I am nominating my fiancé Cody Hukill for the Hero of the Month. Like myself, he was born and raised in Southern California. As he is pretty reserved about the details to his Army life, I had to ask him for assistance.
Traumatized as a kid by the Sep. 11th attacks on my homeland I realized there were a lot of people who needed to be held accountable, and I’d do everything in my power to bring justice to them. As a brand new Private in the Army’s Elite 3rd Ranger Battalion life was very hard, but all thoughts of quitting vanished after my first deployment to Iraq in 2006. As a 19 year old Private First Class I had my first experience in combat. I realized the extremely high tempo raids against the enemy’s high value targets and the lifestyle of the Elite Army Rangers, as dangerous as it may be, was exactly how I’d bring justice to those who need it. After returning from Iraq I attended and completed the Army’s prestigious Ranger School and promoted to the rank of Specialist. At the beginning of my 3rd deployment (1st to Afghanistan) I was promoted to Sergeant and leading a Fire Team. During a particularly dangerous and intense mission in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan, I was wounded in close quarters combat. Luckily the physical damages weren't too serve and I was able to work around the TBI, which got me back in the fight after a short recovery. After the deployment my enlistment was supposed to end and I would return to California for a college degree and a normal life. I was asked by my leadership to do one more tour with them, and as I was missing some teeth in the mountains, it didn't take much to convince me to go back and look for them. After my 4th and final deployment to Jalalabad in 2010, my enlistment ended and I returned to California.
Jan. 4, 2006 - Oct. 16, 2010 with 4 Combat deployments.
Many awards to include: Purple Heart, Joint Service Commendation Medal, multiple Army Commendation Medals and Army Achievement Medals, and the Ranger Tab.