NATCHEZ &045; According to Ian Doherty, traveling thousands of miles from home helped him find his path in life.

At age 22 &045; when most of his friends are just making the transition from college to the world of work &045; Lance Cpl. Doherty has already spent several months in training to be a Marine, followed by four months of fighting in Iraq.

Enlisting wasn’t a tough decision for Doherty despite the war. His father, grandfather and uncle all served in the military. &uot;I played paintball, played war game video games … I just liked it, that’s all.&uot;

But following his months of training in 29 Palms, Calif., Doherty found the fighting life in Iraq to be very different.

A part of him was glad to finally be doing what he was trained to do. But like many who have fought before him, Doherty described life in wartime as &uot;90 percent boredom and 10 percent … chaos.&uot;

The Battle of Hit (pronounced &uot;heat.&uot;) The fighting in Fallujah. Battles most people saw only on television, Doherty participated in for real.

In the Marine infantry as part of Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines, he was in the thick of it. Kicking in doors, detaining insurgents and securing some of the toughest areas of Iraq was his job during those months.

Surrounding a city, he and his fellow Marines would enter and climb to the rooftops, weapons in hand. But even in less dramatic times of war, Doherty was never sure to expect. Roadside explosions and the like were commonplace even in the easier of times, and Doherty and his squad were never sure who they could trust.

&uot;Some (of the Iraqis) were afraid of us. Some hated us,&uot; Doherty said. Regardless, he added, &uot;I never trusted anyone over there. … I was never worried, really, just … careful.&uot;

However, he noted that Iraq was much different than previous conflicts, such as the Vietnam War. There, the Vietnamese weren’t afraid to die to kill Americans. In Iraq, he said, &uot;they don’t want to fight you (face to face). They’re more worried about getting out alive.&uot;

Still, as a combat aidsman, or physician’s assistant, Doherty knew the wounds the other Marines in his squad suffered were serious, from shrapnel wounds to internal bleeding to a cracked skull. Doherty himself came home March 31 unhurt.

&uot;Of 36 (in the unit), one-third to one-fourth got hurt, at least 12, and half of those were hurt bad enough to be sent home,&uot; he said.

Doherty’s life was changed, however, in quite a different way. While he’s glad to be back home, having the freedom to do as he pleases, he credits the Marines with giving him to &uot;put his life on pause&uot; and find out what he wants to do in life &045; something in the health care field. He plans to work as an emergency medical technician, seeing if he likes health care enough to pursue medical school.

When compared to others his age, Doherty said, &uot;maybe I’m more together. I don’t know. I can’t speak for anyone but myself.&uot;