Army Infantry Specialist: Brent Riley

Army Infantry Specialist Brent Riley takes a break
near the Iran border.

Local resident Brent Riley was an Army Infantry Specialist for the U.S. He first joined when he was 18-years-old.

Riley was first deployed at nineteen.

“I wanted to go fight terrorists and see the world,” said Riley.

He also has family members who are veterans. His grandfather fought in WWI and his cousin was in the army as well.

He was on active duty for five and a half years. During that time he was deployed every other year. He spent 15 months in Baghdad in 2006 and 12 months in the Diyala province in 2008.

Riley was in combat infantry, which means that he kicked down doors, cleared houses, captured high value targets, missions, patrols, raids, firefights, and security.

After his five years of off-and-on deployment Riley was honorably discharged. He was ready to be a civilian and own his life once again.

“It was a good and bad experience,” said Riley.

He loved the friends he made and the bonds they forged in war. When he lost people he loved in the war it was a difficult experience for him.

“Being in the service has made me a better person,” said Riley.

Life wasn’t easy for Riley after being discharged. He had to readjust his way of thinking about the people around him. He had to form new relationships with people. He had better bonds with his combat pals than his wife and family because of what they went through together.

“Life is great now. No one has shot at me since I left Iraq, so every day is a good day,” said Riley.

After his stint in the army he has no regrets. Even the loss of his combat pals and the lack of sleep he still has no regrets. Everything that he went through only made him a stronger individual.

Currently Riley is finishing up his bachelor’s degree and wants to continue on with his education to complete his master’s. When he is finished with school he would like to move to Central Oregon. He would like to be a business systems analyst when he completes his college career.

Once moved to Central Oregon “I would like to hunt, fish, snowboard, and drink beer until he’s old and dead,” said Riley.

Fighting for your country and rights isn’t for everyone. It takes a certain kind of individual. Army Infantry Specialist Brent Riley is the that kind of individual.