After Killing of Bin Laden, It's Just Another Day in the Army

At the on El Camino Real in Mountain View Monday, there were no high-fives and no "Proud to Be an American" playing on the radio. In fact, the U.S. Army personnel said they had "no opinions" about the death of Osama bin Laden.

"For us, it's like nothing happened," staff Sgt. Terry Asbridge Jr. said. "Life goes on, regardless."

One day after President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden had been killed as the result of a U.S. operation launched Sunday in Abbottabad, Pakistan, soldiers at the recruitment center were quick to remind people that despite bin Laden's death, a war still waged on. This got them talking.

"I'm happy with their accomplishments," said staff Sgt. Martin Olivarez, 27. "We all know that it's not over yet, because we know it's not just him. We got to push until it's done."

After the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the hunt for bin Laden had gone cold, according to intelligence personnel—until August 2010. The pursuit has now ended with bin Laden dead.

"It's good that we finally got him," said staff Sgt. Zachary Blake, 30. "It would have been nice to have caught him alive."

According to Blake, if bin Laden had been captured alive, the U.S. could have tried to obtain intelligence and information from him. Like Blake, many understand that a dead bin Laden doesn't mean the end to the war on terror.

Obama himself said, "The cause of securing our country is not complete." 

The commander-in-chief's sentiment was shared by his soldiers.

"From my point of view, the war is not over, because we still have al-Qaida,"said Asbridge, 31, a 13-year veteran of the Army. "It's like any organization. Someone is going to step up."

He said that logically, it's a good thing to have taken out bin Laden, because it's a step closer to "what we are fighting for." For this reason, Monday felt like any other day.

"Today felt like Friday," Asbridge said. "I have a mission to do, and that's what I'm focused on."