Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Soldier shares view on war
By Brittany Twohig
The Parthenon (Marshall U.)
04/25/2007

(U-WIRE) HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The story of one soldier cannot tell the story of every soldier, but it can provide insight into a world most Americans only experience through the media.

After graduating in 2000, James Whitmore, freshman environmental science and safety technology major from Oak Hill, W.Va., chose a different path than most of his high school friends when he enlisted in the Army.

"My dad and brothers went into the Army, so it was kind of bred into me," Whitmore said. "Plus, my parents couldn't really afford college, so I figured I'd go in and get a degree this way."

Whitmore went through Airborne School and was stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper. He was deployed as part of the first wave of troops into Iraq in 2003.

His unit was divided with some soldiers going to Afghanistan prior to Iraq. The others had to wait to be deployed directly to Iraq.

"When we found out we were being deployed, we all wanted to go," Whitmore said. "Those of us who had to sit and wait were mad that we didn't get to go to Afghanistan first."

Because Whitmore was part of the first surge of troops, conditions weren't as accommodating as they are now, he said.

"When we were over there nothing was set up yet — safe houses, refrigerators, tents," Whitmore said. "We just slept on the sand."

He described the crunching that beach-goers feel in their mouths after they swallow salt water or after a gust of wind blows sand in their face.

"You have that crunchy feeling all the time in Iraq," he said.

In addition to the sand, the temperatures are extremely hot during the day, but it's cold during the night, he said. Summertime temperatures, which last May through October in Iraq, average 95 degrees Fahrenheit, according to MSN Encarta.

There are other conditions to get accustomed to such as camel spiders and snakes in the sand that cannot be seen until you step on them, Whitmore said.

As for the perception of the war given here in the United States, Whitmore said it's anything but fair and balanced.

"For every bombing that's going on, there are another 2,000 soldiers playing football and soccer with the Iraqis," he said. "If you're going to show one side, you should show the other."

Once he returned to the United States, Whitmore was stationed in Fort Drum, N.Y., with the 10th Mountain Division. Once released, he signed up with Special Forces, and he's still in the National Guard, which means he could be deployed to Iraq again.

"If I get called back out, I'll go — the money is too good," he said. "It's just difficult because you have to take an entire year out of your life. Everyone else is doing their own thing back home, and when you come home you have to start all over and readjust to everything."

If it were up to Whitmore, the troops wouldn't be in Iraq any longer.

"I understand the reasons for the war, but I don't understand, really," he said. "I don't want us to be over there, but if you're a soldier, you want to be deployed and fight the war. It just seems pointless now — Saddam Hussein is dead."

Whitmore said he saw positive change while in Iraq, but it's difficult to see how an entire culture is going to be changed.

"They can't govern or take care of themselves because of the alpha-male-oriented way of life," he said. "Women aren't allowed to do hardly anything, and people are scared into behaving a certain way. The kids see Americans killing Iraqis, so their perspective on us isn't necessarily positive either."

The effects on the current generation remain to be seen, but Whitmore said if the war continues, this generation might begin looking like the protesters of the '60s and '70s.

"I think our generation will have more of a two-sided mentality since we've seen the casualties and the security changes within the United States," he said. "Hopefully we'll turn out to be a safer, calmer and more liberal generation."

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