3 posts tagged “troops”

Information taken from the Iraq Veterans Against the War website:

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground.

The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.

When: Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16

Attendance at Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan is not open to the general public because of limited space at the event site. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Gold Star Families Speak Out will attend the panels at Winter Soldier.

To bring the testimonies to the general public and GIs all over the world we have made it possible to watch the live broadcasts online and on television, and to listen online and the radio. You can find out more about how to watch or listen here. To find a local Winter Soldier screening event or to submit a screening event go to our events map.

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The name Winter Soldier comes from a quote from Thomas Paine, the revolutionary who rallied George Washington’s troops at Valley Forge, saying:

“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Paine was trying to keep Washington’s army from deserting in the face of a bitter winter and mounting defeats at the hands of the British. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War say the same type of courage is needed to confront the evils unleashed by the U.S. occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.  (Source)

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I wish all involved the very best.  I know that what they have to say will not be welcomed by some.  There will be many who reject their credentials and call them 'fake soldiers'.  These men and women have a right to be heard and they are due the same support as all who have served their country in a time of war.   Are these men and women not brave for speaking out against what they believe is wrong - of course they are. It is far braver to stand up for what you believe is right than to follow the majority who maybe wrong.

This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war...  All Quiet on the Western Front.  A novel by Erich Maria Remarque about WWI.

 

In what has been described as one of the most remarkable stories of the entire Iraq war, a reporter from the Army Times has given perhaps the first inside account of how an Army unit committed mutiny and refused to carry out orders in Iraq.

The incident occurred in Adhamiya, a district in northeastern Baghdad, where soldiers in the 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, were stationed. The 2nd Platoon had lost many men since deploying to Iraq eleven months before. After an IED attack killed five more members of Charlie 1-26, members of 2nd Platoon gathered for a meeting and determined they could no longer function professionally. Several platoon members were afraid their anger could set loose a massacre. They decided to stage a revolt against their commanders that they viewed as a life-or-death act of defiance.

Kelly Kennedy of the Army Times, who was embedded with Charlie Company has written an incredible four part series titled “Blood Brothers”.  It is an in depths look at the day to day experiences, horrors, frustrations of a company of soldiers deployed in Iraq. The series also briefly looks at the problems faced by soldiers when they return from Iraq.

 

Although it is a lengthy series including video interviews and photo galleries, I would definitely recommend this series to anyone interested in the war in Iraq.

 

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Blood Brothers

The complete saga

Part 1: To Adhamiya and back

Part 2: ‘I’ve seen enough. I’ve done enough.’

Part 3: ‘Not us. We’re not going.’

Part 4: Picking up the pieces

Extras

‘Nothing was done.’

Getting the pain out in the open

Leadership in the midst of loss

Building a life after escaping death

See photo galleries and video of Charlie 1-26

 

Another interesting series I came across a while ago and didn’t have the time to post it was the story of America’s pin up marine, “The Marlboro Marine”.  From American hero of Fallouja to a virtually forgotten man back home.

 

 

 

The Marlboro Marine: Two Lives Blurred Together by a photo.  - Nov 2007

 

The Marlboro Marine: Video

 

Battles After the War: Photo Gallery

 

Rescue operation aims to save a wounded warrior  - Nov 2007

 

Rescue Mission: Photo Gallery

 

A searing snapshot into the soul - May 2006

 

Marine Whose Photo Lit Up Imaginations Keeps His Cool - Nov 2004

 

Iconic Marine Is at Home but Not at Ease  - May 2006

 

It seems to me that some people forget that “Supporting the Troops” should continue long after the car bumper sticker fades.  Also support shouldn’t be conditional on a returned soldier’s political point of view towards the war, the socio-economic background from which they came or whether they come back glorified heroes and/or broken men and women.

 

A familiar story is of young men without very good job prospects joining the armed forces to make a difference, to be some one their fellow citizens and their government will be proud of, only to find that once they return they are just forgotten pieces of meat.  They also go to Iraq with good intentions, to make a difference but the reality is very different, as this excerpt from Blood Brothers shows.

