COLUMN: Even promotions don’t make it easy
Hello family and friends,
The Army is trying to turn me into a responsible person by going and promoting me to the rank of Sergeant. I told the captain that I don’t want the weight of responsibility that comes with being an NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer). I said I was happy in the care-free world of being “just a specialist” where I could hide from responsibility as a lower-enlisted soldier. Oh well, I guess when Jonah tried to run from his responsibility he got swallowed by a whale, so I’d better not try running. Sincerely, though, I am honored to be considered responsible enough to earn a promotion out in the field, before going to the classes. I hope to fill my duties well and wear the rank with honor.
Business in Ba’qubah keeps the days interesting. I’m tired, but amused, at how almost every person who comes in hopes that we will give him money, a job, a car, a camera or a phone. I tell them that it is a great duty to help build a better Iraq or stop the violence, but most roll their eyes at duty and want something a little more tangible than a feeling of patriotism or noblity. One guy kept coming back to money and I finally said, “This discussion is over. Thank you for your time. Please leave.” Another guy got so upset that we wouldn’t pay him $500 for an operation on his back he went outside and defacated on the building (if I wasn’t so shocked I might have gotten angry – but mostly I just shook my head and chuckled in disbelief).
There are some interesting international characters here in Iraq, drawn by the weapons and excitement and chaos (and I don’t mean terrorists, but people working for the Coalition). There are two mercenaries, one from Australia and one from Serbia, who live in the building. They always buy black-market weapons and carry them around – pistols on hips, snipers rifles or automatic weapons slung over one shoulder, or knifes hanging from belts. The Serb was on the roof with a Dragoonoff sniper rifle when he said he saw an Iraqi with a Klashnokov. The Serb fired a shot in the general direction. Since he missed he said it was just a warning shot. They’re cordial enough and come “talk shop” in my office when there’s a break. Most of the discussion is about weapons and goes way over my head.
The schools are in session and it’s good to see the children dressed in uniforms carrying lesson books. It will be through education that progress from an impoverished, ignorant nation to a prosperous, developed nation will take place. There is still a group of young boys who hang around the gates from sun up to sun down hawking everything under the sun. They say they don’t have the money to go to school or buy the books. I think they are forced to grow up fast and are carrying much of the responsibility for helping their families survive. The money they earn from GIs at the gate makes school look like a waste of time. Unfortunately, time will prove that an uneducated road is many times more difficult. They call me “Bazooni” (cat) because I showed them a picture of my cat Chester sleeping in comfort on a bed. They thought it was a crazy idea to have a pet cat.
I miss you all,
Chris
Christopher Keeley is a graduate student at USU and was working as a staff assistant in Extension Conference Services when he was called to active duty. He is from Hyrum, Utah, and is a member of the Utah National Guard specializing in counterintelligence and is a Korean linguist.