I go there to be with you, Because it's a place where we can be together, A place just for the two of us to share.
But usually when I'm there, I'm alone...
Do you know how to get there? I wish I could take you, I wish I could show you the way.
But do you even want to go there? Do you want to see what I want to show you? Do you want to hear what I want to tell you? Do you want to have what I want to give you? Do you want to go where I want to take you?
Take my hand and I'll lead you there, I'll lead you there if you will follow me.
People don't really listen. We all have something to say, and we all think that it's more important than anything anyone else could want to say. So we talk, but we don't listen. This is truly a shame, because it just illustrates how selfish and self-centered we are. Yes, we are very selfish. We all want to talk, and we all want to be heard, but we aren't willing to listen. So who's listening? That's a very good question, and the truth is, there aren't many people listening. So, even if we had something worth saying, which we usually don't, nobody's going to hear it. Now what? Well, we need to learn to listen, basically. Easy? I don't think so. I've tried, but I usually end up returning to my old ways. For the little time I have actually spent listening, though, I've learned an awful lot. A lot more than I've ever learned from talking. That's why I'm writing this, because I listened to something someone else had to say, and I realized just how little we actually listen. The message was very clear, and it made me feel a little guilty, so I listened some more, and guess what? I learned some more. It really is amazing just how much we can benefit from switching roles once in a while. We can learn so much more, and we can feel so much better fulfilled. And do you know what? It's actually less work. Well sort of, because we're so used to talking, it actually takes a lot more effort to listen, so I guess you have to decide for yourself which is harder. All you have to do so is stop everything, sit back, and enjoy. Then, since we are what we are, we can take what we've heard, and we can tell it to other people. Maybe a few of them will listen, and they will benefit from what you have learned. Progress. What a beautiful thing. Too bad it can't go a little quicker, we might actually figure things out before it's too late.
There is another side to this, though, we often have very important and meaningful things to say, and in that case, why shouldn't we be able to talk about it? Well, we should be able to, and we should talk about such things as often as we can. The problem is, everyone else is talking, too, and nobody's going to hear you. Nobody's going to respond to what you have to say, and you will have wasted yourself. It's so difficult. We're so difficult. You just keep trying, though, and you just keep hoping that someday you'll get an educated response. Someone just may have been listening, and they just might have cared. But it's so hard to find these people. They truly are treasures. When you find one, hold on to them.
So there are two sides to the issue. What should you do now? Well, what I do, is I try to talk and listen, and respond as much as possible. It's hard to balance it, but at least I'm making an attempt. When you don't have anything worth saying, let someone else talk. Listen to what they have to say. Think about it. And most importantly, respond, this will let them know you were listening. This is the most important part, because most everyone enjoys hearing what other people have to say about what they have said. Then, when you do have something to say, more people will listen to you, and some of them just might respond, and not only will they learn from you, but you will learn from them. Benefits.
Just some thoughts on listening, if anyone out there is listening to what I've said here, I'd love to hear from you, because as I've said, I will listen.
This is an interview that was conducted via e-mail with my cousin Jason Ware who is currently stationed in Kuwait, and has been actively involved in the Iraq War.
Q: When and why did you enlist? A: I enlisted back in Dec. of 1999. I really don't remember what the main reason I enlisted was. I think it was mainly because I wanted to do something different and exciting. The reason I pawned off on other people such as my parents was the college benefits.
Q: What branch of the military did you join? A: I'm currently in the Army National Guard.
