Antioch soldier says it's good to be home

Even as the Obama administration and top military officials debate strategy on the eighth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, the stream of American soldiers entering and leaving the conflict continues.

Unknown to most, the gun-toting, helmet-wearing troops serve in relative anonymity.

As they come and go, each has a story.

Antioch native and Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Korie Lyn Sergot returned from Afghanistan, uninjured, undaunted and desiring to return to the troubled nation.

After serving 10 months at a base near Kabul, Sergot returned home to a hero's welcome this past weekend. She was also honored with a proclamation by the Antioch village board during Monday's meeting.

The Antioch police and fire departments and the Warrior's Watch Riders escorted the 24-year-old soldier to a block party at her parents' house.

"There must have been 50 motorcycles in the parade. People were blowing their horns and cheering," she said. "At one point, I just lost it and started crying. It just hit me: I'm home."

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are what motivated Sergot to join the military. She was just a 17-year-old Antioch Community High School junior when she enlisted in 2002. She re-enlisted in 2006.

"I was mad about what happened," Sergot said. "And I felt like I wanted to do something about it."

Sergot went through boot camp at Missouri's Fort Leonard Wood the summer before her senior year at Antioch. After she graduated, she began training as a chemical operations specialist.

"We are the ones who find, detect and decontaminate chemical warfare sites," she explained.

After serving stateside for six years, Sergot was deployed to Afghanistan.

Her unit served much like a police force, she said. They did daily patrols, provided escorts for ambulances and dignitaries and responded to other emergencies.

"I was never in direct combat, but we did have to recover the remnants of a roadside bomb," she said. "One American soldier was killed along with a contractor. We had to gather their remains for the mortuary."

Technology helped her keep in touch with her boyfriend, Adam Watts of McHenry.

"We were able to talk via a webcam twice a day," she said. "Without that connection, it would have been so difficult. I don't think I could have gone through it nearly as well without talking to Adam."

Sergot said life on the battlefield makes her appreciate the comforts of home: a long, hot shower, sleeping her in own bed, driving her own car and having access to comfort food. "I savor every bite of my McChicken sandwich," she laughed.

It's likely Sergot will be deployed to Afghanistan in the next few years. Another tour would be fine with her, she said.

In the meantime, she hopes to land a job as a corrections officer at McHenry County jail.

She said most soldiers don't contemplate the political reasons for the war but focus mostly on their daily duties. She said the main reason she joined was to protect liberty.

"For me, it's about freedom," she said. "Not only freedom for us, but for people all over the world."