 

“The surviving platoon members comforted each other that their friends died looking out for their brothers. They told each other they would have done the same. They cried and beat their fists into walls. They knelt in the sand and bent their heads and tried to convince themselves Iraq was worth it.

But that was hard because they no longer believed they were fighting for Iraq. They had, once, a long time ago. Before they had seen the Iraqi bodies with their heads dipped in acid, before the children tossed grenades at them.”

 

It is no surprise that morale is down as they don’t know what they are fighting for or even who their real enemies are.  The statistics indicating the Iraqi feelings towards the American presence is not optimistic either.  In a poll conducted in August 2007 Click here for full report with charts and questionnaire.

 

79% of Iraqis oppose the presence of coalition forces in the country.

 

80 % of Iraqis disapprove of the way U.S. and other coalition forces have performed in Iraq.

 

57% of Iraqis now call attacks on coalition forces “acceptable.”  Acceptability of attacks on U.S. forces also varies by locale, peaking at 100% in Anbar, 69% in Kirkuk city and 60% in Baghdad, compared with 38% in Basra and just 3% in the northern Kurdish provinces.

 

WITHDRAWAL – 47% now say the United States and other coalition forces should leave Iraq immediately, while 34% say U.S. forces should remain until security is restored.

 

 

We also seem to forget that these “Brave Warriors” are in fact mortal men and women who will in the majority of cases carry a heavy burden when and if they return home. They will most likely be physically and/or psychologically wounded.  Highlighting the heavy burden these veterans carry is the high rate of suicide amongst veterans. In 2005 the suicide rate among the American general population was 8.9 per 100,000, the level among veterans was between 18.7 and 20.8 per 100,000. That figure rose to 22.9 to 31.9 suicides per 100,000 among veterans aged 20 to 24 - almost four times the non-veteran average for the age group.

It takes a lot of courage to go out time after time on a patrol wondering if you or your mates will come back and it is a great feeling when you are a fresh young combatant to be called a “Brave Warrior”, a term which seems to be bandied about quite a lot by the ‘patriots’ among us.  But that term very soon becomes a yoke around a soldier’s neck when the symptoms of PTSD begin to surface, for to admit one has PTSD is to admit that they are not the “Brave Warrior” everyone expects them to be, and seeking help becomes a form of shame and a sign of weakness in their eyes and possibly the perceived eyes of those around them and that of their proud nation.  They are not weak, they are just human and need as much support as they can get.  The fact is that many of these soldiers are barely out of school and are being placed into situations where they could never have imagined the horror and terror they would encounter. 

 

In WWI and WWII there were definite and clear objectives and it was a priority to bring the troops home as soon as possible.  But this war in Iraq is not like those wars and when the troops on the ground cannot see a clear objective and they cannot see an end in sight to this war, then I think there is a problem.

He knows they had his back, and he said Spc. Ross McGinnis proved it when he gave up his life by throwing himself on a grenade to save four friends.

“We all say, ‘I don’t know what I would have done,’” he said. “But every single one was willing to die for somebody else.”

That makes it all the harder to come back and feel like the war will never be won.

“I don’t think it’s ever going to end,” he said. “For every one we kill, three more are going to pop up. We can defeat each network, but they’ll just go somewhere else. We used to make fun of the soldiers in Baghdad when we were in Fallujah and Samarra. Then it was Ramadi. Now it’s Baghdad. It’s almost like we’re chasing our tails.” For a time, he said, soldiers will make an area better, but the Iraqi people “don’t keep it better.”

 

It should also be remembered it is not just the combat troops who pay the price for war, so to do the families who belong to these men and women, as does the wider society either directly or indirectly through the financial cut backs in welfare, health, education and other areas caused by the financial cost of war.  Obviously we should not forget the innocent victims in the combat zones.

In my opinion war should ALWAYS be a last resort because in reality there are no victors in war, but way too many wounded souls on all sides.

There is no glory in war.

Edited 27/12/07 11.40am AEST