Anyone else being bothered by the war in Ukraine?
Seeing pictures and footage of the war is really messing with my head and reminding me a lot of what I was a part of in Iraq.
For those who don’t know me, I served as an Infantry Platoon Leader in Iraq from Feb 2004 - March 2005 and I’m totally disabled as a result of my severe PTSD. I never believed in the war on Iraq, but I did my best to both serve the Iraqi people in my sector and to protect my own Soldiers.
Honestly, I don’t see much of a difference between what Russia is doing to Ukraine and what we did to Iraq.
I imagine many young Russians were either conscripted into the army or joined for reasons similar to me - I wanted to serve my nation and to better my position in life. And, just like me, their good intentions of service to their nation was taken advantage of by those who were placed in charge over them. It’s a shame that the people at the bottom always lose when it comes to wars while those at the top rarely suffer. If anything, those at the top usually benefit. As bush 43 said, “war is good for the economy”.
I don’t want to see Ukraine fall to the Russians, but I completely empathize with what the Soldiers of both sides are dealing with on the ground.
I probably shouldn’t admit this, but part of me would jump at the opportunity to join the fight and fight with the Ukrainians. As much as I hated the war and the fighting, nothing beats the feeling of going on a combat patrol. The immediacy of your actions and how simple life becomes is alluring to me. Nothing else matters but your next step. Financial problems and bitchy spouses 1,000 miles away don’t cross a persons mind when your trying to figure out where the bullets that wizzed but your head came from.
Anyways, I’m just rambling. 2004 and my time in Iraq was nearly 20 years ago. If I could figure out a way to move on and not let it continue to impact me I would. Thanks for listening.
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