COLUMN: ‘Position Improvement’

Jared JohnsonSoldier’s Notebook

Well Aggies, the last day of school is finally here! I imagine many of you are gearing up for finals and are ready to breathe that first sweet breath of earned freedom. I recall the feeling well. Wish I was there! Soon enough my friends, soon enough.

Over the past few months, I have shared with you my various opinions about this war in Iraq. If you’ve ever read this column, I imagine you’ve got me pegged as an ultra-conservative Utahn. To a certain extent, you may be right, but my political views do vary on different topics.

I’ve mentioned before that being reasonable is a very important deciding factor to me, and sometimes that reason puts me a little closer to the middle. When it comes to national defense though, I am about as conservative as it gets. Call me stupid, call me crazy, but I absolutely love this country and I would do anything to preserve it. And yes, I would even sacrifice some of my basic freedoms if it meant keeping America secure. In all reality, that is what coming to Iraq has been for me, as I’m sure is the case for many of the soldiers here.

There’s a term we use in the Army a lot of times in referring to building up our defensive positions. It’s called “Position Improvement.” When you are told, “This hill of dirt is yours. Your job is to secure this stretch of roadway from this hill of dirt. Do whatever you need to do to make it like home, because for a year, it is home.”

So you take your hill of dirt and you fortify it with barriers. You build machine gun nests with overhead cover from the sun. You do everything you can to make it a secure, but livable place to be. If you have to defend your position, you have made it difficult for the enemy through your preparation for just such an occasion. I speak from experience about this hill of dirt, since it was my home for a long while. And when I think of the mission in Iraq, this is how I think about it.

The world is all of our position. We all have to live here, like it or not. It is our hill of dirt and we can choose to be vulnerable to attack, or we can do some “Position Improvement” to make it a little nicer and a little more secure for everyone. And this effort will continue although I will no longer be part of it. As I mentioned last week, my unit is preparing to return home very shortly. It has been a long, tiresome run, and we are ready to enjoy the reward that is waiting on your side of the ocean.

Many of those with me will return to their wives and children and continue on with their lives. They will go back to their jobs and live the life they fought to protect. Many of us, though, will return home to find that time and distance has caused those we love to move on with life. You see, the losses of the war effort are not always on the battlefield. It is a sad thing, but is often true.

There is hope, though. When we live and breathe in the land of opportunity, there is always hope. I want to thank every person that has showed their support for the soldiers. It has been unbelievable to see the kindness shown to us since our deployment to Iraq. I wish you all the best in your endeavors, and I look forward to walking the halls of USU once again.

Comments and questions can be sent to Sgt. Jared Johnson at jaredj@cc.usu.edu.