Active duty soldier Staff Sgt. Elroy Brooks has lost more friends in St. Croix to violence and gang-related crimes than he can even count. He left the island in 1996 after his best friend was shot to death and returned this week for the first time in 15 years to attend the funeral of his brother—another shooting victim.

Disillusioned by the crazy “project wars,” he was becoming involved with, Brooks dropped out of the St. Croix Educational Complex and moved to Missouri, where his sister lived, so that he could straighten out his life.

But once there, he quickly found himself wrapped up in the familiar criminal element, ending up in a juvenile detention center where he spent three months.

“I got a glimpse of what prison life might be like, and where my life was headed. So it really made me think,” he said.

All Brooks wanted to do from the time his friend was shot was join the military, but he would have to get his life in order for a few years before the military would accept him. Consequently he got a job, went to college, and then fell in love, which brought him to California, where his daughter and son were born.

Finally, in 2005, he was able to make his dream come true, and he joined the Army as an infantryman. He traveled everywhere but made sure when he was stateside he dedicated all of his time to his kids.

Then, from 2007 to 2009, Brooks spent 15 months in Iraq, where his vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED), and he found himself in a hospital recovering from a severe concussion and traumatic brain injury.

One of his fellow troops lost a leg, and his platoon sergeant died. But he soldiered on—literally—and in 2009 went to Afghanistan for four months.

“I was really nervous for the first deployment, because I didn’t know what to expect, and then once I was there I started realizing that every day could be my last,” he said. “You never know if you’ll be coming back, you know?

“But, I didn’t really have time to think about dying—I was too busy. If someone really has the time to dwell on that, then they’re doing something wrong,” he said.

His unit, the 2nd Stryker Calvary Regiment from Vilsek, Germany, then got called up again in June 2010; and Brooks is now currently on his third deployment in Afghanistan.

At only 30 years old, he has lived more than many do in a lifetime.

The other times Brooks deployed, he was able to speak to his kids every day – either through Skype or Yahoo, or by phone; but this deployment has been extremely tough on him because for the first six months they only had one computer and phone to share between 300 troops.

One way that helps him survive the distance is by giving back to the local Afghan children. On each mission, he sets out to do humanitarian aid by way of care packages he receives from Soldiers’ Angels, a nonprofit organization that donates to troops for such causes.

“The kids in Afghanistan are beautiful. They really give me a sense of peace and clarity. So many of them are appreciative to simplest things in life—like a toothbrush,” he said.

Brooks is extremely fit: his physique looks like that of a body builder. He survives on protein bars and shakes, and ramen noodles. Almost daily, he is hiking a mountain in southern Afghanistan’s rough terrain.

“I really enjoy what I do physically. I get paid to stay in shape,” he smiled.

After so many deployments, it becomes second nature to stay physically fit. When he’s not on a mission and has a little bit of down time, he finds himself working out. Since he’s been home on leave, he has gone running every day.

One day he even went scuba diving twice because he misses the adrenaline.

One thing that has been somewhat hard for him is leaving the battlefield—he feels like he’s leaving the soldiers behind and is anxious to get back to work with his American and Afghan counterparts.

Brooks said that the Taliban has such a strong hold on the local people in Afghanistan, that it’s often difficult for villagers to aid the troops. He explained that the locals are terrified of what might happen if they help.

“For example, one guy told me ‘I would love to help you guys out, but the Taliban will cut my head off, and I have a wife and two small kids at home, what would you do?’”

When he was in northern Afghanistan, Americans had paved a road in a Taliban stronghold so that tribesmen could use it for trade and commerce because it was in such a remote mountainous area. Then, after the soldiers left, the Taliban came back and laid IEDs all over the road and informed villagers they were not allowed to use it.

Brooks was told that when a young boy or woman stepped on an IED, the Taliban, rather than paying the families for their loss, demanded payment for the cost of the IED.

“They [the Taliban] are really messed up. The local Afghans are not like that at all; I really respect their culture and their way of life. They are humble people,” he said.

Another thing that keeps Brooks’ spirits up is mentoring young people. Most of the people serving alongside him are right out of high school, and he tries to keep them culturally aware.

“I try to let these guys know to get rid of the Western mentality that they’re used to. They don’t realize that the Taliban don’t care if a woman or child is in a large area—they will still use them to blow up a crowd,” Brooks commented.

He is clearly no stranger to death, most of his childhood friends on St. Croix are either dead or in prison. His father died a few years ago, and he’s seen countless deaths on the battlefield; and now his brother is gone because, as he put it, “of stupid street violence.”

While sitting at the funeral, he realized how desensitized he had become to death. But one thing that really stuck in his mind was the insanity of mindless gang violence and killing.

“I thought about how I have been doing all these deployments and every day that I’m out there, I could be fighting until my death—but for a cause. My brother died for nothing, and I thought I would be more likely to die than him,” he said staring down.

Leroy Brooks was shot to death on March 12, the 9th homicide in the territory this year.