I come from a military family. I have family members that are retired or active in practically every branch. One of my younger sisters enlisted in the Air Force right out of high school and had been stationed in FL as a weapons loader for fighter jets. She served in Iraq along with several other family members all at the same time. She is currently at the Air Force Academy working towards becoming a fighter pilot. There is a lot of media attention on the war in Iraq and we are never short of opinions from politicians or the Sheehans of the U.S., but rarely do you hear a soldier talk about their experience. I asked my sister if she would like to say something about her time over there and she provided the following…

People always ask me if I was scared to go to Iraq, what it was like, and my thoughts on the war. Those seemingly hard to answer questions are actually really easy to answer. Yes, I was scared out of my mind, but I tried to act all tough! My family will tell you that I did not come home for leave before I deployed, which made them all angry, but I just couldn’t get approved or come up with the money. So, I was scared because I wanted to see my family in case I didn’t come back.

When I first got there, I was tired, we had been on a plane for days, and it was really late at night. The C-130 does what are called combat landings and take-offs in war zones, so they landed and left the props running, opened up the back hatch, and told us to put our gear on and run across the flightline to the in-processing station. As soon as I got off the plane, many things stuck out to me. First was the smell, the smell of burning oil stung my lungs, it is a very heavy, pungent smell…and you never get used to it the whole time you are there. Then I actually saw the fires on the horizon. It was like being in one of those war games or movies (like Call of Duty, my sister Kel is addicted to it!), but it became real the first night there when we were hit with mortar rounds. The alarm went off, it is a harrowing sound, and we had to run to a bunker.

I started work immediately, a few hours later. I carried a weapon over there and did what is called TCN duty; I was pretty much a SF augmentee. I never really got used to the environment, it was scary the whole time, every time we were attacked, every time I had TCN’s with me, and I was always so intent on making it home. There were some rough times; going for extended periods of times without showers, electricity, normal food. But, I was taken care of; the military always takes care of its people.

I was over there when they had the elections, which was amazing. People think we don’t belong over there and that this war is not worth fighting, but being over there made me see what it is all about, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world! I would go back in a heartbeat, several times, it was the best experience, and I learned so much! I think we need to be over there…this is a war on terror. This is a war on murder, people are being killed in cold blood and if we have the power to stop it and change things, I think we should. I joined the military to volunteer my life to keep liberty, help those in need, and defend my country. I am no politician, I think politics suck, but I am passionate about service, and I think it is a simple thing, “help people.” That is the bottom line. In a few years I want to get my commissioning and be a pilot or a weapons system officer. I get my ass kicked every day here at the USAFA, I got my ass kicked every day loading armament on fighter jets, and I wouldn’t trade this for the world! (By the way, sorry about my language…I am working on it!) I think these two quotes sum up how I feel about the war:

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.” - President John F. Kennedy

“It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.” -Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, Sergeant, USMC

She has provided some pictures from when she was over there for your viewing pleasure–you can find them here.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS