From the moment we arrived at our new location, my life changed forever. To see our military’s finest in action is something to see. To live the way they do and work in the environment they work in is something all together different than the recruiting commercials you see on television. On a daily basis, here in America, we take for granted what we have. We sleep in nice warm beds, use private bathrooms that have hots of running water for showers. We have our own private kitchens in which we store our own private stock of food. And, let us not forget air conditioners to relinquish us from the heat of summer. Yet in far off distant lands in other parts of the world, Americans are living in the desert with no means of the luxuries we have here at home. Do they complain about these conditions, most definitely they do. But not the way you would think, they long for the opportunity to taste that long forgotten beer, or taste that home cooked meal Mom made for them. To feel real running water flow over their bodies as they wash off the rough edges of the day. To sit out on the porch and smoke that cigar as they listen to the crickets chirping in the distance. Even though they long for home, their mission at hand is more important to them.
Many of the Warriors we had the privilege to be with are second and third tour veterans of this area now. Why do they return you might ask? I asked that question many times throughout this journey. Each time I got a similar response... “there is so much to do still here for the people of Iraq”... “You weren’t here when the first vote took place. You didn’t feel the positive energy which took over this country with that single act”... “To see the short lines in the first vote become endless seas of citizens in line for the second vote”...“To see the look upon their faces when they were handed toys, blankets, water and food, their appreciation showed in their warm smiles each and every time was heart warming”... “Just because there are fanatics out there trying to harm us, we are here for the people of Iraq, to help them achieve something greater”... “These people have no electricity, no running water and in most cases, not enough food to nourish themselves and their families. In these areas you can forget the luxury of air conditioners all together.” Their responses reminded me of a soldier I had interviewed over a year ago. He was about to leave for Iraq for his first tour of duty and when I asked what he was thinking about going over there, his response was simple: “I can’t do much with what I have, but so much can be done with what I do”. This coming from a twenty year old who had never been outside the United States of America. He was looking forward to helping to rebuild a nation and give its people a better way of life. Throughout my journey I thought of Staff Sargeant Dago David Toruga. I wondered how many others like him touched the area in which I was in and if they too felt the same way, in their small way they touched the lives of another human being and helped free a people from oppression.
Many of these Warriors are also history enthusiasts like I am. These young Warriors relayed their own thoughts to me over this journey, expressing their desire to touch the lives of the Iraqi people. Many commented on how they might have felt on the creation of America during the American Revolutionary War. In how we as Americans strived and fought against oppression from a King. They mentioned many times how they felt as though they were like the founding fathers back then, fighting for what was right for a people who couldn’t fight for themselves. This coming from our future leaders, I was in awe. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think of comparing the war on terrorism to that of the founding fathers struggles, yet after hearing these Warriors I must agree with them to a point.
Their responses began to make me think even more as the days went on. We are now here for humanitarian reasons, something Americans take pride in doing, yet the American People still did not comprehend this aspect of the mission. To them we are only here for destruction of another country because of terrorism. To many Americans they do not realize that if we were not in Iraq, Afghanistan or another country fighting terrorism where it breeds, we would be fighting in the streets of America. How would they feel if every time they left the safety of their homes, drove down the street and stopped at that stop sign, they were hit with an IED? How would they feel if their children and loved ones were killed by such a device which was created to destroy another human being for kicks? How would they feel if they went to their local shopping mall, excited to buy that new unnecessary trinket, blouse, or electronic device, which they really don’t need, only to be killed by a suicide bomber who on that day decided it was his or her turn to kill hundreds of people, because someone told them to do it? If they boarded a train, excited to go visit family, or take that long over due vacation, only to find that someone else decided that day it was the day they needed to place a bomb on a fast moving vehicle and it happened to be the train in which they were on? That bomb shut down the train system and killed hundreds of people unnecessarily. These questions must be asked by every American each and every day as they take a breath of air into their lungs.
