On All My Motions

 
… make sure the first part isn’t just lip service to cover the second.

One thing that everyone knows, but that never seems to be fully considered in discussions regarding our current prosecution of the campaign in Iraq, is that the U.S. now operates with an all-volunteer force. There is no draft; there are no inductees; everyone wearing the uniform made a deliberate choice to do so. The maximum enlistment period is six years (and that mainly for Reserve and National Guard members); the average would probably be more like three to four years.

We’ve been in Afghanistan since December of 2001. In Iraq since March of 2003. Six years and four years, respectively. This means that practically all of the people now serving in America’s armed forces either enlisted or re-enlisted at a time when the U.S. military was actively engaged in combat operations, and they knew that they could — and very likely would — be assigned to some phase of those operations. Furthermore, the new-enlistment numbers continue to hold steady, meaning that many who have never before served are choosing to do so now.

Think about those facts. Every time we hear that Americans are tired of feeding their sons and daughters into the mess in Iraq, characterizing it as endless, pointless and futile, what isn’t being said is that those sons and daughters are stepping forward to commit themselves to exactly that service.

It goes farther than that, though.

(Henceforth, speaking of those actually fighting the war — primarily Army and Marines, though Navy and Air Force personnel fill a lot of slots in-country as individual augmentees — I’ll say “we”, because I’m among their number. I did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan both, and I expect and intend to return a few times before I reach retirement. I can’t speak for everyone at the tip of the spear, but I can certainly speak as one of them.)

There is no fixed uniformity of belief and attitude in the armed services, which is why it’s always possible to find someone willing to speak out against current policies, but there are undeniable trends and tendencies. We tend to be more conservative, more apt to recognize and accede to lawful authority, more actively patriotic: not simply because the profession demands that of us, but because people with those attitudes are more likely to enter military life in the first place. We tend to be more hawkish, and we tend to vote Republican. (Remember Al Gore trying to exclude military absentee ballots from the Florida recount?) In sum, we’re somewhat more likely than most other Americans — and considerably more so than the average Democratic senator — to support George Bush, support his current policies, support continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and oppose withdrawal without victory.

If you disagree with us, that’s fair; we disagree with you. You think we’re wrong, we think you’re wrong, and clearly at least one side must actually BE wrong. Naturally, I believe my side is the right one, but I recognize that it might — just might — not be.

The thing is, if we are in fact wrong, it’s honest error. We have reasons for believing as we do, and those reasons are valid even if the conclusions should turn out to be incorrect.

If you oppose the war, check your own reasoning. If that reasoning still holds solid, then you pretty much have to follow your conscience, even if it takes you in a direction I’d rather you didn’t go. Be careful, though, regarding the flavor of your opposition. If you accuse our current President of stupidity, mendacity, criminal conduct, even insanity (I’ve seen it done), based on his prosecution of this war … if you do, keep in mind that the troops you claim to support 1) mostly support him, 2) mostly agree with the majority of his decisions, and 3) mostly believe in what we’re doing under his direction.

If the President is a lying, mentally deficient criminal lunatic, then are the soldiers who agree with him equally beyond contempt?

If we have honest reasons for believing what we believe — even if we’re wrong — then is it inconceivable that our Commander in Chief might be equally honest in his beliefs and intentions?

Ultimately, those are the only choices available:

1. He’s evil and despicable, and we know it and throw in with him anyway, which makes us just as bad as he is.
2. He’s evil and despicable, and we’re too stupid to realize that he’s using us as witless pawns.
             or,
3. He can disagree with you without being evil or despicable. He might simply be wrong. Or — who knows — it might be you who’s wrong.

If you pick #1, you’re not supporting the troops. Why should you support a bunch of mercenary thugs who deliberately lend themselves to something they themselves believe to be evil?

If you go with #2, your ‘support’ assumes that they (we) are too naïve and misinformed to make responsible choices, and so someone has to do it for us. For our own good. Thanks, no; I’d rather be considered a mercenary thug.

And if you settle on #3 … well, then, congratulations. We may be able to deal respectfully with one another, even if we never agree.

Be clear on one thing: we, the troops, believe in what we’re doing. Furthermore, it’s not theoretical for us, but a matter of direct relevance. Your opposition may be sincere, it may be honest, it may even prove to be correct … but you can better afford to be wrong than we can, because you have nothing at stake that doesn’t apply equally to us. Following our beliefs, on the other hand, requires that we put our own lives at risk, yet we still choose to take that path. Even if that doesn’t automatically make us right, it definitely means we’re committed.

