The transition from the battlefield to home is a difficult journey for many soldiers. In the case of Dusty Caso, it was a matter of living up to a promise he made to himself while serving in Iraq.
He saw all manner of horrors during his tour of duty, and the memories of what happened — especially to children — remained clear in his mind.
Though he preferred not to describe any of the things he saw in Iraq, he decided to dedicate himself to helping children.
“I had a revelation in Iraq,” he said. “I made a promise to myself that I would help kids. I’ve been working to live up to the promise for more than 10 years”
Just 17 when he enlisted in the Army, Caso made the decision to join based on what he saw happening in New York City, Somerset, Pa. and Washington, D.C.
“I watched 3,000 Americans die on live television,” he said. He was soon off to Fort Benning, Ga., for basic training.
“Basic training was a cakewalk,” Caso joked. ”As long as the drill sergeant didn’t know your name, you were OK.”
Eventually, Caso was assigned to the 82nd Airborne division where he went to advanced individual training to learn how to safely jump out of airplanes.
“Before my first jump I was a little nervous. But when the green light goes on, you jump,” said Caso. “We made two jumps a day and had to have five safe jumps to pass.”
In 2005, Caso flew to Afghanistan with his unit. Their mission was simple: Provide security for the first-ever Afghanistan election. Osama Bin Laden’s name was never mentioned and after a few missions, the deployment became part of a routine.
“There were a few minor skirmishes but nothing much,” Caso said.
In 2006 the 82nd group was sent to Iraq for what was to be a four month deployment that lasted 17 months.
“It was an experimental deployment that was a joint special operation. What we did was called house clearance,” he said. “We went door-to-door to hunt down terrorists. We were air dropped from helicopters and in 48 to 96 hours, had an area cleaned out. There was a lot of gunfire and hand-to-hand combat. My unit killed or captured more terrorists than any other unit up until then.”
When he arrived home it took more than three months to readjust. A friend of his had a hard time with the readjustment and Caso convinced him to seek counseling and psychological help.
“I had a hard time, too,” he said.”I did a lot of volunteer work and started working as much as possible. I had to keep myself busy. So I joined the National Guard and worked two jobs.”
Caso soon discovered the way he could further deliver on his promise. He was a Big Brother and worked for the Centre County Youth Service Bureau. He is currently managing a CCYSB home for boys and is an active member of an organization that helps abused kids.
“It is a group that has a national and international presence,” he said.
He does it all to deliver on a promise that now guides his entire life.
