I joined the United States Army in March of 2001 with an enlistment of six years in the Army Reserve and two years in the Inactive Ready Reserve. Just this past week my term in the Army has been reduced to just one more year. With that date crossed off I began reflecting upon some of the events that have affected me due to my participation in the Army. This is a normal reaction to all anniversaries’ I suppose weighing the good with the bad and trying to make sense of it all. Realistically there were two instances that had the most impact upon my life one of which occurred immediately after I completed Basic Combat Training.
I joined the Army later than the average soldier at the age of twenty-eight. It was something that had been in the back of my mind since I was in high school and many of my friends joined right after graduation. I knew that soon I would be too old and the opportunity would pass me by forever. I also was in college at the time and the enlistment bonus and G.I bill were extremely tempting. I joined the Army as a cook in March of 2001 with a basic training date of June that same year.
I attended basic training at Fort Jackson South Carolina during that summer. For a Northern boy with a dislike for temperatures in excess of seventy degrees it was a less than ideal time to be in South Carolina. I spent ten weeks there training to be a soldier. We marched almost everywhere and were constantly under supervision. We learned how to kill the enemies of the United States with Grenades, Rifles, Bayonets, and even our bare hands. The idea behind basic training goes beyond getting into physical shape and learning how to kill. The focus is more on the need to follow orders and the repercussions associated with not. It only takes so many push-ups to make your arms fell like they are burning. Since that is the primary form of punishment in basic training unless you feel like doing push-ups you do as you are told.
The Army is good at what it does and at the end of ten weeks I was well on my way to being an obedient soldier. Since I have a degree in cooking I was allowed to participate in a program the army refers to as A.C.A.S.P, which stands for the Army Civilian Acquired Skills Program. That allowed me to complete basic training and skip the Army’s version of cooking school. Good for me because while everyone else was going on to Advanced Individual Training for another ten weeks to a year I was going home. Good for the Army because they saved money by not having to train me any further.
My mother, girlfriend, and son came to my graduation in order to watch me march around in the heat. The date was August third 2001. After which we all piled into the car to drive to Washington D.C.. I didn’t recognize how much I had changed during those ten weeks until I began to have contact with people on the outside. On our trip north we went to water country amusement park to beat the heat. I would be standing in line in the at ease position without even realizing it until it was pointed out to me. I had been indoctrinated into the Army life and changed forever. Less than a week out of basic it was particularly strong and I felt more soldier like at that point than any since.
It was in this state of mind that I visited the National Holocaust Memorial in Washington D.C.. I had never been there before and the Holocaust Memorial is like nothing else on earth. It is the most powerful, moving, and disturbing display that I have ever experienced. I feel particularly fortunate to have gone at the time that I did with the mindset that I had. Looking at the Nazi soldiers in those pictures I felt a connection with them that is difficult to explain. They were soldiers as I now was, sworn to protect their country and obliged to follow orders from their superiors just as I was. I’m sure in many ways they were no different than I am. Many were no more than eighteen in the photos. How could they do these things? Where did it all go so wrong? Did they feel guilt and remorse? Were they reluctant to commit these horrible acts? Did they feel as though they had no choice but to follow orders? Or was the even more horrible possibility true: they had become so brainwashed by the military machine that they thought they were doing the right thing.
It’s impossible for me to describe what it was like spending the day there. A freshly minted soldier coming face-to-face with those atrocities committed by other freshly minted soldiers. I couldn’t stop thinking about it not that day and not for weeks afterward. What would have happened if I had been in that situation? How would I have behaved? Could I be a better person and stand up against the entire military and the entire country? Could anyone? These are questions that I have never been put into a position where I had to find out the answer. For that I am very thankful.
I know that there are some readings this who think the answer should be obvious. To them I would say that over ninety percent of America supported the invasion of Iraq. They believed the lies the government told and very few stood in opposition. Those that did were labeled Un-American, Un-Patriotic, and cowards. Don’t underestimate the level of deceit to which power hungry individuals will stoop in order to retain control and implement their own agendas. Fear is a powerful motivator especially upon the collective mind of a society. Think of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba or abu ghraib in Iraq. Just because we are Americans it doesn’t mean that our leaders aren’t capable of terrible atrocities while we stand by and watch or worse support them in their evil endeavors.
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