“If you don’t learn history you are bound to make the same mistake over and over.” History has been a big part of SGT Cooper’s time in the Deuce as he not only served in Sniper Section but also as the 2-22IN Historian. SGT Cooper has been in the Army since February of 2015 and did his first contract in 2-27IN and Recondo in Hawaii. Upon completing his three years there he decided to go back home to the state of New York and come to Fort Drum.
“Upon arriving at Fort Drum, I thought I was going to 2-14IN to deploy that November. They were like nope, going to the Deuce, and they all laughed. I thought to myself, what the heck is a Deuce. I was soon to find out.” SGT Cooper would go to Bravo Company and take over as the Headquarters Platoon Sergeant and Anti-Armor Section Leader. “I told the 1SG that I just wanted to be a team leader, but he shot back with your college degree and experience as a Sniper you will do great (With a smirk and sarcasm). I still remember thinking to myself, I don’t even know what a Gustav looks like and I am supposed to lead the group? So, I gathered the two specialist and Privates and said, teach me. It was a good lesson in being humble because I had experience in the Army but not in any of this. There is always something to learn.”
SGT Cooper would have a chance to go back to his Recon and Sniper roots by going back to the Scouts in Watchdog Platoon. “Being in the Brigade Snipers over in Hawaii with Recondo, gave me a lot of experience doing recon. Though I learned a lot in Bush Master Company, it was time to go back to my skill set.” SGT Cooper would become part of the Sniper Section as a Senior Sniper or Sniper Team Leader. “It was nice to go back to what I knew but also intimidating. I was now the sniper with the must experience that we had. Soldiers were looking to me to teach recon and sniper stuff and in B Co it was more about learning. It was very intimidating, but the great leaders I have had in the past taught me well, so I was able to transfer that knowledge.”
SGT Cooper would go on to write the “Sniper TACSOP” and eventually the “Watch Dog Book” so that all soldiers would have an easy-to-read reference guide to learn and train from. “I have always believed that writing down what you know for the next time is extremely important. I have tried to look at it like if I get killed whether in combat or on the home front all that information would go with me. If I write it down, then at least all those lessons learned go to someone.”
SGT Cooper would extend a year in the Deuce in order to go on the 2020 Deployment. This deployment was to Afghanistan as an up-lift mission, meaning designated Special Operations support. “I didn’t join the Army to sit on a beach or to just train. I wanted to deploy and actual do my job.” SGT Cooper would go to Kabul in Operation Freedom Sentinel.
“That deployment was not what I thought it was going to be.” SGT Cooper said. “With the peace deal and Covid we didn’t actively pursue the enemy like we had trained. We still went outside the wire on patrols and road lock downs, but nothing like I thought or trained for. I did get to run some overwatch and reconnaissance missions so that was definitely the highlight of my deployment. The tempo was high on Decon not Recon hahaha, at that point because of the Covid Pandemic.”
SGT Cooper would take over as the Sniper Section Leader in Afghanistan helping run the security operations and leading the sniper employment around the complex. “It was hard because we knew the enemy were near to us, but we couldn’t do anything actively to get them. We just had to be ready for when they decided to strike. We were surrounded by houses so as a sniper I wish we did more urban training. But we got to work with SEALS and SF, so they trained us up which was awesome.”
Upon returning to Fort Drum SGT Cooper would go work at the 10th Mountain Museum as an intern with a focus on 22nd Infantry History along with other projects for the 10th Mountain Division. “As a leader, knowing history is extremely important. A lot of lessons have been learned the hard way and the advice of how to handle those situations is written down for us. The 22nd Infantry History starts in my back yard in Niagara Falls New York, so I felt a personal connection for sure.”
After his time at the 10th Mountain Museum is over SGT Cooper is getting out of the Army to pursue his Masters in Divinity and come back into the Army as a chaplain. He is currently an elder at Parkside Bible Church in Watertown New York where he and his wife and two children attend. He leads Fort Drum and Veteran outreach there.
“If there is one thing I would like to see, it is a community of 22nd Vets really bond strongly together. There are so many amazing veterans from GWOT (Global War on Terror) to Vietnam that I have been able to speak to and it has been an awesome and humbling experience for me. I encourage everyone to become part of the 22nd Infantry Society and connect with others who have similar experiences. This is an awesome unit with a deep and rich history. Now its time to honor them and keep that culture alive outside the unit.”
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