America's Best vs. Middle East's Worst
This weekend was great, going back home and seeing my family again. You think it will be easy to leave, and then when the moment finally comes where you have to leave and go back to the base it is really hard emotionally. Same thing when I got to go on R&R leave from Iraq. I came back and was really depressed for about a week in Iraq until I re-adjusted. I was really upset when I got stuck in Chicago's O' Hare International Airport because of bad weather. Having to sleep on the ground, though I kinda laughed that I am complaining about sleeping on a floor for a night when for 16 days all we could do was sleep on the ground. I finally was able to get on a flight in the morning with extra seats. It really tested my patience. My grandmother that night called the airport and threatened if they don't get me home she write the Chicago tribune about how I am an OIF combat veteran and haven't been home at the last Thanksgiving or Christmas. I thought she was being alittle overzealous, alot of other people at the airport probably haven't even seen their family in years.
One though that went through my head was pretty intriguing. It was the contrast of ideas between Americans soldiers and these terrorists and so called insurgents. The big difference I found was that American soldiers in this type of situation fight for one simple reason, TO SURVIVE. I can't think of a single guy I could go up to and will say "I want to go to Iraq to kill Iraqis." I would love to be able to go to Iraq and not get shot at or nothing and not have to fire my gun at all. I can't help but think how different we are from these people. All they can say is how bad they want to kill Americans. Hell, we've even captured insurgents that proudly proclaimed they killed Americans, let's just say, we made sure they didn't sleep well that night. For Americans, killing is self defense, for these Iraqis and Foreign fighters, killing is like a passage to manhood.
One though that went through my head was pretty intriguing. It was the contrast of ideas between Americans soldiers and these terrorists and so called insurgents. The big difference I found was that American soldiers in this type of situation fight for one simple reason, TO SURVIVE. I can't think of a single guy I could go up to and will say "I want to go to Iraq to kill Iraqis." I would love to be able to go to Iraq and not get shot at or nothing and not have to fire my gun at all. I can't help but think how different we are from these people. All they can say is how bad they want to kill Americans. Hell, we've even captured insurgents that proudly proclaimed they killed Americans, let's just say, we made sure they didn't sleep well that night. For Americans, killing is self defense, for these Iraqis and Foreign fighters, killing is like a passage to manhood.
