In a letter to his family in January of 2003, Lance Corporal Arredondo wrote:

"...It seemes like my whole life changed in an instant. Yesterday I was in a classroom learning about Trigonometry and History. I graduated, went to boot camp, went to school, graduated as a GRUNT, I was sent across the country to train. Now I'm being sent across the world to fight. Today I am in a classroom learning about TACTICAL URBAN COMBAT and NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL, AND CHEMICAL WARFARE..."