Aggie greetings from Iraq
Hello Aggies, greetings from Iraq!
First of all, let me say you can all sleep better tonight knowing Utah State is well represented here. Along with some other former students and alumni, we’re holding down the fort out here some 10,000 miles from home.
We’ve even spruced up our Howitzer (a very large tank-like vehicle) with some Utah State artwork. It just kind of helps bring a little bit of home out here with us.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sergeant Jared Johnson. I am part of Task Force 222 stationed here in Ramadi, Iraq. Ramadi is the capital city of the Al Anbar province and the insurgent stronghold of western Iraq. If you watch the news, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.
A little over a year ago, I was a student there at Utah State, much like yourselves. I went to class, hung out with friends and enjoyed college life just as you probably do.
Then, one day I got a phone call telling me to pack my bags and get ready for a trip to the sandbox. I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy, but I knew it was my job and I understood the commitment when I joined.
Believe me, going from sitting in Phil Swenson’s Corporate Finance class to dodging roadside bombs was quite the shocker.
Unfortunately, we haven’t dodged all of them. All I can say is thank you Uncle Sam for the armored Humvees and ballistic windshields! It is really nice to see well-spent tax dollars actually saving soldiers’ lives.
My unit is the 2/222 FA battalion out of Southern Utah. The “Triple Deuce” as it is often referred to. It is an artillery unit which utilizes long-range weapon systems to engage enemy targets.
Due to the nature of the conflict here in Iraq, there is a limited need for such weapons, which has led us to fulfill other missions.
I’ve done everything from patrolling the highways and walking through villages, to flying a small remote control surveillance plane called a Raven.
Our current mission is a counterfire mission. The terrorist and insurgent cells fire rockets and mortars into our base on a regular basis. As soon as they do, we acquire the target and return fire.
During our time in Iraq, we have seen some things that I would hope no one would have to see. I have gotten incredibly lucky myself, though I don’t credit it to luck alone.
Of course you’ve all see the bad things too, just maybe not as close up. All you have to do is turn on CNN and there it is. I get a chance to see the news too; I know very well what’s on there all the time. I hope you will believe me though, when I say, “It’s not all bad.”
Over here, we get to see the Iraqis getting excited about the democratic process.
We get to see the volunteerslining up to join the police force.
We get to visit with the soldiers of the Iraqi Army, and let me tell you they are some brave souls.
We get to see the smiles on the kids’ faces when they get a toy from a U.S. soldier, something they’ve never had before.
Regardless of what the media says, there are people who want us here.
All I can say is this: Let the politicians squabble over why we’re here and when we should leave. While they’re squabbling, the soldiers on the ground over here are getting it done. And make no mistake about it, the soldiers know why they are here.
In the following weeks of this semester, I hope to give the students of Utah State a perspective on this war. Hopefully I can put it on a level that you can relate to personally.
I’m no expert on what’s going on here, but I do have a perspective that those at home do not.
Some people think their opinion was sent from somewhere up above as a revelation of some greater truth.
Personally, I think their opinion is the product of never stepping outside their happy existence to see what the real world is all about.
Hopefully, I can give some insight that will help you form your own, more educated opinion about what’s really going on over here.
Sgt. Jared Johnson’s column will run every Friday in the Utah Statesman. Comments or questions can be sent to jaredj@cc.usu.edu.