Schools

Iraq-Bound Paratrooper Talks Army Life With Middle-Schoolers

Middle school social studies teacher Michael Wasielewski brought his son, Pfc. Jason Wasielewski, into his classroom to talk to students about life in the military.

The best part about jumping out of a plane is the moment when your parachute expands and you’re simply floating in midair.

“It’s really quiet; you can see all around you,” said paratrooper Pfc. Jason Wasielewski, who spoke to students at Tuesday.

The toughest part of jumping out of a plane is that moment right before you step off the edge.

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No matter how many jumps you’ve taken, he said, “Literally everything in your body goes, ‘What are you doing?’”

A member of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and a 2003 grad, Jason will be deployed to Iraq this May. His father, Field School social studies teacher Michael Wasielewski, served in the army for 21 years and taught helicopter flight school. He brought Jason, 25, to speak to his class as part of their historical study of U.S. conflicts abroad.

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“Everyone has someone in their family that served in the military,” Michael Wasielewski told his students, joking that he was looking for a soldier who could come in and talk to them and that he just happened to find one at home.

Jason, who is the oldest of three children, said part of the reason he enlisted in the military was because of his father, who moved his family to Northbrook and started teaching when he retired from the military in 1994.

“My father was in the army, so I was around army soldiers all the time,” Jason said.

But, he said, serving in the military was not just about following in his father’s footsteps.

“I love America. I love what the United States stands for,” he said. “People have to stand up for our country.”

When Jason is deployed, sometime within the last two weeks of May, he will be among the last cohort of U.S. troops sent to Iraq.

“Maybe you’ll be able to tell your kids, ‘Hey, I met that last soldier that was there,’” he told the seventh-graders.

Students wanted to know about every aspect of military life, beginning with what meals soldier eat, what training is really like—and whether they can order takeout.

Jason, who is stationed in Fort Bragg, NC, said his company gets up at 5 a.m. to work out every morning, running 7 to 8 miles every other day and doing 10-mile marches wearing all their gear once a week.

“There are days you wish you were back at home with Mom and Dad on the couch,” he admitted.  

As for the food?

“I personally use a lot of Tabasco sauce.”

Once he’s in Iraq, Jason said his company will be training Iraqi security forces with the help of interpreters, teaching them more efficient ways of doing their jobs.

“We’re trying to make it safe there so people can go to work there, get an education, go to a playground,” he said.

One student asked whether Jason would reenlist once his three-year service contract is up.

“Good question,” his father commented.

“I have goals to go to flight school one day, like my dad,” he said. But he hadn’t yet decided whether he would reenlist immediately or head straight to flight school.

Another student wanted to know if he, too, would become a social studies teacher like his father. Jason, who studied history and education in college, said that it was a possibility one day. But for right now, he said, “I really love what I do.”

Student Aagam Shah said Jason’s presentation gave him a better understanding of what the U.S. Army is currently doing in Iraq.

“I learned a lot from him, what the army’s like, what he does,” Shah said. “I was wondering, what are they doing?’”

Michael Wasielewski closed out the class with a question of his own.

“What do you see that people can do to support our troops?” he asked his son.

Jason said one of the best things individuals can do is to reach out and thank a soldier in uniform. He recalled the time that a little girl came up to him, recognizing his army fatigues.

“Can you tell my dad when you see him that I say ‘Hi?’” she asked.

It turned out that her father was stationed overseas, and she was too young to understand that Jason didn’t necessarily know him. For Jason, it was an unforgettable moment.

“Just coming up to us and thanking us is why we do what we do,” Jason said. “A simple thank you goes a long way."

 


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