Tuesday, I talked with a Plymouth State student who has been stationed in Iraq since late February of 2004, and is expecting to be there until March of 2005 at the earliest. This is the first time he has been home since he left in February. He returned to Iraq the morning after our interview.
He is stationed in Southern Iraq, nine hours from the Kuwait border. He sais he is happy to be stationed in the southern area because it is more mellow than many other places.
The locals are happy to know there are American soldiers there to help. He said the citizens warmed up to them right away, probably because there had already been an American settlement nearby. “We already established a relationship with the locals,” he said, commenting that he is lucky to be on the American side. According to him, the locals aren’t so fond of the British.
So how does one maintain a sense of sanity in a world so far and so different from home? “Inside of the camp, we try to make it as close to home as possible. We have a lot of things provided by the KDR system,” such as a gym and laundry service. It’s the little things that keep the soldiers going. Certainly, the more active they stay during the little free time they have keeps them from having to think about the things they’ve seen and done. Because they work twelve hour shifts, they have very little free time. Most of it is spent sleeping.
His job is being on military police duty, specifically guarding detainees. The detainees consist of all types of people, such as civil attorneys, people that have been associated with terrorists, and those that are suspected to be concealing important information.
“A lot of them are in the wrong place at the wrong time, so they say,” but it is hard to tell who is lying and who is being truthful. Obviously, not every detainee is innocent, and most likely, not every one is guilty. The Military Intelligence Section is responsible for determining truth from lies. They work long hours in order to get through as many detainees as possible, to “get them in and get them out as quick as possible.” He says there are some definite prisoners who are connected with terrorism attacks on American forces. He says he has seen everything from ID makers to cousins of Sadaam Hussein, as well as numerous “unknowns” among the detainees.
Abu Ghraib, the main detaining system, is a place he is familiar with because both detaining stations are under the same brigade. We have all seen footage of abuse and torture, and there are supposedly rapes that occur every day. However, he has mixed feelings about the way the detainees there have been treated. He points out that a soldiers standpoint is different from those of us watching with a critical eye from the safety of our living rooms.
“It is very frustrating for the soldiers,” he says. “It is understandable, but it is also embarrassing for all US troops.” Since the scandals broke out, there have been major changes to the way the detainees are treated. He agreed. “A lot of things that shouldn’t be given to the detainees has been given. A lot of privileges and rights that were not specified in the Geneva Convention. They are pretty much treating the detainees like one of us.” They have mattresses and sleeping bags instead of just tents. They have the opportunity to do recreational things, such as play soccer. “They don’t have a bad life” he concluded with a short laugh.
There are rewarding experiences as well. Just beyond his station lives a family of sheepherders that the soldiers have gotten very friendly with. “The kids, they love us,” he said, smiling for the first time since the interview started. “They kids run up to you and just give you a big hug. It’s a pretty rewarding experience.”
He says he has only seen small amounts of protest, and that most of the displeasure is in the north. He felt that the hostility is directed more towards the British than the Americans. “All in all it isn’t that bad,” and the hostility doesn’t make his comrades feel too threatened. The most important thing he and other soldiers do is to never panic, just go and do what they are trained and paid to do.
The locals are happy Sadam Hussein is out of office. Most of those that are unhappy are so only because they have lost their job since he was removed. Another thing that angers some locals is the fact that there virtually no economy. “There is nothing really going for the country right now.” In time, that will change, however, as troops begin to set up a more stable government, eventually the economy will start to grow again too.
He was mobilized in Fort Dix, New Jersey. “We were told that it was the number one mobiling station in the country, and I’d hate to see number two.” He is currently with the New Hampshire National Guard. He turned 21 while over seas. “It was a dry 21,” he commented with another short laugh.
When he was a student at Plymouth State, he was a business management major, but had to withdraw when he was called for duty. He joined the National Guard before the September 11 attacks, so he never really imagined he would be going overseas. Many believed that, before the attack occurred, America was invincible, and soldiers weren’t needed. The military seemed to be a great place to go if you didn’t know what else to do, wanted to get away from home, or wanted to go to school for cheap. Come mid-September of 2001, however, these attitudes changed. For this particular student, once the attack occurred, the thought of being called for duty was constantly in the back of his mind. He didn’t think that the National Guard would be needed in “today’s battlefield, but as it turns out, they can turn you into MP’s [military police] just like that.”
When I asked if he had any final comments, he said “its nice to be back home. Its good to see trees again, and color.” Around this time year, its in the 70’s, and there is constant wind. In the summer, the temperature averages 120. He describes the summer there as a “big hair dryer with sand.”
He feels that the Bush administration should have handled the situation differently, but he does support the fact that troops are there because Sadam is a potential threat and needed “to be eliminated somehow.” He says he does not feel like the US military as a whole will be leaving the Middle East any time soon, because if we pull out, others will. He worries that if this happens, Iraq would go into a Civil War.
When he left this past Wednsday, he said goodbye to many friends, family, and a long-term girlfriend. He says it is hard to be away from her for so long, but it helps because they have access to computers sometimes, although they have to watch what they say. Certainly, all of Plymouth State as well as the community and nation wishes them well. Luckily, there are people brave enough to risk their lives to see that America is safe, justice is brought, and other nations can be given the opportunity to know the democracy that we know. As for his comrades and friends, no doubt March cannot come fast enough. As the interview went on, he obviously grew more comfortable, and his sense of humor does not appear to have been lost. Hopefully, such humor will pull them through the holidays until they are lucky enough to return to the safety of American land.