The war began October 7, 2001, weeks after the September 11 attacks, when President George W. Bush announced U.S. Strikes on al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military installations. The effort lasted 20 years and claimed several thousand more American lives.
Stout watched the 9/11 coverage in junior high. That, plus his father's military service, led him to JROTC in high school. He enlisted in the Army after graduating in 2008. A year later, he was in Afghanistan.
Stout knew enlisting during the War on Terror meant deployment. The reality still hit fast. He remembers waking up to a firefight with bullets flying over his head. "It was very intense, very quick," he said. "There's no reset button."
The terrain made it harder. Stout called it "harsh and unforgiving," with soldiers hauling ammo and water up and down the mountains until some needed IVs. He described the firefights with Taliban forces as the "Wild West." Even so, he said he did not feel afraid until one particularly harrowing fight.