U.S. Army Sgt. Rob Pabel and his wife, Katie, stand outside the U.S. Army recruiting office at 1990 S. Frontage Road. (C. Todd Sherman The Vicksburg Post)

[03/16/03]U.S. Army Sgt. Rob Pabel has been stationed at the Vicksburg recruiting office for almost two years, and as a war with Iraq looms, he’s ready for action.

“I’ll go right now,” Pabel said. “I’ll go because I want to and because it’s my job.”

Nearly 250,000 U.S. troops, including about 4,500 from Mississippi, have been deployed for a possible war with Iraq, and though some would think Pabel’s continued assignment out of the line of fire tucked safely in an office at Sack and Save Plaza would be a plum, the 10-year soldier sees it as bad luck.

“I’m not a war mongrel. I don’t want to kill everybody in Iraq,” he said. “I just want to do my job.

“I want to know if I can still do my job when everyone is shooting at me and if people I trained are being shot at,” he said. “Those are questions I really would like answered.”

Before moving to Vicksburg, Pabel, 30, had been stationed at military bases in Georgia, South Korea, North Carolina and Alaska, but never got the call he wanted.

He spent nine months at Fort Bragg, N.C., waiting on an alert to go to Bosnia. Immediately after he left the unit, members were deployed overseas.

“I’ve been in the Army 10 years, and every time a conflict has come up, I’ve either just left that unit or I’m on leave,” he said.

While stationed in Korea, a fight broke out between North Korea special forces and American soldiers.

“I was in Florida on vacation just chilling out,” he said.

Pabel said finding Osama bin Laden, the suspected leader of the terrorist group behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks on the United States, is what he considers the most important mission for the military right now.

“Every soldier wants to be the guy who storms the palace or goes into the cave,” he said. “I’ve never talked to anyone on active duty who wouldn’t kill to be the one who brings him down.”

Pabel joined the Army in 1992 after a stint at a community college near his home in Fort Walton, Fla. College wasn’t for him, he said.

“I was a total loser,” he said. “I would have been that guy who was in college for eight years and changed his major 12 times.”

Though he’s not thrilled about his desk job in Vicksburg, Pabel said being a recruiter has given him an opportunity to make a difference in young people’s lives.

“The Army can help pay for college or get them out of Vicksburg,” he said. “They can learn how to do something more than how to say, Would you like fries with that?'”

He also likes the fact that the assignment allows him to be home with wife of nine years, Katie.

“Although I go home late every night, I do go home every night,” he said. “My wife may be asleep when I get there, but at least I’m sleeping next to her and not on the ground next to one of my buddies.”

For Katie, his leaving would be tough, but she understands his duty.

“It’s hard for him because most of his friends and co-workers are going, and he’s missed so many opportunities,” she said. “But I’m relieved right now.”

The couple married just before he was deployed to South Korea, and Katie Pabel said she worked to stay busy.

“I wrote him letters each night. That was my way of talking to him every night before I went to sleep,” she said. “That helped.”

Despite being disappointed about not seeing much action, Pabel said being a soldier is the only job he’d ever want to have.

“I love it,” he said. “I don’t ever want to get out.”

Pabel explained his passion for his job because of the excitement.

Pabel’s enthusiasm is contagious for his fellow soldiers.

“He’s a true soldier,” said Sgt. Monica Ragsdale. “I have a lot of respect for those people.”

Sgt. First Class Marilyn Knighten said Pabel’s reason for being in the Army is the red, white and blue. “Sgt. Pabel is the essence of what we think of when we think of the Army,” she said.

Pabel is expected to be reassigned in May 2004 and though his next destination is not decided, he said he’s asked to return to Fort Bragg.

“They go places,” he said and smiled.