From the archives: Team dedicates peace efforts to fallen soldier

A team of soldiers dedicates peace efforts to a fallen soldier in Afghanistan. Sgt. Blaine Zimmerman walks through a wheat field during a mission near Strong Point Dennis at Combat Outpost Nalgham. (Laura Rauch/Stars and Stripes) This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes, May 31, 2011 It is republished unedited in its original form. COMBAT OUTPOST NALGHAM — Spc. Preston Dennis didn’t have to come back just yet. It had been less than a year since he had left Afghanistan, and the Army owed him more time with his wife before he had to return. But his new unit, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, was deploying to the Kandahar province.

At just 23, he was a veteran and a team leader, and he couldn’t let his men go without him. He and his wife, Heather, signed the official paperwork allowing him to return three months early. “It’s kind of hard. You want to be there for your family, but once you become a leader, you’re supposed to be there for your military family, too,” said Staff Sgt. Chuck Stevens, Dennis’ squad leader. “That’s what he chose to do.” A month had passed since Company C arrived in the Nalgham region, just southwest of Kandahar city and about two miles from Sangsar, home of Taliban founder