Decorated Officer in Iraq
|
Adopt an Iraqi Village
 Moved
by the extreme poverty and deprivation of Iraq, Adam took it
upon himself to do more. In his off-duty time, Adam
solicited and distributed distribute school supplies,
kitchen and household items, toys, clothes and blankets to
destitute Iraqis. What began as one man's effort to make a
difference quickly turned into a major operation, the Adopt
an Iraqi Village Program. Thanks in part to some articles
published in several Maine newspapers about the program,
Adam received well over 1,600 packages from Maine families
and organizations wanting to help, and the Adopt an Iraqi
Village Program delivered items to dozens of villages
throughout Iraq.
Since Adam's return from
Iraq, he continues to run the Adopt
an Iraqi Village Program and has expanded its efforts to
include humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
|
Adam
served as an officer in Mosul, Iraq with Maine's 133rd Engineer
Battalion from March 2004 until February 2005. Adam led well over
100 convoys in Iraq. He was also in charge of multiple
reconstruction efforts in Iraq, including schools and medical
clinics.
Adam was in the mess hall on the U.S.
base in Mosul on December 21, 2004 when a suicide bomber walked in
and blew himself up, killing or wounding over one hundred soldiers
and civilians. Adam was one of the few soldiers on the scene
uninjured in the attack and he quickly assessed the situation and
organized efforts to treat and evacuate casualties. He
personally treated numerous casualties and stayed on the scene until
everyone had been evacuated. Adam was awarded an Army
Commendation Medal for his leadership during the attack.
Adam was, and continues to be,
extremely frustrated at the poor decisions made by politicians in
Washington concerning the war in Iraq.
Peacekeeping in Bosnia
Out
of a sense of service to his country, Adam opted to enlist in the
U.S. Army Reserves as a military policeman after his graduation from
Colby. Soon after graduation from basic and advanced individual
training at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, Adam was deployed to
Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission,
Operation Joint Guard.
Adam served in Bosnia from October
1997 until April 1998, where he was involved in apprehending several
war criminals wanted by the Hague; organized a "Toys for
Tots" program in his platoon to distribute toys and stuffed
animals to the children of Bosnia ravaged by war; volunteered to
teach English at a Bosnian High School; and arranged, with the help
of the Saco Bay Rotary Club, for the son of his interpreter, Ognjen
"Ogy" Nickolic, to come to Maine to study at Thornton
Academy in Saco.