Q: Could you describe the training you underwent prior to deployment? A: Prior to deployment we spent about 4 months at Fort Drum, NY in a phase called mobilization. During this time we went through all our records, had medical exams, and had new equipment issued. Basically at first they were just making sure we were good to be deployed. The training we received during this time was a lot of "refresher" type stuff. We did things like familiarization/qualification on all sorts of weapons, physical fitness training (getting a lot of people back in shape), first aid classes, land navigation stuff, and all sorts of other really basic stuff that we were trained on back when we went through basic training. Along with the basic stuff there was some training specifically related to stuff we would be encountering overseas. We had classes/briefings on cultures, trained for convoys (how to react to attacks of different types), at one point we even trained in a fake city for urban combat techniques with actual Iraqi's shooting at us with AK47s with blank ammunition. Besides the training that everyone got, some people received extra training related to their military jobs. Myself and a few other guys from my section flew out to Oklahoma for a few weeks to do some artillery training out there. I also attended an advanced marksmanship rifle course where we were issued and trained on high powered scoped rifles.
Q: When, and to where, were you first deployed? A: Not sure exactly what your looking for with this one. In June of '04 we were mobilized and sent to Ft. Drum, NY. We were at Ft. Drum until the end of October then flew into Kuwait. While in Kuwait I stayed at two different camps and was out of there and convoying into Iraq at the end of November. In Iraq I was stationed at a base outside of the city of Balaad through the elections until Feb. when I went to a very remote base outside of the city of Samarra. I was only there for a couple of weeks, before I was sent to a base a little farther north outside of Sadam's old home town of Tikrit. Now, I'm currently down here in Kuwait on a detail to escort convoys of equipment coming out of Iraq and bringing the stuff to the sea port here to send everything home.
Q: What were your first thoughts upon arrival? What did you think of conditions, food, the people, your living arrangements, etc…? A: Well my first few days in the Middle East were not the best. We got off the plane at Kuwait City International Airport, and the heat was ridiculously hot compared the temperatures of Ft. Drum in October. From the airport we were stuck on a bus with a broken A/C and spent a good 12 hours or more driving all over Kuwait due to the bus drivers getting lost. Kuwait's not that big of a country so 12 hours on the road is pretty bad. When I finally got to the camp where we were going to crash for the night they put us in some old tents with yet again broken A/C and scorpions crawling around. All of that stuff was pretty much expected though for anyone who has been in the army. What was really hard to get used to was just how bright it was out, and the fact that you could see nothing for miles expect for a few camels here and there.
Q: In what locations have you been stationed? Were conditions different at each, or were they very similar? A: Every camp/base is different. In my personal opinion the bases in Iraq are much better then in Kuwait. While in Kuwait I stayed in huge like 50 man tents sleeping on cots. The food in Kuwait is decent at some camps and pretty bad at others. Up north in Iraq at every base I was at I stayed in CHUs(containerized housing units). Those were pretty nice, they had outlets(240v), actual beds with mattresses, had to share them with anywhere between 1-3 other room mates. At one base in Iraq I was stuck in a room with 2 other guys with only two beds. I had to build myself a bed with scrap wood and nails I scrounged up. Food in Iraq was pretty good, I mean it's about as good or better then food in army dining facilities back in the US, so I can't really complain. Unlike the guys in the first rotation(OIF 1), the only time I have had to eat MREs(packaged meals) was when I was on long convoys. The only place I was at where the food was really bad was when I was at the base in the middle of the desert outside of Samarra. The base was small and only holding an infantry unit and the aerial cav. unit I was attached to so there was no civilian contracted dining facility there. The food was all cooked by military personnel. Lunch was the worst, try eating a ham and cheese sandwich with nothing but ham and cheese everyday.
