining and building relationships with the locals,” Napier recalled.
So, when U.S. Army Reserve Pfc. Zeyad Al Mifrij graduated from basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina on Sept. 11, 2025, Napier made sure he was there.
“I just had to be there,” said Napier, who now serves as the executive officer of the 42nd Infantry Division Artillery.
His visit to Fort Jackson to be there with Al Mifrij, his wife Sarab, and children Hussein, Abdalhafiz, Yasir and Iris, is just the latest installment in a relationship that began 17 years ago, Napier said.
Napier met Al Mifrij when he was told that his firing platoon in the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment, a part of the 2nd Stryker Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, was to be converted into a route clearance platoon.
“There were too many bombs, not enough route clearance platoons, so they gave my platoon of cannoneers a crash course and off we went,” he said.
The platoon was equipped with MRAPS —the mine resistant ambush protected vehicles— and Huskey vehicle mounted mine detection systems. And, they had Zeyad Al Mifrij.
“Zeyad was my trusted link to not only communicate with locals, but determine what information was likely not true,” Napier recalled.
Mifrij, who had degrees in computer science and graphic design, always talked about how much he loved the United States,” Napier said.
And unlike some Arabic interpreters, he liked the Army and the work and wanted the team to succeed, Napier recalled. He also talked about being in the American Army, Napier said.
As Napier got ready to rotate home at the end of his 15-month deployment, Al Mifrij, asked his lieutenant to write an endorsement to help him immigrate to the United States. The interpreter wanted to take advantage of a program which allowed Iraqis who helped U.S. forces immigrate to America.
It took time, and more letters and endorsements from other American officers. And there were bureaucratic hang ups when the birth of Yasir in 2012 required the family to start the visa process all over again, Napier recalled.
But in 2017 the family finally arrived in the United States and settled outside of Cleveland, Ohio.
Al Mafrij turned out to be good at making money in America, Napier said.
He got a job and within six months he was buying, renovating and selling small houses.
Eventually, he became the manager of a Walmart store and completed a degree in cyber security. But he never forgot that dream of joining the U.S. Army and giving back to his adopted country, Napier said.
But with one son in college, Al Mifrij was no longer a young man. He also had to make sure he had the time to leave his job for basic and advanced training.
But his computer background allowed him to get an age waiver to enlist as a signal support specialist working in computer security Napier said. And, he added, he was happy to write an endorsement for Al Mifrij security clearance.
So, on Sept. 11 —on the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks— Al Mifrij became a 45-year-old private first class heading to Fort Stewart, Georgia for his advanced individual training.
He’s happy that he could be there for Al Mifrij and help him and his family
along their American journey, Napier said.
“I am just incredibly proud of him,” Napier said.
“I mean he had had so many struggles along the way, and he had said he was going to find a way to join the Army, and he did it,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2025 11:56 |
| Story ID: | 548743 |
| Location: | FORT JACKSON, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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