Rugby player Ryan Dertinger looks out across the field and sees the opposition’s front line and he knows the action is just moments away.

Once it hits, he’ll have to do his part to make sure his team gets to victory.

This isn’t the first time Dertinger has felt this type of anticipation. Dertinger was a Personal

Security Medic for Company HHC, 1-13 Armor Battalion of the United States Army.

“I was in school and wanted to join the medical field and it was a quick and easy way on top of serving country and all that,” Dertinger said of joining the Army. “It was right after Sept. 11, so I just decided to try and help out. A lot of people were dying over there so I was just trying to do the right thing.”

After going through basic training and EMT training, Dertinger moved on to the actual field training, which helped him learn how to handle severe trauma, including lacerations, gunshot wounds, severe burns and shrapnel wounds.

Dertinger was first deployed to Iraq in 2004 and had nine months off before being redeployed from 2005-2006.

“It’s part of the job. You train year-round for it when you join the military,” Dertinger said of his deployments. “When I joined, you know there’s a chance of getting deployed. It’s a high-risk, high-reward job.”

When he returned home for the final time, he said there was an adjustment period, mainly dealing with an adjustment to a normal everyday life.

“The world doesn’t stop when you leave,” Dertinger said. “You get back and you’re so used to the adrenaline of everyday life. You’re pretty much on pins and needles.”

Originally from Elgin, Dertinger decided to attend NIU to be close to home. He is currently a biology/pre-med major and hopes to either be a physician’s assistant or a chiropractor after school.

“I bought a house here because I wanted to be close to my family because I haven’t seen them that much over the past four or five years,” he added.

Dertinger stared playing rugby nine years ago, was named All-Army at Fort Riley, Kan., and suffered a fractured C-7 vertebra while playing.

As a leader on the NIU rugby team, Dertinger helped the team juggernaut through the Chicago Area Rugby Union with a 5-0 record before the team was forced to forfeit two games.

“Our records and scores displayed what this team is all about,” Dertinger said. “With the addition of Andrew “Sparky” Anderson as our coach, it helped our team to get over the hump from a good team to a dominant team.”

Now that he is finished with his service to the army, Dertinger can focus on his education and rugby, because now when he looks across the field at his opponent, they’re in rugby, not military, uniforms.