Comments From An Iraq War Veteran

Editor’s note: This interview is anonymous at the request of the interviewee.

First off, the staff here at Kick Acts deeply appreciates all members and branches of the military and your commitment to our security. It’s men and women like you protect this great nation that make us very proud. We salute you.

1.  What was your first impression of Iraq?

After all the training we went through, some of us that hadn’t been there before were real nervous at first.

2. Is it anything like we see over here on TV in the United States?

I dont think it is. All these newscasters that say they’re there really aren’t. They’re standing in front of a green screen and talking shit.

3. Do you think the U.S. news media is/was biased or non-biased of its coverage of the war?

From what I saw, they were on both sides but they are all pissed and think we are they for the wrong reasons. The thing is that they only get part of the story cause it is OPSEC (operational secturity) and if they know they could put us in more danger than what we are already in.

4. How did it affect the morale of you and your fellow soldiers?

I think it let a lot of us more or less know how valuable life really is and not to take anything for granted.

5. How important was it to get care packages or did you receive any at all?

When anybody got care packages, it was a lot like Christmas because we would get what we wanted and what we needed and everyone shared. We were like a bunch of kids.

6. What did you do to let off some of the steam when you weren’t on duty?

I would blow of my steam by going to the gym.

7. What was the scariest moment you experienced over there?

The scariest moment for me was when the lead truck and second truck took a blast from an IED. I was in the back and didn’t have very good communication with any of the trucks in the front and didn’t really know for sure that everyone was alright.

8. Would you like to address the anti-war people here in the United States that said the war was a waste of time and unwinnable?

In some points they are right. We are not going to stop those dumbass people from fighting each other because it’s all they know how to do. I mean, they’ve been at war for thousand of years and we are not going to stop them. The main reason we’re there is to show them that they can’t bring that shit into our home and we will put a stop to it, one way or another.

9. Do you think our commander in chief did a good job?

I think he made a big decision and stood behind it the whole time he was in office. We haven’t had really any more problems on the home front since we went over there, other than the economy.

10. Here’s where you get to answer a question we didn’t ask. We call this section of the interview “Shout It Out Loud” where you get to say whatever you want.

If I was single, I would go back in a heart beat. I can’t say it’s fun but you get to do stuff that you can’t really do here every day. I’m all for staying there as long as we need. If we pull out now I think it could be a bad thing for America. I was in Iraq for a year and it was in a lot better shape when we left than whe we got there. I can’t say a whole lot about the Afganistan war other than it’s gonna be a long time before we get everyone out of there, if ever.