Bhagdad to KC one day...
In the spirit of Remembrance day I can tell you that it is completely possible to detest the war in Iraq and still support those who are there..
On my way from Dallas to Kansas city I sat beside a woman in military fatigues. She had been travelling all day. Bhagdad to Kuwait, Kuwait to Germany, Germany to Atlanta, Atlanta to Dallas, Dallas to Kansas city. I am sure she was not particularly interested in being interrogated by the hockeyman but here is what she had to say.
She is a captain and she is on mid leave for 18 days on here second tour of duty in Iraq. She sill go back for 6 more months in a couple of weeks.
This tour she has a boring job working in an office job in the engineering group. She works in a group that rebuilds bridges. Boring boring work... in the office at 630 am leaves at 830 at night..
They are supposed to get one day off a week but there is nothing to do so they end up going to work every day.
Fun -- go work out at 830 when she leaves she goes for a run and goes to bed.
Accommodations.. lives in a trailer with one other person about the size of one dorm room
Scared..no not really... she works within a base with almost no contact with Iraq's. There have been people killed within the base from mortars and every time you hear the alarm go off it makes you nervous a little but no where near like her first tour.
First tour of Iraq...her job was as a squad leader of 14 soldiers and a Sargent and she would lead them out on patrol or disarming unexploded bombs or other fun stuff.
Her parents--- completely non military and would do cartwheels if she announced she was leaving the military
She got into it in high school... hanging around with the military crowd (I am not really sure what this is... in Canada we don't really have a military crowd) then in college she joined to help pay for school.
her goal is to stay on active duty two more years and then find a guy and have a couple of kids. She was on her way to see her boyfriend who is a major...
Likes Hillary for president
Absolutely normal pleasant woman who loves her country and is completely committed to her job.
Even though the war is completely crazy here is woman who builds bridges and works hard to do justice to her commitments.
Morale in the troops... If you have a real mission like she does or patrolling then its good... if you don't have enough to do like you are the transport group and nothing has to be moved for weeks then you think its a complete waste of your life..
Peace to all on Remembrance day
posted by hockeyman @ 6:33 AM
6 Comments:
It must have been interesting for you indeed....
As Canadians, we have no clue of what it must be like.
In WW1 and WW2, everybody had to join, that's the way it was. I don't think that anybody was for war and was happy to see their loved ones go but they seemed to believe that it was necessary to protect our freedom.
I don't know.. I might be wrong...
I think you are right... its hard to get excited about the purpose of sending these people. On the other hand the presence of a military protects our freedom and someone has to do these jobs.
Our peacekeeping efforts have helped us all around the world.
seems like you are having fun...keep em coming
I have to disagree, Nancybee. Saying that as Canadians we have no clue. Sure we do. If we pay attention. The military crowd? That's the kids that disappear in the summer as they are with cadets and later the militia. Equivalent in a way to the ROTC in the states. But no clue? hmm... my nephew took a break in rank to go back on peacekeeping and wears the medal he received proudly. This is a smart ass kid from the middle of nowhere SK. There are no borders when it comes to believing in and fighting for your country's right to live as it does. I won't bore you with my take on the war in Iraq but please don't draw the lines everyone seems to feel are necessary between the canucks and the yanks. They aren't as deeply etched in the sand as some would have us believe. Nor are the ones between us and 'them' as it were, but that's another much longer post.
Ok then... I have no clue. I don't know what it's like to have a loved-one go off to war therefore, I'm certainly not going to be a hypocrite about it and pretend that I know what it's like.
God bless that woman!
God bless all the troops!
What's new my friend?
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