Sunday Interview with Colin Boley: ‘There’s nothing an American soldier won’t do to accomplish what he needs to accomplish’

Colin Boley is an American soldier. He’s in the less than 1 percent of volunteers fighting this nation’s battles.

The Pittsburgh native and Smiths Station resident has served 15 combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with the 75^th Ranger Regiment and is currently assigned to Fort Benning.

Recently, Ledger-Enquirer reporter Chuck Williams and photographer Mike Haskey sat down with Boley to talk about service, sacrifice and the Fourth of July.

Here are excerpts of that interview, edited for length and clarity.

Q: What does the Fourth of July mean to you?

A: There’s a lot of different meanings for the Fourth of July. I don’t really put any emphasis on the Fourth of July, because Fourth of July, in essence, we call it Independence Day, where a lot of people think that this is the day where we gained out independence from Britain, which isn’t exactly the truth. It wasn’t even signed on the Fourth of July. My opinion is the Fourth of July is every day. ... Can we really put a day on freedom? Because every day should be freedom, especially here.

Q: The Fourth of July is another day?

A: It’s another day for me.

Q: Do you look at it as a holiday?

A: I get a day off of work, absolutely. Get to see some fireworks. Every day, you should be celebrating Independence Day if you’re living in the United States. I think they only earmarked the Fourth of July because the final draft was approved through the Continental Congress on the Fourth of July, and you look at Adams, and you look at Jefferson, and ironically enough they both died on the Fourth of July.

Q: You’ve been in the Army 20 years. Why did you enlist?

A: I actually signed up to go see the recruiter in high school, in the library. It was just a tool to skip class. Little did I know that that recruiter was going to follow me like a crazed dog for months and knock on my door, even after graduation, because he had my name. I had dodged that recruiter, which I believe was a National Guard recruiter, and I told him I had diabetes and I had all kind of stuff that I couldn’t maybe join the Army. I was speaking to my step-dad at one point, and I was like, “How do I get this guy to stop showing up at the house?” He’s like, “Tell him if you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it right, and you’re going to go active duty.” I told him that, and he left me alone, and two weeks later an active duty component recruiter showed up at my house, and he was a good enough guy, so I joined the Army.

Q: Glad you did?

A: Absolutely.

Q: How did 9/11 change the world?

A: Takes a lot more time for me to fly somewhere. That’s a huge victory for them, but how did it change the world? I don’t think it changed the world, specifically, as much as it changed us and how we approach — how we look at — the melting pot of the world, which is us. We were basically naïve, I think, at some point. ... Nobody can touch us on American soil, and they did, and they did it pretty spectacularly. I can’t tell you how it changed the world. I can tell you how it changed the Army, and changed the American people’s way of life.

Q: How did it change you, as somebody who was already in the Army?

A: You grow up in the Army, and some people join the Army for different reasons. Some do it for college money. Some do it because they had no direction in life. Some do it because they wanted to serve their country, and some do it, like me, you had nothing better going on at the time and that recruiter wouldn’t leave you alone. For whatever reason you joined, 9/11 opened a lot of eyes to, like, “Holy s---, I joined the Army!” It just became reality. I had since been in Ranger Regiment when 9/11 happened, so every day in a Ranger Regiment you’re training for war, and every day you’re hoping for war.

Q: Hoping for war? What do you mean?

A: You’re training every day. You’re out there doing it, and you want to test yourself. You want to put your training to the test, and that’s what you’re here to do.

Q: Fifteen deployments, starting what year?

A: 2001.

Q: 9/11 certainly changed your world.

A: Changed my lifestyle. It absolutely did.

Q: Does the average American citizen understand the sacrifices that a soldier in an elite unit like that makes?

A: No. I don’t think the average American citizen understands the Fourth of July versus Veterans Day versus Memorial Day, let alone sacrifice for the military. I think they have an idea of what sacrifice is, but I don’t think they fully understand the concept of the sacrifice. Look at Memorial Day. People wish me a happy Memorial Day and thank me for my service. That’s not what Memorial Day is for. Veterans Day is for that. Memorial Day is to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this country — to remember those people — so don’t thank me on Memorial Day. If you want to thank me, thank me on Veterans Day. That’s what it’s for, Veterans Day.

