Major Jim Coffman, United States Marine Corps, Prepares to Deploy to Afghanistan:
Jim
Coffman, ’93, Samford alumnus and decorated USMC Major, is saying
goodbye to his family, friends and his civilian job as a specialty
sales professional for Sanofi-Aventis, for the better part of a year.
Jim, who has successfully completed multiple deployments over his
16-year career, is leading a team of Marines to the volatile southern
region of Afghanistan as a part of the US military’s anti-Taliban
effort.
“Our mission is to help the Afghan people rebuild or
establish their infrastructure,” said Jim. “We realize this war will
not be won with military might. It only sets the parameters. This is a
war against an ideology, and our job is to teach them a better way.
That is our mission. Daunting? Yes. Rewarding? Absolutely.”
During
his years of active duty service, Jim completed missions in Hong Kong,
Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Australia, UAE, Kenya, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The highlight of his Western Pacific deployment was serving as a
defense force against the Iraqi army during Operation Southern Watch.
After 9/11, Jim went to work for the Counter-Terrorism Center at the
Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia. While there, he was
activated by the Marines once again and sent to Iraq in 2003 where he
served with an Infantry unit, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines out of 29
Palms, California.
“My experiences in Iraq were both the best and
worst I’ve ever had. We could see the fruits of our labor every day. We
could see where we were really helping people. The opportunity we have
in Afghanistan is very similar,” he explained. “There are good people
that need help and we will help them. There is no way to describe the
gratitude in these people’s eyes when you build them a new school,
hospital, or playground. Samford showed me what it was to have a real
relationship with God. Now it’s my turn to return that favor to our
university by showing the Afghan people what that means.”
While
at Samford, Jim played football as a defensive back; ran track; was an
active member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity; and sang in the A Cappella
Choir. “I loved Samford and still do,” he said. “I had the opportunity
to attend homecoming last fall – it was a great time and I was able to
reconnect with some very close friends. I’ll have to miss it this year,
but I look forward to being there again in the fall of 2010.”
While
the mission will most certainly be rewarding, it is not without danger.
“We know there are people in Afghanistan who wish us ill. We will do
our best to apprehend and eliminate the threat, thereby protecting our
own National Security.”
While deployed, Jim appreciates the
prayer support of his fellow Samford alumni, “We need all the prayer
cover we can get while we’re over there. I am grateful for the
faithfulness of the Samford community.”
Jim lives in Rome,
Georgia, where he was born and raised. He is deploying to Afghanistan
with the 4th Civil Affairs Group of out of Washington, D.C., and is
expected to return home early summer 2010.