Vox Veterana

Vets For Freedom is back in D.C. again with 400 soldiers and marines and I am here to partake in the fun. We`ll see if we can`t bring a modicum of truth to our elected representatives about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If history is any guage I think we`ll have a bit of infulence as an organization with 22,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets is hard to ignore.

Posted by TF Boggs at 12:47 PM 4 Comments

My (*cough*) Generation
Posted by TF Boggs at 7:36 PM, 3/31/08

The other day I found a box of mine that contained some souvenirs from my first deployment to Iraq. Among them was a canvas painting of Saddam that I took from the Abu Ghraib prison during the summer of 2003 (pre-prisoner “abuse” for those of you paying attention.) I showed a few friends of mine and told them I planned on having it framed. Then I told them where I got it expecting some sort of reaction i.e. gasp, laughing, or maybe disbelief. What I got in return instead was blank stares.

I thought that maybe they were just figuring out how they were going to respond, that maybe they weren’t sure if I was being serious or not. What I found out was something entirely different. It wasn’t that they didn’t know how to respond-they didn’t know that a response would have even been warranted in that situation.

(What follows is the nuts and bolts of the conversation we had after I mentioned Abu Gharib.)

Me: I got the painting at Abu Gharib.

Them: Ok, cool.

Me: Have you heard of Abu Gharib before?

Them: Nope. What is that?

Me: You know, like Abu Gharib prison…the one where the “abuse” happened.

Them: I’m not exactly following.

Me: Come on, you know. Like naked Iraqi pyramids and the like.

Them: I’m not exactly following.

Me: You mean to tell me you’ve never heard of Abu Gharib?

Them: Yep. Never heard of it. Why?

Me: Uhhh…nevermind.

Remember that dry erase board in some Marine barracks in Iraq a while back? The one that said “America isn’t at war the Marines are. America is at the mall.” Well it is true. While some of us spent years overseas fighting in a war many of our peers were listening to podcasts of “The Real World MTV.” The level of complete ignorance about the reasons for fighting and remaining in Iraq is astounding. Maybe I shouldn’t be astounded but for some reason I am. Iraq was such a big part of my life that I think people should at least know why we went there in the first place. I don’t expect complete knowledge of the situation as it is I just want there to be some type of intent on their part to be apprised of the basic info coming out of the war zones.

Perhaps I am asking too much, but I just think back to WWII when the whole country was intimately involved in the war effort. No one in the forties would have looked at another person with a blank expression on their face when asked whether or not they had ever heard of Normandy or Guadalcanal. What is going through these kid’s minds when their country is at war but all they can do is think about what color top will best bring out their fake tan they have been working on to impress the opposite sex?

Posted by TF Boggs at 7:36 PM 15 Comments

Been A Few Days
Posted by TF Boggs at 7:50 PM, 3/11/08

Other than a few bombings here and there Iraq hasn’t been in the media’s spotlight lately. History tells me this is a good thing for several reasons. The first is that no news tends to be good news. I tried to tell my parents that all the time during my deployments, albeit with varying degrees of success. The second reason is that due to past personal experience concerning news out of Iraq I know that it is usually blown out of proportion, if not way.

I was trying to explain to my roommate the other night how he could figure out which media outlets to trust. One way that is easier said than done is to grasp an understanding of the subjects outside of what the media tells you. If listening to stories about the economy it helps to have a basic understanding of how the economy works so you can tell whether or not the journalist has their facts right. When listening to stories about Iraq the same reasoning applies. The only thing different is that it is hard for the average person to know what life in Iraq is actually like.

Once you have a grasp on the topic at hand you have the ability to discern the truthful content of not only what was said or written but also what wasn’t said. For example I was listening to a story on the news the other day about the “Palestinian conflict”. The reporter talked about the Palestinians this, the Palestinians that, the Palestinitans this that and the other, but never was there mention of the Israeli side of the coin. Most journalists seem to side with the Palestinians thus espousing their bad attitude towards Israel to all of their listeners. In turn their listeners, who may not know the history of the “conflict”, or anyone who actually lives in the area, form biased opinions based solely on what was said on air. However, (and I do have a point in all of this) what isn’t said is the real story i.e. Kassam rockets continually being fired upon Israeli civilians.

What isn’t said in the news coverage of Iraq is the real story. The days that go by without any mention of bombs killing soldiers or civilians is a much bigger story than the bombs themselves. The days that go by with no mention of prison abuse is a much bigger story than some tired old rehashing of Abu Gharib. The kids the live daily life in Iraq with no extracurricular terrorist activities is a better story than some 14-year-old kids who took up training to die via being brain washed into blowing themselves up for their god.

Of course Iraq is always one suicide bomb away from being what the media would deem a complete failure. Knowing this is great news for the terrorists but bad for those of us in the U.S. who realize that the difference between victory and failure is more than just poorly made bombs placed in strategic locations (like on the stomach of a woman or on the lap of a handicapped person).

Lets do some John Lennon imagining for a minute and imagine what Iraq would look like with an informed media reporting daily to the world. A lot different isn’t it. So let’s all do ourselves a favor and remember the next time it is a few days between suicide bomb stories out of Iraq that the real story is the unreported calm. To do so is to reaffirm that the world isn’t really going to hell in a hand basket (or burka-clad faux woman-bomb). Now all we have to do is watch out for that damnable global warmings I’ve heard so much about on NPR.

Posted by TF Boggs at 7:50 PM 10 Comments

You should be reading this guy.
Posted by SigSpace at 9:57 AM, 3/8/08

You wouldn`t know it from the news lately, but apparently there`s some troops over in Iraq doing something or another. Despite his handicap (LT bar), this guy has some great stuff to say, and does it beautifully and eloquently. If you want to know what it`s like to wander through the valley of the shadow of death, I can`t recommend LT G highly enough.

I`d post links to my favorites, but I`ve shared a lot of them via my Reader and I`m holding a baby in one hand, so this is already a sisyphean task.

Check him out--he writes gud.

Sig

Posted by SigSpace at 9:57 AM 1 Comments

Taking credit for someone else`s work
Posted by SigSpace at 3:39 PM, 3/3/08

If you can`t brag on your buddy`s site, where can you brag?

Ian Anthony joined our family around noon on the 28th. Picture is here, and an overly long and not too disgusting account of the birth is here.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled milbitching.

Sig

Posted by SigSpace at 3:39 PM 10 Comments

Contributors::.

TF Boggs

As a two-time Iraq war veteran and recent college grad I am a compassionate realist that wishes for world peace but sees said path to peace laden with bullet...

SigSpace

Sig is a mystery wrapped in an enigma coated in a candy shell. When he's not being those things, he is a soldier in the WA Army National Guard, and when he's...