‘You’re doing a lot of praying’: Wichita army veteran drove trucks throughout Iraq

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A Wichita veteran followed his family’s footsteps when he decided to serve.

Phillip Owens knew he wanted to serve.

“I come from a long line of people who were in the military,” he said.

His family, including his father and uncles, has served in every branch of the military. Owens enlisted with the Army National Guard in 2000.

“And then when 9/11 happened, it kinda hit home,” he said.

Owens knew he’d have to leave his job at Cessna to prepare for deployment.

“Once you get boots on the ground, it becomes reality that you’re going into something you had no clue what you’re getting into,” he said.

Private First Class Owens drove a truck throughout Iraq from Kuwait to the Turkish border.

“We carried anything from food to tanks to helicopters,” he said.

After a year-long deployment, Owens was able to come home.

“I was home about 3 to 4 months and got activated a second time, left and went straight back over to Iraq,” he said.

During deployments, Owens focused on getting home to his family and young kids.

“Keep your head on the 360° swivel. You want to come home. You don’t want to end up coming home in a pine box,” he said.

That constant awareness consisted of watching out for IEDs or attacks on their convoy.

“Had close calls where RPGs come across the hood of my truck, and times like that, you’re doing a lot of praying,” Owens said.

He returned from his final deployment in 2005.

“I came home with PTSD … and anxiety really bad,” Owens said.

He searched for a new support system.

“I was really looking for a group that I can call my second family. My family, they didn’t really know how to help me,” Owens said.

Eventually, he found “Midwest Battle Buddies,” who helped him get a service dog.

“PTSD is very misunderstood. It affects everybody in different ways,” Owens said. “For me, it’s being out in public from being over in Iraq, everybody crowded in around you.”

Now, his second service dog, still in training, provides that buffer from crowds.

“She helps keep the distance between me and other people,” Owens said.

A leg injury in Iraq led him to leave the Army National Guard in 2008. His civilian driving career provides him with new adventures.

“Me and my wife got to see some beautiful countryside. Throughout the United States, driving a truck,” Owens said.

Today, he flies a flag on his front porch.

“It’s hanging there now, and it will always hang there,” Owens said.

A symbol of his pride and the memories of the friendships he made during his service.

“My time in the military was the best years of my life,” Owens said.

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