Q: I noticed on your Facebook feed, you and some of your buddies did a motorcycle ride on Memorial Day that ended up at a cemetery.

A: We did, yes.

Q: What were you doing?

A: We had a JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) (Josh Gavulic) that served with us on numerous rotations overseas. He was killed in a parachuting accident Feb. 21, 2014, so every year we go out there and visit him.

Q: What cemetery?

A: Fort Mitchell. It’s on us to remember those people. The other day, Muhammad Ali died. He died and what did he really do for me? He didn’t do anything for me, but I look at the same timeframe, we had a little under a dozen soldiers from Fort Hood get killed in a flood. You didn’t hear much about those soldiers. All you heard was about Muhammad Ali. He’s not a hero to me. He dodged the draft. He’s a sports icon. That’s all he was to me. He was an entertainer. He wasn’t fighting for life or death. I think that we put too much emphasis on celebrity status, rather than the real heroes like (U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame members) Ralph Puckett, the David Granges. Those are the real heroes that paved our way — Leonard Lomell and everybody else.

Q: You’re talking about guys that are decorated war heroes.

A: Absolutely, warrior leaders.

Q: Who are your heroes? I know you named a couple there.

A: There’s a lot of heroes. They say when you go through the Army, you take your leadership style — good and bad — from people you served with or people you’ve been around. I didn’t have to serve with a lot of these people. I just had to meet them a few times. Ralph Puckett, far and beyond, he’s huge in the community here — he’s huge in the Ranger community, and in the Army. He’s an icon. He’s definitely a hero of mine.

Q: He’s somebody you’ve gotten to know pretty well, too.

A: Absolutely. He’s definitely a role model for anybody, both civilian and military. I met Leonard Lomell at Grandcamp-Maisy at Pointe du Hoc. ... Just what he did on D-Day and then throughout life. After meeting him, he was a huge impact. Then you have the guys around here, the Matt Walkers, the (Doug) Greenways. All those people that showed me what right looked like throughout my career, and they have a huge impact.

Q: What’s the most important trait you found in a good, effective leader?

A: Don’t forget where you came from. That’s the biggest thing: don’t forget where you came from. Be open to conversation and understand that your old dog ain’t going to learn a new trick anymore, so you have to listen to the younger guys and be open to conversation and criticism. If you forget where you came from, you ain’t going to make it.

Q: When you say where you came from, what do you mean?

A: Growing up, or in your career. I was a private. I was burning s--- in Afghanistan. I was mowing lawns. I was turning over sand. I was waxing floors, and then at some point, I became a team leader, and I was training marksmanship, training battle drills. As you further progress in your career, you forget those very important traits that got you where you were, and that’s marksmanship, whatever it may be, because you’re like, “Hey, I’ve been there, done that. I don’t need to do it anymore.”

Q: What have the deployments taught you?

A: There’s nothing unachievable — nothing an American soldier won’t do to accomplish what he needs to accomplish. There’s nothing out there we’ll say we can’t do.

Q: Is that a human spirit or an American spirit?

A: I would like to think it’s an American spirit, but I don’t think it is. I think it’s a warrior instinct.

Q: Are warriors born or warriors made?

A: That’s a million dollar question. You have true warriors and you have street warriors. The true warriors are the ones that perform when it needs to happen. The street warriors are the ones that talk about performing that have never been proven. ... The mentality, I think you’re born with. I think we can grow on the mentality, but when you look at the regiment, it depends on what you want to do. Some people call me a warrior. Some people call me a leader. When I retire and I die and I’m 30 years down the road, I want people to remember and say, “Hey, he was a great leader.” Being a leader, first, I’d rather be a leader of warriors. I’m not here to pave my own path. I’ll let those kids pave the path for me. Warrior is something that happens. It’s an instinct that happens, that you gain that notoriety as a warrior, but it only comes through being a good leader.

