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An article about our alum advisor -- I'm proud to call him a brother
Journalism instructor prepares to serve in Afghanistan
UCO journalism instructor David Bennett discusses his pending deployment to Afghanistan this summer.
Photo by Justin Avera
by Mark Schlachtenhaufen
March 05, 2003
David Bennett leads a dual life: professor by day, U.S. Army reservist by "night."
Come this summer, Bennett will trade his lecture notes for desert fatigues when he deploys to Afghanistan.
The UCO journalism instructor is a Civil Affairs economics officer with the 321st Civil Affairs Brigade, based out of San Antonio.
Late last year, rumors began circulating through the 321st about a possible deployment to Afghanistan, Bennett said. Then in January, the unit commander made it official.
"There's so much going on in our world that our military is involved in and/or involved with," Bennett said.
"North Korea is a serious problem. Obviously Iraq is the flash point right now. But we've got a mission and an involvement in Afghanistan."
During military briefings, Bennett has been told to expect harsh conditions in Afghanistan - a mountainous, very arid country. Water is scarce there; showers will be few and far between. The average life span there is less than age 50.
Few people there have an advanced education. Under the Taliban, women were not allowed to receive an education. Afghans learn by observation, through listening and conversation, Bennett said.
Being a largely Muslim country, Afghans admire spiritual people, Bennett said.
Their most influential people there are their religious elders. Thus, they have the most respect for the Army's equivalent, the chaplain, he said.
"They say it's critical that you carry yourself in such a way that you're respected; don't do anything that would cause them reason to disrespect you," he said.
While Bennett isn't a front-line combat soldier - Civil Affairs officers function as liaisons between the military and local governments - he will be working in a country recovering from the effects of war, an unstable nation still extremely vulnerable to terrorist activity.
Since November 2001, the United States military has been in Afghanistan, hunting down members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network and remnants of the former ruling party, the Taliban.
The United States military is helping to rebuild Afghanistan. And as a Civil Affairs officer, Bennett will play a part in that effort.
"Civil Affairs people will work with governments to try to rebuild the institutions of government that give the state the ability to run everything from electricity, to water, to roads, to actually going and talking to them about how to use diplomacy to install a democracy," Bennett said.
Civil Affairs officers find government and private sector money to help countries re-drill water wells and rebuild schools and other infrastructure issues, Bennett said.
In Afghanistan, Bennett, a lieutenant colonel being promoted to full colonel this weekend, will be part of a provincial reconstruction team. Initially, there will be three teams, he said.
That number will expand to 10 as the operation to rebuild the war-torn country expands away from the capital, Kabul, which is more secure than most outlying areas.
Bennett and his teammates will help train the Afghan military, which is being built from scratch. Civil Affairs units support the activities of both conventional and special operations forces. Civil Affairs officers operate in countries such as Afghanistan and Bosnia.
Bennett served in Bosnia from December 1997 to July 1998. At the time, he was attached to a Civil Affairs unit in Kansas City.
Originally, Bennett was to be a full-time military officer in Bosnia. A Bosnian government official learned he had commanded a Civil Affairs unit and he became the equivalent of an international civilian employee.
In Bosnia, he learned about a variety of European cultures, along with Bosnia ethnic groups, each accustomed to producing biased coverage about the other.
Bennett worked with Bosnian media outlets, ensuring that they covered news stories accurately and fairly.
"We had to monitor all the radio broadcasts, all the television broadcasts and all the newspapers in our area," Bennett said.
"We had the ability to shut them down if they didn't do it legally."
In Bosnia, the manner in which the United States military conducted itself - keeping everything from transport vehicles to laundry spick and span - commanded great respect from civilians, Bennett said.
"That American flag on the arm, on the sleeve, really meant something over there," Bennett said.
"When our guys would drive by and I'd be standing with civilians who didn't know me from Adam, the comments that you could hear were really inspiring."
After returning from Bosnia, Bennett began drilling with the 321st in August of 1998. He resides in the metro area, where his mother and father also live.
He is married to Susan. Their son, Matt, is a 19-year-old freshman at Oklahoma State University.
The family OSU connection doesn't stop there. Bennett received a bachelor's degree in advertising and public relations from OSU. Bennett's paternal grandfather, Henry G. Bennett, was president of Oklahoma State University from 1929 to 1951. His grandfather also helped direct President Harry S. Truman's rebuilding effort following World War II.
This spring, Bennett is teaching four advertising classes at UCO and attending classes at OSU and the University of Tulsa, pursuing a Ph.D. in education with a focus in marketing management education. Bennett received his master's in business administration from Oklahoma City University.
At a Maryland high school, Bennett was a three-year letterman in wrestling, a sport he learned in Oklahoma.
He enjoys watching college sports on television. Participating in sports taught him discipline and how to handle failure, he said.
"You don't give up on yourself and you don't give up on your teammates," Bennett said.
Although this won't be the first time he has been far away from home, being separated from his family again will be difficult, he said.
He has been told to prepare for at least a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan. During that time, he will miss his 25th wedding anniversary.
"It disrupts your family life, your personal life," Bennett said.
But he is continuing a family tradition of military service.
He said serving in the military is his way of giving something back to his country.
"It's just my personal opinion that everybody owes something to their country," Bennett said.
"What they choose to offer and how they choose to offer them is up to them. For me it's been the military. I've always felt that if my country needed me I would be happy to respond. I have great admiration for those on the front line. I'm blessed not to have to be among them."
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SN -SINCE 1869-
"EXCELLING WITH HONOR"
S N E T T
Mu Tau 5, Central Oklahoma
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