Community Corner

Local Veteran: "The Best Fight Against Terrorism is Education"

The first article in Darien Patch's series "10 Years Later" about the local impact of Sept. 11. Want to share your story? Email lauren.williamson@patch.com.

They say knowledge is power. Brad Drake, of Darien, IL, found that nowhere is that more true than during war.

Drake, who joined the Army Reserves in 1999, would serve two tours in Afghanistan after Sept. 11 as a sergeant in the military police, guarding prisons in Bagram and Kandahar.

Drake, now 29, immersed himself in the job, learning quickly that there was more to guarding detainees than locking them in a cell. 

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He studied their mannerisms, learned the language Pashto, read the Koran and sought the meanings of common Afghan tattoos.

“I took a lot of pride in realizing we weren’t just there to do a job and get out,” he said. “We were there to learn something.”

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The nuances he learned were crucial. Putting two detainees from warring tribes in the same cell, for example, could prove disastrous.

Between tours, Drake devoured every book he could on Afghanistan, terrorism and the Taliban.

Eventually, he taught classes to other servicemen and women about Afghan history and culture. 

Drake’s hunger for knowledge continues in his civilian life—and is something he encourages in all Americans. 

“The best fight against terrorism is education,” he said.


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