As some of you know, the standard length of deployment was recently changed for the Army from 12 months to 15 months. And while it doesn’t sound that different, for those of us who were looking forward to having soldiers home in two months, to now be looking at five or six months more, it’s a big difference. I can’t speak for everyone who’s over there either, but I would think it’s even more difficult for them.
I’ve never been thrilled with the war in Iraq. But after protesting before it began and feeling utterly ignored and disenfranchised by my government once it was underway, I did what most Americans did, ignore it.
Once Jesse was deployed last June, however, I didn’t have that luxury. Over two deployments he’s now spent 21 months in Iraq and has six more to go. I love the dedication to his principles that led him to join the Army. I hate what he has to go through every day and what the same people who are causing his situation are creating for America in the rest of the world.
I know I’m preaching to the choir, and in fact, I’m going to stop here so that it doesn’t truly become preaching. I would love to tell you what the answer is, or some little quick thing you could do to help, like calling a phone number, but if it were that easy, it would be over by now.
I’m writing to let all of you know what my experience is like here, and the Iraq war is part of it. It is in the news I read every day, it is in the conversations Nicaraguans have with each other about the state of affairs in the world (specifically which country the US is involved in war with now), it is in my heart when I hear about families, both Iraqi and American, who will never be whole again. There, but for the grace of God, go I - John Bradford.
I’ve never been thrilled with the war in Iraq. But after protesting before it began and feeling utterly ignored and disenfranchised by my government once it was underway, I did what most Americans did, ignore it.
Once Jesse was deployed last June, however, I didn’t have that luxury. Over two deployments he’s now spent 21 months in Iraq and has six more to go. I love the dedication to his principles that led him to join the Army. I hate what he has to go through every day and what the same people who are causing his situation are creating for America in the rest of the world.
I know I’m preaching to the choir, and in fact, I’m going to stop here so that it doesn’t truly become preaching. I would love to tell you what the answer is, or some little quick thing you could do to help, like calling a phone number, but if it were that easy, it would be over by now.
I’m writing to let all of you know what my experience is like here, and the Iraq war is part of it. It is in the news I read every day, it is in the conversations Nicaraguans have with each other about the state of affairs in the world (specifically which country the US is involved in war with now), it is in my heart when I hear about families, both Iraqi and American, who will never be whole again. There, but for the grace of God, go I - John Bradford.
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Jesse's Squad in 2006
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