Trying to be a Chameleon

29 August 2009

It's amazing how quickly you adapt to an environment. When I think back over my past couple years I went from a home I'd lived in for 18 years with a routine I knew and was comfortable with, then to college where things were always changing, I started new things, I ditched some old ways. Then after graduation I started out on this Army life style. I've spent more time in tents and hotels than in a real house but at the end of the day it doesn't seem that weird.

Really what I've been thinking about is where my weapon is, not on me! I don't leave in the morning for work and think, oh shoot I forgot my weapon again, but I do walk out of my tent thinking I know I'm not forgetting anything but I sure do feel like I don't have everything. It's like going to school without your backpack or to the mall without a wallet. Just feels like some thing's missing. I tend to carry my backpack with me carrying nothing more than a notebook so that I have something on my back to fill the void.

I also realized the other day that I was going through more culture shock. In Iraq we're not authorized to wear civilian clothes. The reasons range from the fact that we could have to go defend our position at anytime and better be dressed for the occasion, to the Geneva Convention that states Military forces will not dress like the enemy to blend in. A lot of people are stationed here in Kuwait much like I was stationed in Korea. They wear civilian clothes and it throws me everyday seeing them in jeans and t-shirts. It honestly took me a couple days to realize that these people were 'off duty' and had changed. I haven't been off duty since Greece, it was really weird.

I have to get this picture downloaded, but there was an incident in Afghanistan about two months ago where a small base was attacked and all the guys jumped out of their beds and ran to their posts to defend the camp, some were mostly dressed, other's grabbed what they could. A picture came out of a Soldier who had chosen to take the time to grab his weapon over clothes and was defending his post with his battle buddies in pink boxers, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. It's a funny picture because you don't see pink boxers much at war, but it was also pretty cool because there's something to be said about the immediate reaction of someone like that. He was more concerned about getting out there and defending than his shorts, sometimes that's all you need.

Although it's pretty quick to adapt to a new environment for me, I've been doing it for a while now, not everyone does. The down side of war is that it's hard to take your mind completely out of it. I'm still in Kuwait and rarely left the FOB in Iraq, but even I have a hard time walking around here and feeling comfortable. Certain cars make me look around for the closest bunker just in case, low flying jets make me feel safe knowing our Air Force and Navy pilots are around (even though here they're actually commercial planes from Kuwait City International Airport), and the thud of the wooden tent doors make me jump and start counting to figure out if the 'boom' was incoming our outgoing artillery. I can't imagine what it's like for the infantry guys who patrolled the streets everyday and as someone who has a teeny tiny understanding of what they went through I can't really blame them for going buck wild when they get back.

Unfortunately most cities don't appreciate the return of Soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan because of the buck wild part. Soldiers are not allowed to drink any alcohol while deployed because we're always on duty, you never know when you'll be called out and being drunk is not a smart thing over here. But that causes Soldiers to try and make up for a year without alcohol in one night, maybe two. A year tends to be a long time for fragile marriages and unruly kids also. Parents get back and have to adapt to life outside a war zone and their aged children. Some spouses have to deal with the realization of a newly broken marriage, often ending ugly. The amount of DUIs and domestic violence sky rocket when troops return home and the cities hate it. (On the flip side bars love it.) Fairbanks is a pretty small town, but the unit makes up a huge percentage of the population. Already we have Soldiers back in Wainwright who are spreading the dread for the return of five thousand thirsty men and women.

It's hard knowing that we're all going back to thousands of people who love us and are excited for our return, but underneath also wonder if we're okay. Everyone deals with war differently, everyone deals with what they experience differently. Some people want to play the hero, have the combat scars and ribbons, other people hide them away and don't let anyone know what they accomplished. Unfortunately it's the rotten apples that spoil the bunch. Even if the unit only has one DUI when we return to Fairbanks, everyone will remember it. Everyone will remember the DUI and not what the five thousands Soldiers did for a year in Iraq.

Our Soldiers did an amazing job in Iraq. Is Iraq saved because of us, no way. But it's all about baby steps. Our Soldier's supported the Government of Iraq the whole year, first helping squeeze out bad guys, then abiding by the security agreement that changed over night from allowing the Soldier's to act as a Soldier to making them a diplomat. The gave the cities back to the Iraqis, gave the roads back, trained the Iraqi Army to protect the people, trained the police to arrest the bad guys, trained the doctors, trained the mechanics, gave jobs to hundreds of men who struggle to provide for their families. Our unit will return without five Soldiers who died during combat, a couple more from accidents both in Iraq and Wainwright during leave. I know that the unit who is replacing us will have it harder. By the time their year is up they will have had to draw down even more than we did to get out of Iraq by 2011. They most likely will not be replaced and will leave Iraq turning the all responsibility back to the Iraqis. It'll be a great day for American Soldiers, but I also hope it'll be a great day for Iraqis.

I'll be in Kuwait one more sweaty month. It's not humid anymore, it only lasted a week. I guess that was some sad clouds attempt to rain. It was terrible though, I hope it stays just plain hot. It usually gets to about 120 here and honestly it doesn't seem that hot anymore. Sure your pants feel like they're about to burst into flames and your eyeballs bake but other than that it's no big deal. What I'm worried about now is getting back to Wainwright. I should get back right about the beginning of October and it will probably be in the 40s or lower, possibly starting to snow. As much as I'm looking forward to snow, an 80 degree temperature change after one flight may cause an extreme reaction from me, a little swearing, a little shivering, a big smile, and a lot of giggling at the degree to which I'll be frozen solid into a dusty Popsicle, possibly a butt first landing out of the plane if the stairs are frosty. I hope they video our return because it'll be funny!