Kalispell brothers want to serve in Iraq together

Chris and Spencer Smith remember playing war "all the time" as young boys growing up in Kalispell. In a few months, they'll face the real thing together as Spencer, 18, joins his older brother in Iraq.

They didn't always get along as brothers. Truth is, they fought openly and often. But it's hard to ignore the genetic pull that binds siblings together.

Chris, 20, now an Army specialist in line for a promotion to sergeant next month, came home on leave to surprise his younger brother at his recent graduation from the Montana Youth ChalleNGe program in Dillon. Four years earlier, Spencer, who was enrolled at an Idaho youth ranch at the time, came home to surprise Chris at his graduation from the same program.

Chris has Spencer's birthstone in his class ring; Spencer has Chris' birthstone in his class ring.

When it came time to decide on a future, the Army was a logical choice, Spencer said. It's his ticket to an education afterward, when he plans to get an associate degree in the recording arts at a Florida college. He writes hip-hop music.

But brotherly love plays into the decision, too.

"I'll request to be in the same division as Chris," Spencer said.

Chris was barely 17 when he joined the Army in January 2002, and was among the youngest soldiers to roll into Iraq during the early months of the war. He was a marksman assigned to a Bradley fighting vehicle with the 1st Armored Division. He spent 15 months in Iraq and is currently stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., with the 101st Airborne Division until he ships out again for Iraq in a couple of months.

He was scheduled for a February 2006 discharge but re-enlisted for two more years.

"I felt it would be selfish to quit now," he said.

A good friend in his division also has a brother in the same company, so Chris is hoping Spencer will be able to join him eventually after he completes his basic training.

Chris' time in Iraq was an unending flurry of patrols and raids, scanning his surroundings for improvised explosive devices.

"It's a job," he simply stated.

A very dangerous job, though.

One of Chris' best friends was killed in a freak accident at a checkpoint inside the Baghdad airport, when a power surge caused a Bradley fighting vehicle to discharge, striking his friend in the back of the head.

"It was hard, but there wasn't time to think about it," he said. "It might suck, but you have to keep going. It's a way of life there. You can't think about it to the point of putting others in danger."

Frankly, he said, he's more worried about surviving the brutal heat in Iraq than he is about getting killed.

"I know I'm trained well, and I'll use all that I've learned," he said.

Reflecting matter of factly on his role in Iraq, Chris tends to look at the big picture of war.

"People have to die to get things done in the world," he expounded. "There are 3,000 patrols a day [in Iraq] and if one person dies - if I died - it's progress being made in Iraq becoming free. I believe in God and I know everyone has their own time to die."

Progress is being made daily in Iraq, but that's not always the story that plays out in the national news.

"It's a lot different that in the news because dead people sell," Chris said. "On a day-to-day basis, there are schools going up, sewers going in, and better living conditions being created, but you don't see that on the news."

In the early months of the war, he remembers patrolling streets where sewer mains had burst, and slogging through sewage to get his job done. That situation has greatly improved.

Chris, like his younger brother, is looking forward to a career beyond military service. His goal is to become a deputy with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office. He returned to Fort Campbell to resume active duty.

Spencer is anxious to get on with the next chapter of his life. He'll be training to be a combat engineer.

"I'm stoked. I really want to go. I'll enjoy my new adventure," the younger Smith said. "Of course, one of the staff members [at Montana Youth ChalleNGe] said 'don't wish for action. You just might get it.' "

The brothers' mother, Susan Smith of Kalispell, is still adjusting to the reality of having two sons in harm's way.

She raised the boys as a single mother, and admits they've had some rough times along the way. That they've both risen above the adversity and are making something of their lives makes her proud.

"Sometimes it's really frightening to think of having them both over there," she said. "But God is able to protect them here or there, and I've always told them it's better to die living than to live trying to avoid dying."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com