If you haven't seen Pamela Hess' interview yet, you must devote nine minutes to watching this video. She's a reporter who went to Iraq to figure out how our servicemembers could possibly have such high morale. She never expected the lesson she learned.
Now she groks.
It is this understanding she's gleaned from Iraq that drives my husband and others to yearn to return to Iraq. My husband will most likely be deploying next year, and that's not soon enough for him: he asked me if he could volunteer to go this fall instead. He aches to go back before it's too late, before there's a drawdown or before President Clinton yanks us out of there. He feels like he's running out of time to get back there and help, and it's killing him. I told him that I understand, but that he's slated for language training and he would be a whole lot more useful if he did that first before he deployed.
(Ha -- People kept telling me there's no 100% safe time to have a baby in the Army; my husband's trying to purposely deploy during the nine months we've set aside. Our breeding plans aren't safe from his convictions!)
Pamela Hess managed to grok what fuels our troops. Let's spread her story.
Posted by Sarah at March 13, 2007 09:34 AM | TrackBackewwwww! Don't say "President Clinton"...it makes my skin crawl!!
Posted by: Angie at March 13, 2007 11:39 AMBeing a C-span junkie I saw this live, the whole thing. I was touched and felt priviliged to have been watching. She is real.
Posted by: Ruth H at March 13, 2007 03:34 PMOMG...I have found a kindred spirit in the "I cry when I am impressed with someone's human spirit" affliction. I even learned something watching that...I mean, she conveyed something that I didn't really understand completely and I feel smarter for having watched that.
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at March 13, 2007 05:58 PMI know exactly what you mean. Even while hubby was deployed it was always, "When I deploy again..." It was never "if".
Sometimes I think he might believe the fate of the entire war and the free world rests on his upholding his end of the effort in-theater.
It's very bittersweet.
Posted by: airforcewife at March 14, 2007 03:05 PMI understand what you mean. I am in the RI Guard and wengt for OIF I. Just transferred to a unit that returned in OCT 2+2 = I probably wont get back to the sand box and though my family cant understand it, I'd like to go back, like your husband "before its too late".
Posted by: majham at March 16, 2007 01:50 PMMost Americans want the troops home.
Posted by: John Ryan at March 27, 2007 10:16 AM