foreboding

My nephew's joining the Marines. They promised him money for college and training as a helicopter technician. He'll almost certain to be sent to Iraq.

I don't care what anyone says, I cannot see how it's possible that he is NOT making a huge mistake. It's possible that he'll come out of it okay. But I feel it's more possible that he won't.  Much more possible.  Even if he isn't killed. What he'll be doing over there... will very likely mess him up.  That's what war does.  Messes up a lot of people.  His life will be forever changed.

I am thinking about what this will mean for my family. What it would be like for my sister, my parents, if he didn't come back. Or comes back with PTSD or missing arms or legs. Or comes back and commits suicide. It makes me think of when my own parents lost their son at a really young age. It happened before I was born but for as much as it impacted my life, it may as well have happened last year. So much of who we are and why my family is the way they are is due to that single tragedy. The reverberations are still felt today, more than 30 years later.

My nephew's going to Iraq and I have the most awful feeling about this...

Comments

[feministgal]

i am so so sorry :(

[Alison]

I'm sorry. I don't know what to say.

[Liz W]

Sympathies. I grew up spending most of my time on a British Army camp, where my mother worked as a civilian, and one of my grimmest memories is sitting in the chapel choir stalls the week we learned that one of the regiments was going to the Falklands, looking at row on row of crying family members. All of their loved ones came back, that time at least. I hope your nephew makes it back safely too.

[Ry]

I'm an aircraft mechanic (technician) in the Air Force. My brother-in-law was a network administrator in the Marines. He got stuck in Baghdad for a year, and still wakes up at night in a cold sweat from the dreams on the constant bombing attacks.

The Air Force keeps all its aircraft and maintainer's in Qatar or the UAE (US friendly countries). The aircraft launch from there and return, leaving the maintenance and logistics guys behind. While I know that there is really no safe place "over there", I'd like to think that your nephew is going to be placed as far as possible from danger. The Marines may too follow that plan -- keep the aircraft/equipment far away from the "action".

You should be thankful that he was smart enough not to go into Infantry. He may indeed be one of the safer soldier’s there. I wish him the best...

[Paul -V-]

Question: Does he really believe he's going to be helping Americans or Iraqis? Or is he in this for the college money?

[david]

Perhaps you can find out what you can offer him that would give him the same real-world advantages that he feels the military will. Until we, as a community, can figure out a viable alternative for our children to the military, then they will continue to rape our children's future.