Q: What do you know about our enemies that you wish the rest of the country knew?

A: They have nothing to lose. When you have nothing to lose, you’re fighting on a level that they do. We call it what it is, religious war or whatever. It’s basically what it looks like now, is they believe it’s right. God’s telling them to do that. There’s nothing they won’t stop to do. They don’t fear American boots on the ground. They only respect that, and they’re very resourceful, so they can take it.

Q: When you say resourceful, what do you mean?

A: In the beginning of this, if you look at the enemy force we were going up against, they’re not the British Army or the American Army. They’re not uniformed, and if they are uniformed, they’re very ill-uniformed. Their equipment isn’t maintained, but they seem to always find a way to use water displacement and IEDs and ...

Q: They’re lethal, right?

A: They’re absolutely lethal, and they’ve proven it. They have no ROE (Rules of Engagement) that restricts them from anything. They can just do what they want. We are bound by ROE. They don’t care who they kill in the path of blowing something up.

Q: What do you say when you have deployed into these situations and you’ve got a kid who’s getting ready to go out on his first mission? What do you tell that guy?

A: “You trained your whole life for this. We train as we fight. Just do what you’re doing in training. You’ll be fine.”

Q: You talked about somebody wishing you a happy Memorial Day. What do you say when somebody comes up to you and says, “Thanks for your service?” It’s almost cliché.

A: I hate when people do that, actually. I tell them, “Don’t thank me, thank the kids that are doing it today.” I joined the Army, it was pre-9/11. These kids that are joining the Army post-9/11, especially the ones the joined the Army in 2002, 2004, 2006, they joined the Army knowing. You look at the first — 2001 to 2003 — it wasn’t as terrible. The IEDs weren’t as prevalent. You get into 2004, we’re in Iraq, we’re in Afghanistan. The guerrilla warfare and the means that the enemy was using and the tactics they were using was starting to put a toll on the American soldiers and the coalition. You join the Army at that point in time, you know you’re joining and coming to the fight. Thank those guys. Don’t thank me. My service is done. I’m at the end of my career.

Q: How much longer have you got?

A: I have a couple more years left in me.

Q: What are you going to do when you get through?

A: I always tell people I’ll be a rodeo clown. Go back to Pittsburgh, be a rodeo clown. Not much rodeos in Pittsburgh, so I’ll work my own hours.

Q: When you think Pittsburgh, you think tough guy. Steel City. ... Does that precede you when you ...

A: You ask anybody from Pittsburgh, I don’t think that they perceive themselves as that. We perceive ourselves as the city of champions. Ask the Penguins. (Laughter)

Q: Let me ask you about that. You talk about Ali and sports, and the sports guys may be iconic but they’re not heroes. You’re a huge sports fan, right?

A: Huge.

Q: What do you get out of sports?

A: Pride in my city. That’s it. I have my favorite sports players throughout Pittsburgh. Very few outside the city, but I don’t watch sports because I care about what one player’s doing. I care what my teams are doing and what it does for my city.

Q: Who’s your favorite Pirate?

A: Andy Van Slyke would be my all time favorite Pirate, if you don’t go back toward the (Roberto) Clemente days.

Q: Who’s your favorite Steeler?

A: Hines Ward, hands down.

Q: That’s a Georgia guy.

A: Yeah. I know, it was rough.

Q: Who’s your favorite Penguin?

A: Lemieux. Goes without saying.

Q: When you’re home, do you go to a lot of games?

A: I try to. It’s easier for me to get to a Steeler game than it is a Penguins game, just based on timeframe of leave.

Q: What would you tell the guy leaving the recruiting station this summer?

A: A lot of these kids around here, I know their parents and if they go in the Army, they always want me to come talk to them and give them some “Win One For The Gipper” speech before they go to basic training. Coming from me, I don’t think basic training was hard. I think it’s just getting past that culture shock.

Q: What do you tell them about the life they’re about to live?

