by Derek Farwell
Columnist

Throughout the history of war the countries involved often fight alongside of their allies. Different people from different parts of the world and cultures fighting right alongside each other. During my time in Iraq there were many different countries who made up the coalition forces, but only one that came along with us and engaged in combat with us, and those were the Iraqi forces. There were two different elements that we worked with; the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police. We spent a lot of time with them, and suffice it to say they were a very interesting and diverse group. Some were very dedicated to fighting and eliminating the evil in Iraq, some were there because there were no other jobs available, and some were associated with the evil groups that we were there to fight.

With the amount of time we spent with them it was impossible not to spend some time communicating with them regardless of which type of soldier they were. And in some cases you could say that friendships were forged. Everyone has stereotypes about other cultures whether they are positive or negative, but one thing the Iraqi’s thought about us is that we all smoked because American soldiers always smoke in war movies. I’ve never been a smoker but one thing I occasionally did and came to enjoy was sitting and talking with Iraqi soldiers while puffing on their cheap cigarettes after a long day or a tough mission. We would sit and try to communicate and have as much of a conversation as could be had with the language barrier.

While they were considered soldiers, they were far from professionals and it was easy to see why they are incapable of gaining control over the violent circumstances that have overtaken their country. Saying that they were undisciplined and unprofessional would be an incredible understatement. For the most part they needed to be instructed on what to do while on a mission as though they were pulled off the street and had no military experience at all. After missions or while we would be staying at Iraqi bases, it was pretty common place for them to leave their equipment and weapons laying around, which was a bit scary since you never knew who you could trust or if someone would pick it up with the intention of using it on others in the area. Though alcohol is illegal in Iraq as it is in most Muslim countries, there was no shortage of cheap whiskey in the buildings. Another of their favorite pastimes was to smoke hash, and many of the soldiers were not shy about using heroin which became a very common thing to see.

One of my favorite guys to talk to was a Sergeant in the Iraqi Army. He was an older guy who was at one point in Saddam’s Army, and would sit and tell me about being a paratrooper during the brutal Iraq/Iran war. When Saddam’s Army was disbanded he had nothing else to do so he joined the new Army and started over as a private. He had some pretty unbelievable and often times horrendous stories about the Iraq/Iran war and the part he played in it. Many of his stories caused me to seriously question his ethical standpoint, and I certainly wouldn’t be caught sleeping near him, but none the less, I enjoyed talking with him just as he enjoyed asking me about my experiences in the Army and living in America.

It’s impossible to sum up these soldiers with one bland description since they were all different people with different motivations, as is the American military, but it was really quite an experience. Working with them showed you the true dedication of people fighting for freedom, and some of them caused you to question the very purpose of why we were even there fighting for a country where some of its own military members had no qualms about torturing and killing innocent people. Throughout my deployment I became accustomed to combat, to facing death and making the choice about who lived and who did not. It became second nature, and now that it’s all over it really makes me appreciative to be where I am today and not having to live that kind of life.

drfarwell@hotmail.com