Infantry squad leader Nathaniel Davenport led a short security patrol through an open street in Iraq when he and his men were ambushed by a group of Mujahideen, who were wielding RPK belt-fed Russian machine guns and firing on the soldiers.

“Me and the point man laid down in the street and started returning fire — (we) didn’t really move,” Davenport said. “I thought we were dead.”

As the group was pinned to the ground, they saw gunner, who carried the squad’s automatic weapon, get up from behind Davenport and run over him, firing the machine gun as he went. Two of the Mujahideen were killed and the driver took off, leaving Davenport and his squad in the dust.

It was Davenport’s 21st birthday. It was almost his last.

After enlisting in 2004, Davenport served nine years in the Marine Corps before completing his military career in October 2012.

Davenport was a sophomore in high school during 9/11, and he said that day influenced him to join the military.

“I was already leaning towards going into the Marines, but it just kind of gave me that extra push,” Davenport said. “I made sure I could get out of high school as soon as possible.”

Davenport graduated high school a semester early and enlisted when he was 17. When he was deployed for the first time in 2006, he found being overseas was unlike anything he expected.

“I had the expectation that it was going to be like a conventional war, like I’d seen in movies,” Davenport said. “And instead of being nonstop firefights and action every day, it was mostly just counterinsurgency operations — walk around, patrol, wait for somebody to shoot at you.”

Davenport’s first deployment was to Iraq, where he was in the infantry. After he returned in 2008, Davenport underwent two years of training and went into Marines Special Operations.

Davenport was later deployed to Afghanistan for a year in 2011, where he was on the Special Operations Task Force – West. The group’s mission was to train militias and security forces from the tribal areas in the west, forming a kind of counter-Taliban force.

With each deployment, Davenport said it takes around a week to adjust to what he calls “business mode.”

“Here in the States, you’re pretty much in what I would say the White Zone,” Davenport said. “We’re all la-de-da, walking around, worrying about our business, that’s all you’re concerned about. You go over there and you’re actually off a large base, if you’re out operating in the environment you’re in the gray area at least. You’re always on alert. You constantly have to be paying attention.”

Davenport said “business mode” is the mentality of being courteous to people and acting like how one is supposed to in western society, while being able to shoot someone if the situation called for it.

“We’d patrol around, and 99 percent of the people don’t like you,” Davenport said. “And the ones who really don’t like you shoot at you.”

While Davenport was first deployed to Iraq, he was transitioned to a town surrounded by desert near the Syrian border. Davenport’s squad stayed within a blown-out building they had fortified, ate nothing but ready-to-eat meals and had to bathe with baby wipes.

“All your clothes smell like shit within the first three days,” Davenport said. “It’s about 130 degrees, and you had to go out and patrol with about 110 to 120 pounds of body armor and gear. (We would) go foot patrol two to three times a day, hope you don’t get shot at or have an (improvised explosive device) blow up and kill half your squad.”

There was a huge trash pit in the middle of the barricaded area where rotten food, trash, feces, and batteries were burned, Davenport said. Stray dogs would work their way through the barbed wire and drag trash all over the place. On top of everything, Davenport’s whole squad had fleas for the first two months and had to wear flea collars.

Despite the less than desirable living conditions, Davenport said he never had doubts about his decision to serve his country.

“I knew I wanted to be there,” Davenport said. “I kind of had some doubts as to higher leadership, like governmental decision making process, but not really in the military.”

Davenport said if he had not enlisted in the Marine Corps, he would definitely not be the same man he is today.

“I did good in high school, but I definitely lacked a lot of discipline,” Davenport said. “(The military) really teaches you how to push yourself to succeed, not to rely so much on other people to tell you what to do because that’s what a lot of the conventional mindset will do.”

Now at 27, Davenport is a sophomore studying French. He began attending MU in the spring.

Davenport said the transition from Marine to college student has been smooth, which he attributes to his time in the military.

“Here there’s no curtain, everything’s laid out,” Davenport said. “Obviously, there’s certain abilities people have, but if you’re able to walk around, read a book, you’ve got a pulse, you can succeed here. (The Marines) just really showed me how to do that.”

Davenport also said the Mizzou Student Veterans Association has helped with the transition to college.

“There are vets there from all different job fields in the military, but you can still find ways to relate to most of them,” Davenport said. “It’s easier to get to meet people who have experienced somewhat similar things to you.”

Once he graduates, Davenport said he hopes to work for a government agency.

Davenport said he doesn’t think he will ever look back on his experiences in the military the same way that other people look back on certain memories from their past.

“It feels like a portion of my life, and there’s so many different sub-portions within it,” Davenport said. “I definitely look back fondly on a lot of stuff, but there’s some stuff I don’t.”