2007 Summer

A Student Soldier

By Staff ⋅ August 15, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅

You would think serving in Iraq as an Army Reservist would stall a college career, but not so for Flagler student Matt Fast. Fast, who was studying psychology before he was called up for active duty in 2006, is still working toward his degree while serving in the war-torn country.

He arrived last October and has been earning transferable credits through American Military University online courses. “There are a lot of college students who are soldiers,” Fast said.

“In fact, I yell at my battle buddies for not taking online courses while they are here.”

Ultimately, Fast wants to pursue law enforcement on a federal level. He said his military experience could help him in a variety of future career paths.

But it’s not easy. He works 12-hour shifts, six days a week at Baghdad Central Facility, a military prison that houses high value targets.

“I work in what can literally be considered the smallest confined place with the deadliest people on Earth,” Fast said. “I am learning way too much from my time here.”

His main job is to organize the evidence files of prison detainees for the Pentagon, the FBI and the CIA. It’s boring, Fast said, but he gets constant Internet access. He copes with the stress and danger of his post – mortar explosions near the compound are commonplace – by keeping in touch with family and friends.

Fast now expects he will be “boots off ground” and back attending classes at Flagler this fall. He plans to graduate with a degree in psychology in 2008.