Q: What have your duties been? Have they differed from location to location? What duties have been the hardest, most enjoyable? A: Yeah my duties have definitely differed from location to location. My job/military occupation is 13F Fire Support (forward observer for artillery), because of that I've been attached to units other then my own the whole deployment. When my unit arrived in Kuwait we were responsible for bringing the whole division(42nd Infantry Division) into theater. We dealt with everything from convoying troops from the airport to different camps to unloading vehicles off the ships and driving them all over. In Iraq I've been attached to aviation units, which is kind of odd considering my job. Most 13Fs are attached to Infantry or Cav. units. At first I was attached to an air cav. Unit that flew Kiowa Warrior reconnaissance helicopters. They sent 7 guys from my section to work with their unit and honestly really only needed like 3. There wasn't too much for me to do there, so they threw me to work in their TOC(tactical operations center) doing things like monitoring the helicopters on the computer through a GPS system, taking down intelligence reports from the pilots over the radios, and assisting them with any artillery related stuff. It was interesting at first, I learned a lot of new stuff, but being combat arms (having a combat related job) and working inside a building got old quick. They only really cool thing I got to do while there was when a pilot took me up in one of the helicopters for a test flight and let me take the controls for a few laps around the base. Eventually they realized they did not need all 7 of us there so they sent myself and two other of my guys to link up with some of our other guys who were with another aviation unit at a base near Tikrit. While I was there I didn't do anything aviation related. They put some of us out working base security at night because we had our tracked vehicles with us that have a thermal night sight. With the thermal night sight and other equipment on the vehicle we could spot people smoking a cigarette outside their mud hut over 3km away and be able to get a distance/direction, and even a grid location. Outside of the nightly base security stuff we would go out and do reconnaissance patrols and terrain denial fire missions a few times a week. Usually we would roll through the desert with a couple humvees and check out suspicious stuff, sometimes we stop and question people at their houses and try to gather information. The PC term "terrain denial" fire missions, formerly called "harassment and interdiction" missions, involve calling in artillery and blowing up locations terrorists have been using, kind of like a scare tactic. Most of the time it was basically stuff like blowing up some guy's back yard where we have been getting attacked from by rockets or mortars.
Q: What is your current rank? A: I'm currently a Sergeant.
Q: Have you been in active combat? If so, what was it like? A: Well I think just about everyone over here has experienced something. Considering how much I've been out on patrols and convoys and stuff though I'm pretty lucky to say that I haven't seen that much. While at every base I've been at in Iraq we've been attacked by rockets and mortars. It's kind of odd though because it doesn't even faze most people like myself. It's just an every day thing. One time a rocket hit pretty close to me where I actually heard it coming through the sky and that kind of shook me up considering it hit where I was just walking. On my original convoy into Iraq we received some gunfire, but never found the source of it so kept driving and never returned fire. I've seen dead people. One day an Iraqi Army checkpoint on the entrance to our base was hit with a VBIED(vehicle born improvised explosive device) where there was nothing left of the car that was stuffed with explosives, and all of the guards were dead with guts all over jersey barriers and stuff. We came into the base about 10-15 minutes right after it happened and they were still cleaning everything up dragging dead bodies across the ground to throw in trucks and stuff. It was pretty bad to see. I think that's the first time I've ever seen a dead person I real life. A lot of my friends have been hit with IEDs while driving on convoys but luckily have all lived. Two pilots I knew really well from the first unit I was attached to were shot down and died. One time I was about 3 seconds from lighting up a car with a family and little kids in the back because they were approaching us at a high rate of speed and really had no reason to be coming towards us. I had my finger on the trigger and ready to go. They luckily turned before I pulled the trigger. I don't know, I guess I'm pretty lucky. When I first came into country I was hoping to see all sorts of stuff, and get into serious fire fights and stuff, but after being here I really don't care, just want to get home with all my friends I came here with.
Q: Do you feel that you have received proper and adequate training for the duties you have been required to do? A: I think we wasted a lot of time training before coming overseas. It could have been compacted into a lot shorter time. A lot of it didn't really come into play while being over here. Half the problem is that the enemy is constantly changing their tactics on things so it's really hard to focus on training for stuff that is changing everyday. Like the IEDs, they keep evolving and they are finding better and better ways to use them. The types of attacks have change over time too. For a while there will be suicide bombers using cars, a month later there might be a lot for small arms fire attacks. It's just really hard to train for it. Another problem is the fact that so many soldiers over here are doing things that aren't part of their jobs that they are trained for. Adequate training? Sure. Could it be better? Definitely. It's the Army though, we've just got to make use of what we have and get the job done. That's how it's always been, and always will be.
