Shock and awe and civil unrest also took lives. The US gov’t at whole deservesbthe blame, and everyone in the military sure. But the indiscriminate murdering of civilians in the street was not common. US troops actually had rules of engagemrnt
You don’t have to murder civilians to humiliate, dehumanize and diminish them. You just have to disrespect them and show them they are powerless. Which both ICE and US military do.
My own experience was that we took our boots off and helmets off when entering homes to meet with village elders. We did not talk to nor break customs around interactions with their women. I built wells to give communities water, ensured they had cooking and fuel oil, repaired infrastructure, and I placed my body over a family to shield them when the house I was in was getting shot at.
There were 237 casualties on my battalion, but by the end of our tour the place that was mired in firefights every day became peaceful enough that the press could walk about with officers and not even wear body armor.
We played soccer with kids, gave out food, ran electricity to homes, and made the best of what we could.
I have done humanitarian aid for NGOs in the years since and worked on mission trips. Neither experience has come close to the magnitude of elevating community needs as my time in the military did for those we were trying to help.
Just my own personal experience, but felt it was worth sharing.
That’s not really accurate, the experience of an infantry soldier doing foot patrols in Afghanistan is completely different than someone who lived in a giant base in Iraq that had hiphop night and taco bell and never left it.
Shock and awe and civil unrest also took lives. The US gov’t at whole deservesbthe blame, and everyone in the military sure. But the indiscriminate murdering of civilians in the street was not common. US troops actually had rules of engagemrnt
You don’t have to murder civilians to humiliate, dehumanize and diminish them. You just have to disrespect them and show them they are powerless. Which both ICE and US military do.
My own experience was that we took our boots off and helmets off when entering homes to meet with village elders. We did not talk to nor break customs around interactions with their women. I built wells to give communities water, ensured they had cooking and fuel oil, repaired infrastructure, and I placed my body over a family to shield them when the house I was in was getting shot at.
There were 237 casualties on my battalion, but by the end of our tour the place that was mired in firefights every day became peaceful enough that the press could walk about with officers and not even wear body armor.
We played soccer with kids, gave out food, ran electricity to homes, and made the best of what we could.
I have done humanitarian aid for NGOs in the years since and worked on mission trips. Neither experience has come close to the magnitude of elevating community needs as my time in the military did for those we were trying to help.
Just my own personal experience, but felt it was worth sharing.
Thank you.
Tell me you weren’t there without telling me 🙄
That’s not really accurate, the experience of an infantry soldier doing foot patrols in Afghanistan is completely different than someone who lived in a giant base in Iraq that had hiphop night and taco bell and never left it.