Treading the Deep

A directionless young man with an anxiety disorder enlists in the military—and accomplishes things he never expected—in this inspiring, entertaining memoir. In his wildest dreams, Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Bradley P. Jones never thought he would make a career out of the military. Like many, he joined for the college tuition assistance. Secretly worried that his panic attacks might prevent him from making it through, he was nevertheless determined to serve out his first and only enlistment, and then move on to bigger and better things. He managed to leave the military—called a break in service—for four years, but the military never left his thoughts or his system.   There was something about serving his country that constantly called to him through his missionary service in South America and then into his university studies. Bradley finally succumbed to that calling—reenlisting into an AH-64 Apache helicopter battalion near the university. From there, his service led to a career he loved—working on Apaches as a full-time federal employee, while starting a family with his wife as a newlywed. While serving in Kuwait on September 11, 2001, his life, along with those of millions of others in and out of uniform, changed. From that day, his career trajectory seemed to him to be predetermined, finally culminating in his appointment to serve his beloved fellow soldiers as the top enlisted member in the battalion.   In Treading the Deep, Bradley Jones’s humor and faith-promoting experiences restore our belief in the tenacity of the human spirit and its ability to ultimately overcome—no matter the trials or circumstances.