A LETTER HOME FROM A SOLDIER
The reflections of a twenty year old me, my first month in the Middle East.
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Note: This is a letter I wrote to the Editor of the State-Journal Register in Springfield, Illinois after my first full month deployed to the Middle East in 2003. I had only been assigned to Germany for a total of six weeks before we deployed. How I saw the Middle East here was completely different from how I viewed Iraq little less than a month after I wrote this, and even more so after the beginning and end of the war as well as after a year deployed.
(I'm 20 at the time, April 2003.)
Dear Editor,
My name is XXXX XXXXXX. I am a native a Springfield. In 2001 I joined the National Guard. For 11 months I was a part of the 644th PSB at Camp Lincoln in Springfield, until my travels took me to Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training, and then to the Florida National Guard. In November of 2002, I decided to join the Active Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, a duty station in Europe, and honestly, for a chance to see the world on the Government's expense. Since March 4th I have been deployed to Kuwait. I was asked to write a letter to the Orlando Sentinel from an editor friend back home, and thought that people from my hometown might be interested in hearing it as well. The following letter is enclosed:
My Battalion (90th Personnel Services Battalion, stationed in Germany) is deployed to a small 'kabal,' the Arab word for 'Camp', in Kuwait. We are settled South of the Iraqi border. There is nothing fancy here. Our 'desert paradise' is often refered to as 'Tent City', and that is exactly what it is. There are no permanent structures here. There is a trailer for the Post Exchange (PX), and portable showers. (Yes, that is our one luxury) The rest of the kabal is made up of large fest tents, and smaller sleep tents. Some soldiers sleep on the ground on sleep mats, others are fortunate enough to have cots. The showers are limited to twice a week for male soldiers, and three times a week for female soldiers (due to hygeine). We have two hot meals a day, breakfast and dinner, and at lunch we eat an MRE which is a Meal Ready to Eat, that consists of preserved food, and a water activated heater which supplies a day's worth of nutrients. We aren't going hungry that is for sure.
On Sundays, everyone usually does laundry. We take water from old water bottles and pour it into buckets and hang them on 550 cord. So the whole kabal is littered with brown tee-shirts, black socks, underwear, and uniforms strung between tents.
The Army really does try to increase the welfare of it's soldiers here. AT&T has provided a phone tent, where soldiers can call home with calling cards, the line is usually 2-5 hours, but it is worth the 15 minutes to talk to a loved one. There is also the PX where you can buy extra necessities (like baby wipes and snacks)but the line for that is even longer than the phone line. There is a make shift gym, and a MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) Tent where you can watch the news, or a movie. Anything is better than hanging out in your tent all night.
So that is a description of our little home. We have made things as comfortable as we can here, and we are getting by. Our morale is still high, although the work is hard, the days are long, and we have no idea when we are coming home.
There are bad parts about being here. For one, we don't know what is really going on with the war, besides what they tell us in our nightly briefing. It's basically to keep the morale up. It's hard to know about people dying around you, without becoming scared. It's hard not to be scared. Everyone walks around in this blazing hot weather with about 25 pounds of gear on through the thick sand, then all of the sudden a loud siren will fill the air. The next thing you know, you are throwing on your gas mask, and running for cover somewhere. (The alarm means a scud missle is on it's way) There will be helicopters and planes flying over your head at night that sound like the world is coming to an end. There have been plenty of nights where we have been instructed to sleep in our uniforms, boots and to keep our gear close to us, only to wake up in the morning without anything wrong. I've seen the missles explode in the distance, fly over us, and witnessed the Black Hawks take off in a moments notice. I hear the Patriot Missiles launch, and each time all of this happens, I have to take a deep breath and pinch myself. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe I am here. That I volunteered to do this.
From what I hear there are people all over the world, including Americans, are protesting this war, and everyone involved in it. This is what these people should try to understand. Don't blame it on the soldiers. It is because of people like us, and soldiers from Centuries before, who have readily volunteered their lives and freedom to protect the freedom of our nation, and the freedom of peoples all over the world. It sounds kind of corny being said like that. But unless you have experienced it, you can't really understand what the life of a soldier is like. We are dirty, we are tired, we are sweaty, smelly. Our muscles are tight, and our backs and shoulders hurt. We are away from our loved ones. We are in a strange country, trying to adapt without all the comforts of home that we are used to, and we don't know when we will ever get back. In all honesty, some of us may never get home. But we are ok with this. Each person out here knows, that with them being here, it makes certain that there are many more peaceful nights for our loved ones and friend's back at home.
For those who support us, Thank You. Your letters, contributions, and prayers are extremely appreciated. It is hard to understand what is going on here. I would be lying if I said that everyone out here even knew what we are really doing out here. We just know that we are doing our job.
Me, I want to go home. I want to go to Florida and just hug my Mom and Brother. I want to take a hot shower, and sleep on a mattress between sheets. But most of all, one day, I want my family to walk down the street, and not be afraid of what may happen to them that day.
Keep the prayers coming. We need them in the next few weeks, some major battles are at hand, and we need all the support from the homefront as we can get. Many units may be jumping forward soon, and where we go wont be as friendly or nice as what we have here. We think that we are roughing it now, we were told to "just wait."
Sometimes I forget where I am at. When the day is over, and the heat starts to go away, the sun will set behind the sand dunes. It is the most amazing thing. It is hard to imagine something as radiant as that falling into endless miles of sand. Then when the sun is gone, the sky lights up at night with stars. You can see them for miles, and nothing is interupted by city lights. It is beautiful. You almost forget where you are. You know, I never thought I would leave the states, but now I have seen the stars from three continents in the last five months.
Thank You all for everything again. Hopefully this will all be over soon....until then, I'm going to keep on fighting.
Remember wherever you go, your heart must follow.
God Bless, SPC XXXX XXXXXX