When the invasion phase of the war in Iraq ended in May 2003, many with CENTCOM returned to the United States. Others, such as Navy Lieutenant Sean McDougal and Air Force Major Randolph Winge (Troll) were given different tasks.
“My job was to help the Third Infantry Division take over the Navy portion of Iraq that is the port of Umm Qsar,” McDougal said. Umm Qsar is a fishing village that served as Iraq’s main naval base under Saddam Hussein’s regime.
When internal military politics prevented that plan from going as expected, McDougal decided to keep busy and productive by doing what he could. He employed his engineering and electrical skills. His diligence soon caught the attention of those in suits.
“What I ended up doing was sleeping in this giant building that needed a lot of repairs. I went around fixing swamp coolers giant five-foot diameter fans that rely on garden hoses to moisten and cool the air,” he explained.
“One night at 2 a.m. this gentleman came up to me. He wasn’t wearing a uniform, but a business suit. He asked me what I was doing,” McDougal said, explaining that he was fixing refrigerators that weren’t cooling properly.
“How do you know that?” the man asked.
“Sir, I’m in the Navy; my job is to do damage control.”
“Well, what’s that?”
“Sir, for example, if a bomb were to hit the corner of this building, my job would be to reroute the electricity, plumbing, air conditioning, and everything, put in temporary fixes, and then fix everything back up to normal specifications,” McDougal explained.
The next day, McDougal saw the man in the business suit walking and talking with his skipper at chow time. They spoke again.
The next day his skipper gave McDougal the news, “Sean, you and Troll are going to Baghdad.”
“Excuse me, what do you mean?” McDougal asked.
“Well, the ambassador asked for you.”
“What ambassador and what are you talking about?”
“Well, the ambassador you spoke with last night and today.”
The ambassador was Walter Slocum and he wanted McDougal and his buddy Troll to go into Baghdad and help fix up the palaces.
“The whole reason I went to Baghdad was because I was bored late one night and decided to help out the guys in the Third ID by fixing a refrigerator that wasn’t cooling their water bottles,” McDougal explained.
Diligence and hard work opened the door for McDougal to a new opportunity. He became part of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, led by Slocum.
Thank you for the blessing you provide as the result of diligence and hard work.
“Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.” (Proverbs 22:29)