You can disagree with us, but don’t patronize us. We’re not victims. We’re not pawns. We’re not helpless dupes or unwitting cannon fodder. We’re volunteers, and we went into this with our eyes open.

And, if you presume to speak for us, be sure and listen to us first.

 

Second installment.

( “An’ Foolish Notion”, Part 2 )

 
Father’s Day came a week early for me, and it lasted a week.

( My kids’ visit to Gitmo, under the cut )

I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.

 
The process of getting my kids here for a visit is moving along. In fact, I’m awaiting only one more level of approval, and then I can start putting together the flight arrangements. Guantanamo is a nice, comfortable duty post, but as a vacation spot it doesn’t have a whole lot to recommend it; all the same, the main intent is for me to spend time with my daughter for the first time in a year, and for my son to get a chance to see me in my duty environment.

Work on my story for gen_remix continues slowly but steadily; I’m now past 4,000 words, and am adding to it in 300- to 500-word increments. I don’t anticipate it requiring more than another 2,000 words (though it might expand further once I have a completed story and am ready to revise it to its final form), so I definitely should meet the deadline. And, after being totally blank for over a month, I finally found a title for it. Anyone familiar with my past practice could make a guess as to what form the title would take, the likely choices being: 1) a familiar turn of phrase; 2) a line from (or the name of) a popular song; or 3) a pretentious literary allusion.

I’m running again, using the treadmill at the gym to mark my pace and gradually increase it. As always, I’m preparing for an APFT; they run those on us at least once a year, and every six months is more common. Seems like I constantly am either getting ready for one or coming down from it. And, as always, it’s the run that requires the most attention.

That’s it. More as it occurs.

 
I got this one from jedibuttercup. Looked like it might be fun, so I’ll give it a try:

Name a character and I’ll give you three or more “facts” from my personal fanon about that character.

For the purposes of this meme, I can be considered a Buffy-only author.

 
Ten Things I Learned in My First Month at Gitmo

1. When a small iguana runs, it curls its tail up over its back in a tight spiral. Makes it look like a BIG scorpion.
2. Antifungal powder is just as necessary in hot, wet climates as in hot, dry climates (and failing to use it results in just as much discomfort).
3. Coconut rum tastes even better straight out of the freezer.
4. It is not, repeat NOT, a good idea to ever use the word “squid” on a naval base.
5. The official guidelines for dealing with a jellyfish sting advise pouring vinegar on it, rather than peeing on it. (But people still swear by the latter anyway.)
6. If you happen to notice a turkey buzzard circling over you, it doesn’t mean anything. Really. Nothing at all.
7. The mosquitoes are small, silent, and painless, and their bites itch like nothing you would believe. For weeks.
8. If you’re spending more on beer than on anything else, your priorities are just about right.
9. When a good-looking, nicely dressed woman slides up next to you at a bar and strikes up a conversation, she’s working for the New York Times or the ACLU. Either way, you’re about to get screwed … just not in the manner you might prefer.
10. An Army captain is “sir”. A Navy captain is “SIR!”

 
So the day of the Big Reveal has come. I’ve changed my remix author name in remix_redux, and below are the links to my contribution.

Title: Walking After Midnight: the Music of Pain Remix
Summary: Sometimes the enemy you can count on is exactly the friend you need.
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Angel, Xander Harris
Rating: PG (language)
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of others more creative than myself. I don’t own them, I don’t profit from them. Angel and Xander belong to Joss Whedon, with rights also going to those companies and individuals who licensed them from him, of whom I am not one.
Original story: “Getting It” by bastardsnow
Notes: As with the original story, this takes place in Season 2, shortly after the events of “Amends”.

“Walking After Midnight” — Part 1

“Walking After Midnight” — Part 2

“Walking After Midnight” — Part 3

Remixing bastardsnow was more of a challenge that I had expected. The story he’d done that I best liked, “Thirteen Days”, was longer than I wanted to attempt, and nothing else seemed to grab my imagination. (This is not the same as saying they weren’t good stories, or weren’t effectively told; I just couldn’t find myself wanting to jump into one and write it myself.) “Getting It” came closest, and once I’d finished scanning all the candidates, I went back and gave it another look. The more I considered the dynamic between Angel and Xander — and beyond that, the contrast between two very different men who, in very different ways, loved Buffy more than their own lives, and changed the direction of those lives for her sake — the more it began to speak to me. I spent a couple of days thinking about it, a couple of days writing out notes, and by the end of that time I knew I had an idea I could work with.

