AlterNet resumes its series of
"A Soldier Speaks" with Joseph Newbrough.
They describe their reason (quite rightly) as:
We at AlterNet believe it is the one issue that can and must bring us all together as America.
Newbrough joined the Marines in 1997. Here's why:
...because of an unstable home life and a general lack of direction. The reason I chose the Marine Corps in the first place, was due to my experience with the Marine Corps JROTC in high school.
After his tour ended, he and his wife moved to Chicago, where they struggled to make ends meet, even with both of them working. Shortly thereafter, he re-enlisted, this time in the Army.
There's more...
Newbrough discusses his work there as a Topographic Analyst, and the realities of daily life. There are references to the command structure fostering the dehumanization of the Iraquis, and he offers this comment about staying sane over there while disagreeing with the stated purpose and the reality of the war:
You are trained to do your job, so you do it. Not to mention, everything is compartmentalized. No one is really seeing things the way they are seen at home. Your focus is on the mission...
Besides the side comments and banter with coworkers, there is not real discussion of events. Most of my information came from the numerous emails and letters that [my wife] Stacey sent. Plus, I tried to call her almost every day. She did all she could to keep me abreast of the political nightmare that was unfolding here at home.
We all bitched. The only ones who didn't were the Neocons.
Because of where he was posted, Newbrough had a lot of contact with Iraqui civilians, and seemed to like them. It grated on him that too few of the locals were hired, the contractors preferring to bring in Jordanians and Bangladeshis as labor.
Now that he's home, he worries about:
My biggest fear is holding my family together. My wife and I have been married for eight years and we have overcome many obstacles to get here. It would be a shame to have it all go down the tubes now. You've got to understand what it is like for her. The army always comes number one, her and the kids are a permanent number two. Not because I want it that way, but because that is the way is has to be in order to be successful in the military.
There's not too much analysis here, I'm really just doing this to point people to the story, which I believe can stand on its own as first-person commentary.
So far, the forum posts below the article are a lot less trollish than in the first one.