Iraq war tests resolve of a patriotic U.S. soldier
31 Aug 2005 15:44:22 GMT
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Sergeant James Connolly volunteered for the U.S. army on the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001. He served a year in Iraq and took part in the operation that killed Saddam Hussein's sons in July 2003.
Now, facing a second lengthy deployment by the end of the year, Connolly wants out. He says he will do his duty to the best of his ability, but he feels he has fulfilled his commitment to the military and the nation and he does not believe the Iraq operation is worth dying for.
"I feel terrible. I'd like to get out. I'm done with the army. I want to move on. My commitment was up last December but they extended the whole division until Jan. 31, 2007," Connolly said in a telephone interview.
His dilemma and his feelings illustrate the severe strains placed on the military and on military families by the Iraq war, in which nearly 1,900 American troops have died and which has developed into a relentless and ferocious insurgency.
Connolly was only 17 when hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001. "I called the army recruiter the afternoon of 9/11. I figured they'd need people to help," he said.
Now 21, Connolly who serves with the 1st. Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division and is currently stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is one of over 14,000 soldiers who have been handed stop-loss orders preventing them from leaving the military, even when their tour of duty is done.
Connolly wants to marry his girlfriend Rebecca Consalvo and dreams of becoming a policeman in New York. Right now, his dreams and his life are on hold.
His parents, who live in Westford, Massachusetts, supported their only child's decision to enlist and as well as President George W. Bush's Iraq invasion. But they strongly feel the burden of fighting the war is not being shared fairly.
"If Bush feels it's such a noble cause, maybe he should talk to his own daughters about making a commitment," said Connolly's mother, Deborah.
"We don't feel the war was a blunder, but how does he achieve his goal? Does it involve sending the same people over and over again? I don't want my son to go a second time. He's already been," she said.
SUPPORT FALLING
Public opinion polls show support for the war has been falling as U.S. casualties have mounted. The protest outside Bush's ranch in Texas, led by Cindy Sheehan whose son died in Iraq, has injected renewed vigor into the anti-war movement.
In a Washington Post/ABC poll released Wednesday, 46 percent said the war had been worth fighting, while 53 percent thought it was not worth it. Thirty percent said the number of U.S. casualties was acceptable, but 68 percent disagreed.
Connolly's future mother-in-law Frances Consalvo is furious about the situation and wrote angry letters to a dozen senators from both parties protesting Connolly's impending redeployment. Only one, Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, responded.
"I do not feel that Sergeant Connolly's father should risk the possible sacrifice of his only child for Bush's blunder in Iraq. Particularly when Bush's own children are safely ensconced at home," she said.
Connolly himself said there were mixed feelings in his unit about returning to Iraq.
"A lot of guys who got stop-loss orders don't appreciate it. Some guys who want to make the military their career are excited about going back. It's good money and they get to do what they're trained for," he said.
Politics are rarely if ever discussed in the unit. But Connolly, who lost buddies on his first deployment, said he often thought about getting hurt or dying.
"The only people I feel are worth dying for are the people I'm over there with," he said.
And the war itself? "For me, I don't think it would be worth my life, no."
Link Here
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Sergeant James Connolly volunteered for the U.S. army on the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001. He served a year in Iraq and took part in the operation that killed Saddam Hussein's sons in July 2003.
Now, facing a second lengthy deployment by the end of the year, Connolly wants out. He says he will do his duty to the best of his ability, but he feels he has fulfilled his commitment to the military and the nation and he does not believe the Iraq operation is worth dying for.
"I feel terrible. I'd like to get out. I'm done with the army. I want to move on. My commitment was up last December but they extended the whole division until Jan. 31, 2007," Connolly said in a telephone interview.
His dilemma and his feelings illustrate the severe strains placed on the military and on military families by the Iraq war, in which nearly 1,900 American troops have died and which has developed into a relentless and ferocious insurgency.
Connolly was only 17 when hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001. "I called the army recruiter the afternoon of 9/11. I figured they'd need people to help," he said.
Now 21, Connolly who serves with the 1st. Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division and is currently stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is one of over 14,000 soldiers who have been handed stop-loss orders preventing them from leaving the military, even when their tour of duty is done.
Connolly wants to marry his girlfriend Rebecca Consalvo and dreams of becoming a policeman in New York. Right now, his dreams and his life are on hold.
His parents, who live in Westford, Massachusetts, supported their only child's decision to enlist and as well as President George W. Bush's Iraq invasion. But they strongly feel the burden of fighting the war is not being shared fairly.
"If Bush feels it's such a noble cause, maybe he should talk to his own daughters about making a commitment," said Connolly's mother, Deborah.
"We don't feel the war was a blunder, but how does he achieve his goal? Does it involve sending the same people over and over again? I don't want my son to go a second time. He's already been," she said.
SUPPORT FALLING
Public opinion polls show support for the war has been falling as U.S. casualties have mounted. The protest outside Bush's ranch in Texas, led by Cindy Sheehan whose son died in Iraq, has injected renewed vigor into the anti-war movement.
In a Washington Post/ABC poll released Wednesday, 46 percent said the war had been worth fighting, while 53 percent thought it was not worth it. Thirty percent said the number of U.S. casualties was acceptable, but 68 percent disagreed.
Connolly's future mother-in-law Frances Consalvo is furious about the situation and wrote angry letters to a dozen senators from both parties protesting Connolly's impending redeployment. Only one, Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, responded.
"I do not feel that Sergeant Connolly's father should risk the possible sacrifice of his only child for Bush's blunder in Iraq. Particularly when Bush's own children are safely ensconced at home," she said.
Connolly himself said there were mixed feelings in his unit about returning to Iraq.
"A lot of guys who got stop-loss orders don't appreciate it. Some guys who want to make the military their career are excited about going back. It's good money and they get to do what they're trained for," he said.
Politics are rarely if ever discussed in the unit. But Connolly, who lost buddies on his first deployment, said he often thought about getting hurt or dying.
"The only people I feel are worth dying for are the people I'm over there with," he said.
And the war itself? "For me, I don't think it would be worth my life, no."
Link Here
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