As Americans rant and rave about the death tolls as a result of our military being overseas, do they really comprehend what they are ranting about? They claim needless deaths are being taken for what? If only they would stepped back and looked at the bigger picture before them would they cringe at their ignorance. These brave Warriors know the risk being taken and do so selflessly without reservations. Each and every time an American spouts off about needless deaths they are not only disrespecting those who have put the uniform on and gave the ultimate sacrifice, but they are also slapping the face of their own legacy in history. They are degrading the men and women who honorably serve in our Armed Forces to help safeguard them at home and around the world each day. They selfishly spout off about information they learn from the news only to realize later on that the news was totally wrong. What then? Do they go back to the people spoke to and apologize? Never! Because to them they did nothing wrong. The information was before them and they felt it was accurate at the time because that information was delivered by the news... WRONG THINKING PEOPLE!
If one looked at the bigger picture in reality they would be embarrassed to say the least. Reality my friends is this. Statistically proven facts are staring them in the face.... do you drink beer or alcohol? Most do.... so how many needless deaths occur each day by someone being stupid and driving drunk? How many drive recklessly on the roads... road rage they call it... most do.. how many needless deaths have to occur because someone was to busy to pay attention and killed someone else because they were in a hurry? The kicker in this query is this: They will bitch about the needless deaths of our Armed Forces yet they will not bitch about things that are affecting their lives around them. They will do nothing about drunken driving, drug overdoes or needless accidents which they themselves have control over, but instead they will disrespect those who valiantly served in our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard for what they do. How Hypocritical we have become.
Our Warriors seem to know the history of America, yet many Americans don’t. Why is that? All one needs to do is watch their precious television to see talk show hosts who query people on the streets to see that most don’t know the names of our Presidents, Congress, Senators or Governors much less know about the founding fathers and history of our country. This reality truly saddens me because unless one knows the history of their own country, they truly cannot speak about the future, or even the present with any understanding much less clarity. In today’s society one can spout off knowing what is happening in the world because they watch only the NEWS! Please, most of the news these days is propaganda and should seriously be questioned for its accuracy and content. In the fight against terrorism all you see in the news these days is fighting in Baghdad, Ramadi and Fallujah, guess what that’s cause our Media is giving the insurgents a forum to watch their handy work on the television. WAKE UP MEDIA... if you continually report only the bad, guess what, you will continually feed the enemy the fuel in which they desire to thrive on. What a mistake!
Along our journey we were privileged to join two units of the United States Marine Corps on many convoys that took us to many places which mainstream media will never visit, because there is no news here they claim. This region of Iraq is the forgotten territory. It is not the safety zone of the green zone where all the amenity of life is apparent. They do not have shops to frequent for souvenirs for loved ones and coworkers. There are no fifteen minutes of fame here. There are no bombs exploding every five seconds as one would believe by watching the news and rarely do you see an IED, but don’t get me wrong they are always on the roads. Our forces find them before they can harm us.
Many successes have been accomplished in this are, while in other parts of the country insurgents are still causing trouble. In this area thanks to the local Iraqi people themselves who help police the area, this area is semi secured. You see mainstream media only looks for the negative stories to exploit, never do they report on the wonderful successes our military and coalition forces are accomplishing in is country. Therefore, you will never hear of the places we visited on Television or in the newspapers. They don’t dare visit this area because to them there is no news here. Only humanitarian causes are being accomplished out in this area. If one were to ask any reporter who visited Iraq, “Is progress being made in combating terrorism or are humanitarian efforts being achieved in Iraq?” Most would say yes to both, but if you further asked them why they were not reporting this information in their articles or reports, they would simply answer as their editors and producers would tell them... “that doesn’t sell newspapers or get us ratings time”. This makes me sick. Instead of showing the successes of our military forces, who are capturing informants, continually finding caches of weapons, preventing future terrorist activity, rebuilding water treatment plants, electrical plants, and easing the burden of a people who have been oppressed by a dictator who was more in love with himself than the people in which he lead, they would rather play politics with the lives of everyone involved including those serving in uniform in a far off country called Iraq. Playing politics during any conflict or war in which American military personnel are involved is not only dangerous but should be considered as treasonous. This is something the American People should be spout to the high heavens about.
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