There are moments that send a chill down my spine and give me quick memories of the Iraq war, these moments do not spur good memories. I have followed articles and news stories before about the insane things that have happened to Americans in Iraq and even to the hostile combatants. But this week was unique it really made me think about the missions the units I was with accomplished or took. This seriously made me think about some specific missions and my direct or indirect involvement with them. Its just shocking to hear that we may have treated Americans that way.
Obviously because of the sensitivity of these missions I cannot go into detail here on the Internet, you never know who's reading and watching. It just gives my conscience a bit of a rattle when I hear these stories, like the two cases that were brought up on Countdown this week. I do not regret my military service, do I agree with it though? NO...
Even when I joined I was a progressive liberal, I didn't envision ever going to Iraq, or even being placed in the middle east. I'm not complaining though I knew what I had signed up for and I did my job. The 500 days spent in Iraq are a testament to that. It was a learning experience and I imagine that throughout all wars there were people like me, people who wanted to see what our government was doing. People who needed to find the truth, or people who are true patriots and serve their country without a draft and even do it when they disagree with the policies and the lies. That is a true Patriot....not these tea bagger fucks who have no education on economics or even American History.
I realize that I don't have many friends left that I served with, some ignore me because I left and my attitude towards the Air Force and its policies. Others have their own lives and became busy, and the ones who stick by me are the ones who are progressives. Even a friend that's currently deployed chats with me on a daily basis and has even come to Wisconsin for a Packers game and good times. That's true friendship, two people that I had never known of each others existence prior to 2004 and had come from two separate parts of the country and different backgrounds and ethnicity. Even without the rank and bullshit of the military I highly respect this friend, this is a man who's had my back and I gladly have his. But man do I miss those few people...those few friends I had while serving made my deployments easier and helped carry the burden of a young man learning his way through the Iraqi desert. Those are the moments that make me smile, that make me remember the good in people and remember that true friendship is priceless.
