"When you take a chance for the good of your Paratroopers it pays back two-fold."

Graffiti in a combat zone is common. Mostly it covers the stalls in latrines, barrier walls, back of a bus seat, or anywhere where a soldier is idle for more than a few moments. As I rode a bus through the dusty streets of Al Asad Air Base, I scanned the back of the seat in front of me with various artistic representations of the standard stick man, poor attempts at poetry and other various forms of "art." Then one note caught my eye; it said "CSM Love…" Various phrases had been written and scratched out, but the last one, in bold, stayed.

You could tell it had been there a while; it wasn't recent. You could even tell it had been rewritten a few times as the ink faded. It said: "Is the man." Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Love is the man I was sent to interview to learn about the history of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, now the 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, and the units long relationship with U.S. operations in Iraq.

When I sat down to write this story, I wasn't quite sure how this interview could have something new and groundbreaking or be able to shed light into the history. The topic I was directed to write on was the sacrifice of the 2/82 paratroopers in conjunction with the unit's direct link to the war in Iraq. But, let's be honest, the mentality of the 82nd Airborne Division is that we are the best at everything, we are paratroopers. We are willing to jump out of airplanes for kicks. It's not sacrifice, it's a profession, and we do it. Everything is "too easy."

But what I found in the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment's Senior Enlisted Adviser, was an influential, dedicated, and caring leader hidden behind a deep Alabama accent and gruff exterior. What I found was a true professional, who embodies the spirit of the "Falcon Brigade."

Before flying from Camp Ramadi to Al-Asad, to spend a week with Love, I asked fellow paratroopers, who had been with the 2/82 for an extended period of time, about Love and if they had any stories about him. Some stories were the standard fare about "old" sergeants major and some were outrageous or hardly believable. One such tall-tale was that he had glued his teeth back in during an earlier deployment to Iraq.

"One Christmas, when I was a kid, all I wanted was this white 12-speed bicycle with black handle-grips," Love said.

On that holiday, he got the bike he wanted, but the rule at his house was that guest got to use the best stuff and you played with what was left over, Love went on to describe.