Iraq War Soldier Reflects

on Five Years of War

Patrick Makenen, Staff Reporter

Patrick_Makenen@csumb.edu

March 24, 2008

This March marks the fifth year

U.S. soldiers and politics have had

influence in Iraq through war. To

this day 3, 974 US military men

and women have been killed in

duty; the approximate number of

students at CSUMB.

Starting from the first attack on

U.S. soil in almost 16 years, a lot

has changed since the government

decided to invade Afghanistan,

and then later Iraq. Operation

Iraqi Freedom was enacted on Mar

19, 2003.

Jason Greene, now an active

Marine, started his first job out

of high school Sept. 10, 2001 on

Capital Hill in Washington DC.

The next day while raising the

American flag, word got through

that a plane had hit the Pentagon.

He had to help evacuate everyone

on the House floor, little did he

know another plane was scheduled

to hit his exact location, but had

got detoured and crashed into a

Pennsylvania field.

“I had every opportunity to

be a writer and attend an Ivy

League school, but this event

changed my mind about a lot of

things and I knew I had to serve

my country for my friends and

family,” Greene said.

He joined the Marines and spent

nine months in Iraq starting in

2003. He worked on intelligence

in the large city of Ramadi, which

was over run with Al-Qaida

members when he got there.

“Being stationed was as if

time stood still. We were in this

bubble and the rest of the world

was flying by,” Greene said. “It

was hard being there especially

when I found my wife had been

cheating on me.”

Greene is like a number of

soldiers who have had one or

more tours of duty in Iraq. The

amount of work they do and the

time spent away from loved ones

often takes its toll. Many feel

unnoticed when media bombards

society with the stories of death,

torture, and explosions.

“Depression definitely has

an affect on the mission for

everyone, but there is good being

done. Few press agencies turn

over the stories of the schools

and hospitals being built or the

kids that can now play again in

the streets and not have to worry

much of stray gunfire,” said

World Press reporter Sydney

Kiplinger.

Going into year six, the future of

the Iraq war can only be predicted.

The November elections might

give a new direction to the situation

at hand. For people like Greene,

being optimistic is the key.

“Iraq needs more stability

in every way, what they are

accomplishing now are just baby

steps. There has been a lot of

progress, but there is still a lot that

needs to be done to get them back

on their feet,” said Greene.