Former Marine Aaron Co-hen works in Kabul, Afghanistan and dreams of home in Akron, Ohio – approximately 7,000 miles away. Now, after a year working in Afghanistan as the manage-rial accountant for all U.S. Armed
Forces in the Kabul area, Aaron will return home to Akron in mid-
December. “Things are going great here in Afghanistan, but yes, I’m counting the days!” Cohen laughed. “It will
be so good to see everyone again. I miss Kaila Sasonkin’s cooking so much! And I look forward to talk-ing with Rabbi Mendy again. He always has two smiles on his face – one for you and one for Hash-em. He taught me to say, ‘Baruch Hashem.’”
Aaron, 25, is the son of Bob Cohen and Gloria Cohen, and works for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is an agency of the United States Department of
Defense (DoD) that provides fi-nance and accounting services for the civil and military members of
the Department. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., DFAS is the world’s largest finance and ac-counting operation. DFAS pays all DoD military and civilian per-sonnel, retirees and annuitants, as well as major DoD contractors and vendors. DFAS also supports customers outside the DoD in support of electronic government
initiatives.
Living so far from home has been lonely and difficult at times for Aaron, but his Jewish faith and values kept him firmly grounded and helped him get through battle in Iraq and the injuries he sus-tained there. Cohen joined the U.S. Ma-rine Corps Reserves two days after graduating Firestone High School in 2003, and attended Ohio State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Security and Intelligence. Aaron was serving in Iraq in 2005 as an infantry rifle-man in the Al Anbar province – one of the most violent places in Iraq – when he was injured.
“Through kicking down metal doors and running after insurgents, my knees gave out,” Aaron explained. “I wasn’t able tocontinue for the rest of my deploy-ment.”After several knee surgeries, rehabilitation, and physical thera-py, Aaron was able to walk again. He then volunteered as an accoun-tant for the DFAS Expeditionary Support Organization (ESO). The DFAS ESO was created in April 2008 to assist military depart-ments and commanders with their financial management responsi-bilities during contingency op-
erations. When he returns home, Aaron will work full-time out of the DFAS office in Cleveland, and finish his MBA at the University of Akron.“Why did I become a Ma-rine?” Aaron laughed. “I think it was a combination of wearing camouflage uniforms every Hal-loween, plus my parents encour-aging me to participate in every single physical sport – from ice hockey and soccer to wrestling.” There is also a deep patriotism and love of country that drives Aaron Cohen.
“I had a great desire to serve my country and give back to the community, and I definitely at-tribute that to my Jewish values,” Aaron explained. “As a child, I heard stories about Israel and how people there have had to fight for their right to live every single day. I realized that I am no different than those living in Israel; I was just fortunate to be born on the other side of the ocean. Now I am here with them.”September 11, 2001 hit Aar-on hard.“9/11 struck a nerve with me,” Aaron confessed. “That day, I understood that none of us are safe unless we have people willing to stand and defend us. I am just as much an American as I am Jew-ish. Our Jewish community to play a role in defending the American way of life.”
Patriotism runs in the Co-hen family. Aaron’s brother Ryan also served with the Marines in Iraq and is now playing offensive guard for the Zips football team at the University of Akron. Jacob, the youngest Cohen brother, is a senior at Firesetone High School and also very athletic. “All three of us are big boys,”Aaron joked. “Everyone at Camp Ramah in Canada would call us the Cohanim Gadoliym – Big Cohens! The Jewish Community
Board of Akron helped fund part of those camping trips.” Aaron has seven years of fond memories of Jewish summer camp.Growing up, Aaron attended Beth El Congregation and was bar mitzvah there. He also credits The
Lippman School with providing him a strong foundation for be-coming the man he is. “I remember singing all the
Shabbat and Jewish holiday songs we sang at Lippman,” Aaron said. “I also blew the shofar in Afghani-
stan for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and thank goodness that I learned that at Lippman, because I
was the only one here able to blow the shofar. I also gave the blessing of the Cohanim – the first time a
Jew has done that in Afghanistan in possibly a long time." Aaron also credits his educa-
tion at Lippman for his job skills today. “I wouldn’t be where I am today in my professional career if it weren’t for the advanced math and science education I received at Lippman,” Aaron said. “At Lipp-
man, I was encouraged to be a few notches above everyone else. And that has been very helpful for me. Lippman exposed me to a variety of advanced level courses that gave me a head start on others around me. Instead of offering a classical ‘in the box’ style education, Lipp-man had the flexibility to expose us to a variety of several experienc-es that has helped me grow into a unique individual who is capable of approaching situations from a variety of aspects and directions.”
Lippman also gave Aaron a strong foundation in Jewish val-ues, which has served him well.“I learned to continuously question what I believe in,” Aaron said. “In Judaism, you are suppose to question – not just to be a rebel, but to gain a better understanding; to expand and mature your rela-tionship with Hashem. I question
everything I do and say: ‘Is this the best way possible? ‘Is this what I need to be doing now?’ This Jew-ish method of thinking has helped me so much. On a recent project, I saved our government millions of dollars, and I directly attribute that to listening to Jewish teach-ings, Jewish history and question-ing what I believe in.”
Aaron strongly encouraged the Akron Jewish community to support U.S. troops serving abroad.
“We have Jewish soldiers out here, serving alongside every other faith background you can imag-ine,” Aaron said. “Supporting our troops isn’t just American – it’s a Jewish value as well. We as Jews need to step up and support all our troops.” Aaron suggests remembering Jewish troops year-round, but es-pecially on the holidays.
“Kosher care packages are wonderful,” Aaron said. “You don’t want to know about the food we have to eat out here! Send an inexpensive menorah for Cha-nukah, with candles, dreidl and gelt; or a goodie box at Purim. Just make our troops feel like we’re part of the greater Jewish commu-nity. It gives me a warm feeling in my heart, knowing that I have the support of the Akron Jewish com-munity that I grew up with.”