After graduating Officer Candidates School in March of 2006, he entered an Infantry Officer Course, graduating in December of that year. The next year, Matthew was stationed at Camp Pendleton until he was deployed for his first tour of duty in the town of Anah in Al-Anbar Province in Western Iraq. He began a long process of studying the history and cultures of the Middle East. He learned to speak Arabic.
During that tour, he was injured by a roadside IED and suffered a concussion. Despite his injury, he was able to put a tourniquet on the bleeding leg of a comrade, saving his life. He was Medevaced to al-Asad Air Force Base and insisted that he be turned to his men as soon as he was cleared for duty. Information provided by the Manoukian family.
After graduating Officer Candidates School in March of 2006, he entered an Infantry Officer Course, graduating in December of that year. The next year, Matthew was stationed at Camp Pendleton until he was deployed for his first tour of duty in the town of Anah in Al-Anbar Province in Western Iraq. He began a long process of studying the history and cultures of the Middle East. He learned to speak Arabic.
During that tour, he was injured by a roadside IED and suffered a concussion. Despite his injury, he was able to put a tourniquet on the bleeding leg of a comrade, saving his life. He was Medevaced to al-Asad Air Force Base and insisted that he be turned to his men as soon as he was cleared for duty. Information provided by the Manoukian family.