Receiving an Army education

SSG Golaybah Kamara is the definition of resilience

By J.M. Simpson on January 3, 2023

Asked how he met the challenges he faced growing up in Liberia, SSG Golaybah Kamara said he "accepted the realities and made use of meager resources."

The reality was that while the West African country was engulfed in a civil war, his father passed away when he was 11 years old, and that he was separated from his mother when she was placed in a Guinean refugee camp.

"I missed my father whenever my childhood friends called their daddy in my presence," explained the section sergeant assigned to A Company, 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. "As to my mother, she did not know my whereabouts, and I also had no clue about her."

He recalled hauling water from distant wells, using firewood to prepare food, reading with self-made candles and makeshift lanterns, walking long distances to school, and getting wet in downpours and having to sit in class with wet clothes and shoes.

"Education was a challenge due to the destruction of academic institutions and equipment ... during the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars from 1989 to 2003."

Determined to make a better life for himself, Kamara entered the Diversity Immigrant Program, one designed to diversify the immigrant population in America. He soon found himself living with relatives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"Life was tough and challenging. I had to adapt to a variety of new experiences," he continued.

Kamara enrolled in a trade school, graduated as an HVAC technician, and began work as a maintenance technician for a hotel. Currently, he is pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

Wanting to make more of himself, Kamara enlisted in the Army in 2009 to serve his new country, to earn educational benefits and obtain job security.

"My enlistment in the Army was challenging at first because the Army uses all sorts of acronyms, abbreviations, and jargon," he added. "Things were strange to me ... and I often asked many questions just to get clarity. Over time, I gradually understood what needed to be done."

He understands well. As a section sergeant assigned to the 296th BSB, he is responsible for providing maintenance of petroleum and water equipment, training and mentoring the soldiers he serves with, and providing necessary referrals or resources to help other soldiers' families.

Kamara believes that the leader he is today reflects well on a former platoon sergeant.

"Sergeant Major Errol Brooks guided me and others by treating soldiers with dignity and respect, engaged with his soldiers, worked with his soldiers and participated in all physical training exercises."

As to his future, Kamara wants to make the Army a career and then work in a role that enhances the safety of service members and their families.

"But what I am most proud of is the diversity of the soldiers I have worked with," he concluded. "This is my reality now, and I have been given many resources with which to work."

Asked how he met the challenges he faced growing up in Liberia, SSG Golaybah Kamara said he "accepted the realities and made use of meager resources."

The reality was that while the West African country was engulfed in a civil war, his father passed away when he was 11 years old, and that he was separated from his mother when she was placed in a Guinean refugee camp.

"I missed my father whenever my childhood friends called their daddy in my presence," explained the section sergeant assigned to A Company, 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. "As to my mother, she did not know my whereabouts, and I also had no clue about her."

He recalled hauling water from distant wells, using firewood to prepare food, reading with self-made candles and makeshift lanterns, walking long distances to school, and getting wet in downpours and having to sit in class with wet clothes and shoes.

"Education was a challenge due to the destruction of academic institutions and equipment ... during the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars from 1989 to 2003."

Determined to make a better life for himself, Kamara entered the Diversity Immigrant Program, one designed to diversify the immigrant population in America. He soon found himself living with relatives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"Life was tough and challenging. I had to adapt to a variety of new experiences," he continued.

Kamara enrolled in a trade school, graduated as an HVAC technician, and began work as a maintenance technician for a hotel. Currently, he is pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

Wanting to make more of himself, Kamara enlisted in the Army in 2009 to serve his new country, to earn educational benefits and obtain job security.

"My enlistment in the Army was challenging at first because the Army uses all sorts of acronyms, abbreviations, and jargon," he added. "Things were strange to me ... and I often asked many questions just to get clarity. Over time, I gradually understood what needed to be done."

He understands well. As a section sergeant assigned to the 296th BSB, he is responsible for providing maintenance of petroleum and water equipment, training and mentoring the soldiers he serves with, and providing necessary referrals or resources to help other soldiers' families.

Kamara believes that the leader he is today reflects well on a former platoon sergeant.

"Sergeant Major Errol Brooks guided me and others by treating soldiers with dignity and respect, engaged with his soldiers, worked with his soldiers and participated in all physical training exercises."

As to his future, Kamara wants to make the Army a career and then work in a role that enhances the safety of service members and their families.

"But what I am most proud of is the diversity of the soldiers I have worked with," he concluded. "This is my reality now, and I have been given many resources with which to work."