A: This life is good. Everybody bitches about the pay and bitches about the hours and ... it’s a good life. If I had to go back and do it five different times, if somebody’s like, “You can go to college and be a lawyer, you can go to college and do that, or you can go work construction, or you can go be a rodeo clown right off the bat,” I would still take this job. Absolutely, 100 percent.

Q: You don’t have any regrets for doing it.

A: Nah. ... There’s definitely different performers in the Army. You can be a mediocre performer in the Army and maintain a paycheck every two weeks. Tell that to a contractor out in Phenix City who’s trying to build houses and he puts in a sink upside down. The roof ain’t square, or the foundation’s cracking. You do two houses like that, guess what, bud, you ain’t building no more houses. If you’re a mediocre performer in the Army, you’re going to still get a paycheck.

Q: ... Can you talk about the price of war as a soldier?

A: People come back and they’re visibly scarred. I tell them, “You could be the guy in the ground. You’re lucky to be here.” Granted, you might have a visible wound. The guy next to you doesn’t have that visible wound anymore. Be thankful that you are still breathing on this earth. You can’t really put a measure on that, on the price of war. People go through the motions on different levels, so I can’t really speak for everything, and I spoke with a very well respected PTSD doctor out of Tampa. She’s very well renowned. She’s one of the best in the area for special operations. She was asking me what my take on PTSD was and my opinion. She enlightened me on what it really is. I think a lot of people manipulate that PTSD. But it definitely does exist.

Q: You deployed 15 times. You had to go away and come back 15 different times from a civilian situation to a combat zone, back to normal American life. How do you handle that?

A: I’m a weird egg, I guess — everybody says this. I think I have a pretty easy transition. It’s the people around you. I wasn’t in the Regular Army, so I had a lot of good “We’re in it together,” so I think the biggest and hardest transition for me was figuring out what the hell they did to Fort Benning and all the new roads they’ve put in there. For the most part, I don’t think the transition for me was very hard. Right, wrong, or indifferent, we make it as Americanized overseas as we possibly can. You have the Internet. You have your Burger Kings, you have your Starbucks — it’s called Green Bean over there. You still get that glimpse of home. At the USO shows.

Q: Define American soldier.

A: Somebody willing to lay down his life for the man or woman next to him. That’s an American soldier. American soldiers aren’t selfish. I don’t give a s--- what happens to me. I give a s--- what happens to my men. If it means that I go in the breach or I check the bomb first and then my young soldiers can go on and completely do what they need to do, that’s what the American soldier is. They’re not fighting for themselves. There’s nothing in it for ourselves. We fight for what’s back here. We fight for this Fourth of July weekend, to go watch fireworks and drink beer and go on the river. We fight for Veterans Day just so we can hear some college kids tell us, “Thanks for your service.” We fight for what’s back here so that everybody else can have that weekend, have that day at the beach. That’s what we joined the Army to do. That’s what the American soldier’s for, is selfless acts. We care more about others than ourselves.

Q: To you, what’s the thing that says America more than anything else?

A: Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s America’s Team, isn’t it? What’s the most American thing? The flag. If somebody says to me what’s the most American to me, it’s our flag. I’m not a big inanimate object kind of guy, but if you look at that flag, the flag means a lot. I’m not one of those guys that’ll go crazy in the public about it, but that flag that you’re stepping on and burning, it’s all because that flag gives you a right to do that. That’s it. Then people don’t understand that. That flag’s given you every opportunity to be successful and you’re s------ on my flag right now. When you think of what’s the most American think about America, it’s our flag. It’s our colors. It’s American Dream. You either take it for what it’s worth or get out of my country.

Q: Are you serious about the rodeo clown thing?

A: Hell, yeah. You ever see those dudes?

Q: If you hadn’t joined, what would you have done?

A: There’s no telling. There’s no telling. I could have cured cancer, or I could be on the streets. I don’t know. There’s no telling.

This story was originally published July 2, 2016 at 8:24 PM with the headline "Sunday Interview with Colin Boley: ‘There’s nothing an American soldier won’t do to accomplish what he needs to accomplish’."