The GF and I watched the speech given last night at Ft. Bragg on tv. The GF basically agrees with the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and thinks that good things are happening despite the nightly body count on tv. Philosophically, I agree with President Bush, and I am trying to be more convinced, but even after the speech last night, I still think the details are sketchy about our long term goals and exactly how we are helping the Iraqi forces fortifying themselves.
I asked the GF if she would have felt differently if I had not come back from Iraq, or lost parts of my body while I was there, she said that she wasn't sure.
I do remember feeling like what costly of a waste of a life when I saw Private Coleman lying on the ground and bleeding from everywhere of his body.(Don't get me wrong, the Iraqis are also paying a very high price.) I don't think that I'd like the job of a US president, playing the game of global politics, indirectly/directly responsible for deaths of thousands. Most of the people that I was over in Iraq with have either gotten out of the service, or doing whatever they can so they won't have to be back there again. Maybe one day, the time spent over there will not feel like it was spent wasted. It was a confusing time, and I hope that I've become a better person for it, but it's still a work in progress. I am grateful to have seen that part of the world though, I mean, how many other people could say the same about where they've been to?
The GF's job search has been diffucult and it has been frustrating. I guess the better economy just hasn't yet made it to this part of the world. I just wish that she has something to do so she won't be so bored. At times, I feel like that we are members of the witness protection program, it's pretty isolated here and we don't get the people here at all. (I guess people here don't get us either.)
Looking forward to seeing the nephew this weekend, some kid therapy would be great!
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3 comments:
Winter,
Thank you for your courage and your candor. I do not envy the warriors of your generation - the women and men who, like yourself, were called on to see this business through to its end. By comparison, my role in the 1990-91 campaign seems almost embarassingly trivial.
But know this: One day, when all this is done and finished, you will look back at this with pride. Even now, I can say that my part in Desert Storm - however small - made a difference. You too, when you are older, will be able to look back on these years and say: I helped to make the world a better place; I helped to defeat the evil that threatened all of us.
I am sorry for the losses you and your comrades have suffered. Thank you for your valor and courage. Thank you for helping to finish what we could not.
Thank you very much for your comment, Shoshanna. I for one, do not feel that veterans of the 90-91 campaign were recognized enough for their work in liberating Kuwait. I was a high school senior at that time and it was at that time, I began to feel like that the people of our generation are beginning to make history. Thanks for what you've done also, however minuscule you think that you've accomplished!
By the way, I was just a small time supply clerk while I was over there, and no gas alarm ever went off so I didn't have to endure hours in MOPP gear like you had to, so once again, hats off to Shoshanna!
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