Response to some Iraq Questions

I'm not sure if there were more questions but these are the only ones I was able to download. I hope you enjoy learning a little bit about the Army and Iraq. -SGT Morgan

Is it easy to sleep with the war going on?

Where I live in Iraq we don’t hear a lot of bombs and gunfire. There’s an IED(Improved Explosive Device) team that operates near us so we hear what are called “controlled detonations” on a regular basis. When they find IEDs and VBIEDs (Vehicle Born Improved Explosive Device) there’s a big open field behind up where they blow them up to destroy them so they can’t hurt anyone. At first it was scary because we didn’t know what was controlled and what was real. After awhile though you get used to it and you start to learn the difference between the two sounds. Some nights I sleep better than others. It was actually harder for me to sleep when I went home for my leave because it was much more quiet and I worried a lot about what was going on back here and what my buddy’s were going through while I was being lazy at home.

Do you like being in the war and what got you interested in being a Soldier?

I can’t say I like being in war. I don’t think we’re supposed to like war. But sometimes it’s a necessary evil to accomplish better things in the long run. I didn’t join the Army because I wanted to go to war. I joined the Army because I’m in love with America. We’re so lucky to live where we live and to be who we are. I was in college when I enlisted. I joined the National Guard because I was bored in school and didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated. I thought maybe being in the National Guard would help me feel like I was doing something important, and it has. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans I got to help Americans first hand. And now, I’m helping Iraqis find a better way for themselves. If anyone thought this would be an easy road, they weren’t thinking. It wasn’t an easy road for Americans when we claimed freedom either. I like helping people find hope.

When you first started were you nervous or scared?

Of course I was scared. We trained for the worse possible mission. The worse scenarios. We trained to be on the road escorting convoys but we’re actually working at prison guards. I almost think being a prison guard is worse than being on the road. On the road you deal with bad guys but you have the opportunity to defend yourself. In the prison we’ve got thousands of the bad guys all in one place behind concertina wire and a chain link fence. They’re not the best behaved either. We’re constantly on guard. Constantly on our toes waiting for the next riot or escape attempt. Constantly watching our backs. The good news is that they’re slowly being tried and convicted by their own court system.