Monday, I went to lunch with a friend who just returned from a 13 month deployment in Iraq with the USMC. I found his commentary and insights interesting notwithstanding his humble rank (he's an NCO), and illustrative of the larger conflict and world order.
From what he told me, his deployment in Iraq was actually rather boring. Despite being in Al Anwar province which was once the scene of vicious fighting and frequent bombings, nobody in his unit was wounded or killed, and most of them neither saw combat nor even an IED explosion. True, they drove vehicles for the specific purpose of finding and destroying those weapons, and true the Iraqi forces to which they were attached took casualties, but his job consisted mostly in training Iraqi units and routing out dissidents and moles from their ranks.
Much of the multinational force is gone, and most of our troops have already left Iraq, leaving only what few are necessary. My friend tells me that if he redeploys he knows he will serve in Afghanistan instead, as Iraq has largely quieted down to a low rumble such as is common in that part of the world.
What my friend missed most was friends and family. He spent 13 months in close proximity to other men, and while they share a brotherhood in the Corps, he seemed happy and at ease in our company. Despite that, he's eager to serve, and I respect that, even if I think he's crazy. I think he and his wife have been married less than two years, and he's ready to go right back out if necessary to serve.
From what he told me, his deployment in Iraq was actually rather boring. Despite being in Al Anwar province which was once the scene of vicious fighting and frequent bombings, nobody in his unit was wounded or killed, and most of them neither saw combat nor even an IED explosion. True, they drove vehicles for the specific purpose of finding and destroying those weapons, and true the Iraqi forces to which they were attached took casualties, but his job consisted mostly in training Iraqi units and routing out dissidents and moles from their ranks.
Much of the multinational force is gone, and most of our troops have already left Iraq, leaving only what few are necessary. My friend tells me that if he redeploys he knows he will serve in Afghanistan instead, as Iraq has largely quieted down to a low rumble such as is common in that part of the world.
What my friend missed most was friends and family. He spent 13 months in close proximity to other men, and while they share a brotherhood in the Corps, he seemed happy and at ease in our company. Despite that, he's eager to serve, and I respect that, even if I think he's crazy. I think he and his wife have been married less than two years, and he's ready to go right back out if necessary to serve.
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