Q: How is morale amongst the troops? A: It changes everyday. People get home sick. People get tired of listening to/working with the same people everyday. There is no breaks, no way to really get away from stuff. It just gets to people sometimes and brings morale down. Overall I think most people know they have a mission to do, and just want to get it done and get home.
Q: Do you receive much "free time?" If so, what do you usually spend this time doing? A: It varies. Most of the time, no. I've spent most of my free time working out at the gym lifting weights and stuff, watching DVDs, playing video games with my roommate on our TV with Xbox and PS2 that we've acquired while being over here.
Q: When are you returning home? Do you plan to return again? A: Hopefully ill be home within a month or two. Do I plan to return again? No. Hope not at least, once is enough. My time in the army is up in December, but there is still ways they could deploy me for another 2 years after that.
Q: Do you think that the United States' presence is helping Iraq's progress towards a self-sufficient government? A: That's hard to say from where I'm at. I know about as much about the government's progress as you or anyone else gets back home from the news. All I can tell you is that their army/police force is slowly but surely getting better.
Q: Have you witnessed progress? A: Well, election day in Iraq last January was amazing, people from all over went out to vote. I would say that's progress. I would say we've made progress with the terrorists, the attacks in my opinion have dropped a lot since I first came into country. There are no more huge battles like the ones that were in Fallujah and Samarra right before I came over. Again as far as progress with things like public services and government its hard for me to say because most of my work has been out in the middle of no where where most people really seem to be unaffected by a lot of the whole deal.
Q: What reactions have you witnessed to the United States' involvement? Do the Iraqi people support or oppose the involvement, the war efforts? In general, do you feel that the Iraqi people are relieved to have the Hussein family out of power? A: I've met and talked to some Iraqis who were all about us being there, but I've also met some who absolutely hated us, and basically told us to get the hell out of there. One family hated our presence because of an incident where some us soldiers shot up their car while their children were in it with warning shots for getting to close to their convoy on the road.
Q: Do you think that the United States is accomplishing its goals in Iraq? How is the rebuilding process going? Is the war effort properly funded? A: Slowly but surely I think were accomplishing our goals in Iraq. I don't think were going to be done anytime soon though. I hope to god they don't pull out troops too soon. Until their government/army is sound, if we pull out things will fall right back to how they were before.
Q: Do you feel that the Iraqi people are benefiting from the United States' presence? Are they able to lead relatively normal lives with the war going on? A: Like I said earlier, most of the people I've seen and dealt with live outside of the major cities, and seem to live normal lives from what I can see. I mean they still have to deal with us rolling through the back yards with machine guns on our vehicles but they continue to farm their land and herd their sheep and stuff.
Q: Are the Iraqi troops benefiting from the United States' training? Do you think that their troops are progressing towards the ability to do what they need to do on their own? A: Definitely. The Iraqi troops are learning a lot from us. They are getting a lot of valuable training, along with a lot of free equipment. I still don't trust any of their troops the slightest, lately it seems like the army has been getting better. The police force on the other hand is still full of a lot of corruption, seems like half of them are working with the terrorists.
Q: Finally, in general, what are your thoughts on the war? What kind of contact have you had with the Iraqi people? Have you gotten to know any Iraqis? Do you have any interesting stories involving people you have met because of the war? A: I think I've answered a lot of this in previous questions. I've met with a lot of Iraqi families, I've even been served tea and stuff at some of their houses. On a lot of our missions we'd try and collect a lot of stuff and throw it in the humvees to hand out to kids in villages that were cool to us. We'd give them stuff like candy, sodas, pencils/pens, paper, footballs/soccer balls, and even personal hygiene products. There are way too many interesting stories to write right now. Overall I hate being over here, but I have had a lot of good times with my friends/fellow soldiers over here.
