Soldier comes home for the holidays
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers HAPPY TOGETHER—Matthew Brown stands with his mom Linda in her Simi Valley living room. He has just returned in time for the holidays from a four-month stint in Afghanistan.

There’s no debating what gift Linda Cochran was most excited to see on her front doorstep this holiday.

It was her son, Matthew Brown, who came back to Simi Valley to enjoy his first Christmas at home since leaving the Army in September of this year.

Asked what it was like having Matthew back under her roof for the 25th, Cochran could barely hold back tears as she recalled her emotions without her oldest child at home during this family time of year.

“When he’s not here, it’s like there’s a missing link,” said Cochran, her eyes welling up. “Matthew’s the one who would put the Christmas top on the tree. And eat all the candy.”

Brown, now 23, spent last December far away from home in the snow-covered, rugged mountains of northern Afghanistan. He enlisted in the Army in September 2002 at the age of 19.

An Army Ranger and medic, Brown and his unit, 1st Ranger Battalion, were trying to weed out enemy soldiers, many of whom had taken cover deep below ground for the winter, he said.

“Afghanistan is all hills. We were just kind of walking around looking for bad guys,” said Brown of his four-month tour. “We did a lot of convoy protection stuff.”

Six months before that, Brown, a 2001 graduate of Royal High, spent three months in Iraq, also with 1st Ranger Battalion. As a medic, it was his job to care for fellow soldiers, whether badly injured in battle or simply suffering from the common cold.

“I’m like everyone’s mom,” Brown explained. “People are always coming to you, crying this hurts or that hurts. It’s a lot of ‘Hey Doc, I’m sick.’”

The responsibility of maintaining the wellbeing of up to 30 soldiers at a time was an opportunity Brown said he relished. In fact, Brown said, he enjoyed the caretaker role so much that he’s now considering a career in medicine.

“I loved helping my guys, helping take care of them . . . that was one of the biggest things I got out of (my experience). That’s what made me want to be a doctor.”

It’s a possibility, Cochran said, she never would have imagined four years ago, before a Special Forces recruitment video convinced her son that he wanted to be a soldier.

“He was living at home, working at Countrywide and going to (Cal State Northridge), wondering ‘what am I going to do with my life,’” Cochran said. “Now he wants to be a doctor.” Brown left the military earlier

this year after completing his required four years of service. He now resides in Savannah, Ga., not far from Fort Stewart, the home base of 1st Ranger Battalion. Most of his friends are still in the Army, Brown said.

“You get pretty close-knit with everybody when you go through the experiences we did,” he said. “I still hang out with all the guys I used to work with.”

Leaving the military was a difficult decision, Brown said, one that he made at the 11th hour.

“It literally came down to the last days,” he said. “I didn’t want to quit, but I just figured if I really wanted to become a doctor it’d be better and happen faster if I got out now.”

Though his mother hopes otherwise, there are no plans in the future to return to Simi Valley, Brown said. “I love coming home and being around family, but I like it in Savannah,” Brown said. “At least my mom knows I’ll come home for Christmas.”