A Brief History of Iraq

My "little" brother is in the process of transitioning to a new location after spending more than 13 years in North Carolina. His new home will be in the D.C. area and fortunately, I'll be close enough to him to be able to visit whenever I want, and vice-versa. But this isn't about his new living conditions. This is about his profession and the impact it has on him, and others like him.

Flip ('short' for Philip) is a U.S. Marine. A hard-core marine. He has been in the corp for 18 years, and was promoted to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant faster than most enlisted personnel achieve the rank of sergeant. He served four tours of duty in his career; Desert Storm in the Gulf, Somalia, Afganistan, and he just returned from Iraq a little more than 5 months ago. Needless to say, we were all ecstatic that he was returned to us safely, particularly since we almost lost him after the Somalia conflict.

I have always been on one distinctly polarized position regarding the war in Iraq. And maybe that's a discussion for another blog entry. Bt one of the most significant challenges that I have with the conflict as it stands is the fact that it has been relegated to an assessment of numbers. Whether it's on the news or in the paper, we constantly hear of the number of troops who have lost their lives on any given day, and most unfortunately, every day. And we have become so numb to the news that it is sometimes almost as expected as the daily weather report. And I was the same way, until my baby brother was shipped out. Then, things took on a different meaning for me. I literally was dreading each time the phone rang during certain times of the day because although I knew that I felt I was prepared to less than the best news, I know that it would have been way too much for me to handle.

Fortunately, through the use of technology, we were able to maintain a connection with him, and shared some of his experiences via email and written notes. Probably most notable was the number of very young men who fought, and who sometimes gave their lives. Flip sent a picture of some of his men and the most striking thing was the fact that they all were so young! And regardless of my personal opinions about the conflict, things seemed to always come into perspective when I would look at the faces of the brave young men who on a daily, and hourly basis put their lives at risk. Beyond the ongoing danger to their lives, the conditions in which they lived were amazing. On a regular basis, RPGs were lobbed into the perimeter, and unless his men were on their toes on a regular basis, serious injury or death could have occurred; particularly since the sand allowed the grenades to operate in somewhat of a stealth mode. And during significant mortar attacks, they had the 'luxury' of taking cover in their state of the art 'bunkers' until the barrage ceased. There was sand on top of sand on top of sand, and eauipment, gear and personal items all became havens for renegrade particles of sand.

For the most part, most of their time was spent on patrol, and waiting for nothing much to happen. And that was one of the most challenging things for Flip. Leading so many young men created a need to have them stay aware and keep on their toes. Sometimes, the calm in-between the storm lent itself to letting their guard down, and therefore, the possibility of getting themselves into trouble.

One of the most exciting things for me, however, was the fact that there were famous personalities in Iraq. Do you remember "Sanford and Son"? Well he sent us the picture below and swore that he had found the "Bubba" of Iraq. I'm not sure that I totally disagree! What do you think?