It was a pleasure, and I’m glad I had the chance.

Meanwhile, faith1922 has been revealed as the author of “The Dance of Death Remix”, a different perspective on my January 2000 fic, “Voices in the Dark”. She is to be congratulated on finding an original twist in (I can say this, because I wrote it) a not especially promising story.

 
gen_remix has made its assignments, and I have two months to remix a story by my allocated author. I’ll try not to wait as long this time to get seriously into the project; even 300 words a day, day after day, would get me through a 9,000-word story in a month, and I doubt I’ll do anything near that long. Probably 5,000 words would be enough to tell a decent story without going overboard.

I believe I’ve identified which story was my daughter’s submission to remix_redux; I e-mailed my guess to her (as she did with me, she outed me within a day), and I’m waiting for her response. I’m pretty sure I guessed right, but her growth as a writer was almost enough to throw me off, that and the fact that she stayed within the outlines of someone else’s story. I’ve always — I think — had more inborn talent than she does, but she’s developing her abilities a lot more quickly than I did at that age.

Recent word from my insurance company: no, standard liability doesn’t cover hit-and-run damage. Based on the last repair bill (from when my son — as a new driver — had brief possession of my vehicle), it’ll likely cost me a little over a month’s pay to set things right. This is not happiness you see.

Almost to another weekend. How can I keep up this pace? — 8 to 4, five days a week, with air conditioning and outdoor theaters and basic cable in my room, and only two open bars (that I’ve found so far) in walking distance of my lodgings? I uploaded a new userpic to reflect the hardships I’m facing, and I may make it my default until I finish this horrendously taxing tour of duty.

Word of wisdom for the day: You don’t have to vote Republican, as long as you vote against the Democrats. (Bunch of brie-eating surrender monkeys.)

 
The team we’re replacing are finally gone. Nice enough guys, but it’s even nicer to be able to do our job without having to work around people whose heads are already back in the States.

A notice arrived in my e-mail that my unit won in the 2007 Deployment Excellence Award Competition. We’re also — according to the word I got last year — the most decorated small unit in the Army Reserve. I like being with good people.

I’ve done nothing but relax today. Total sloth, and I love it.

I note that remix_redux has had almost 100 stories posted after the official deadline. Uh … folks … that’s why they call it a deadline.

Wonder what thrills tomorrow will bring.

 
The crew we’re replacing is badly positioned right now: not around to help with the work, because they’re processing to depart, but not gone yet … which is to say, they’re using the team truck to take care of their business, which puts me and SSG V to a certain inconvenience. This will pass (they’re due to leave Friday), but is a small annoyance until it does.

I got tagged for a random search today at one of the entrance/exit points, during which I learned that the Leatherman multi-tool and the mini-Swiss pocket knife I kept with me through Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t allowed in the place where I’m working. They were confiscated, I was written a receipt, they’ll probably come back to me in a few days (and may be accompanied by a lecture, but probably not, it’s apparently a routine event); no big deal overall, but it took up half an hour of my time and now I have to wait for the return of my property. It reminds me of when my unit first mobilized for the Iraq invasion: two other units came on the same flight, and there were so many of us leaving at once that a civilian airliner was chartered to carry us all. (For Afghanistan, it was military transport all the way. Believe it or not, that’s actually more comfortable over the long haul.) We went aboard in full gear — helmets, body armor, pistols and M-16s and light machine guns — but were required to have all our knives packed away.

There’s actually good reason for the rule here; there, it was just silliness. But I’m still reminded of the incident.

Even though I just finished remix_redux, I shrugged and signed up for the new gen_remix. As one who’s gotten comprehensively tired of the seeming predominance of slash-and-’ship in fanfic, I can hardly ignore something that is all but tailored for my wishes. I probably won’t go at it as intensely as I did remix_redux (I suspect I went a bit overboard there), but it’s worth the attention. So consider this a pimp: anyone interested or even curious, wander over to gen_remix and take a quick look at what’s there.

I’m still waiting for remix_redux to open this round for public viewing. Understandable why it hasn’t happened yet, even today there are still stories being turned in, but I’m ready to start reading some of the stuff. Frustrating to have to wait.

Things are slowing down a bit, becoming routine. I find myself wishing for the weekend.