This is, hopefully, the next to last entry. The final will be after he finishes his tour in Iraq.
For those that haven't been following, you can read the previous diaries by clicking on my name.
But a quick summary before I head into the meat of this diary.
My son is a Captain in command of an ordnance company in Iraq. He was sent there in January and currently looks like he will return on time. He is in charge of a company that makes sure that ammunition gets to the "front line" troops.
Initially this meant that he was on a base and never required to leave that base. Things have changed, although he is quite reticient to discuss his actual duties, although we know he has had to travel by helicopter to different locations.
He recently was home on leave, which was both wonderful and painful. Wonderful because he got to see his wife, sons and the rest of his family. Painful because he had to go back. His eldest, who is four, has had a difficult time since he went back.
More on the flip.
As I mentioned above, he is quite reticent to give out a lot of details about what exactly his work currently entails, but I have surmised, based on other reports from Iraq, that he, like a lot of support personal, are being assigned more security details, specially around the elections.
However, he did make a few comments which are quite telling, specially in regard to how long we might be there, the quality of the Iraqi security forces, and how "democracy" is working in Iraq.
I have to give the disclaimer that this is one soldier's view and is based on his limited exposure to what is happening over there. Therefore, I can not testify to the accuracy of everything he is saying. And I should also mention, that prior to his going there, he fully believed in his mission. I am not sure of his current level of belief, but I do know that he is dedicated to doing his job, and serving his country to the best of his ability.
Shortly before he came home on leave, my mother was having some medical problems which were of great concern to us. She told the doctor that she needed to be around when he came back from Iraq, meaning for the last time. I mentioned this to my son who responded that she better stick around for several years, because he is sure that he will be sent over there again. He does not see a short term involvement by this country in terms of troops on the ground.
I mentioned that supposedly, when the Iraqi's "stand up" and are able to defend themselves we will be able to leave.
He explained to me the current state of the Iraqi security forces as he understood it. Although they do get plenty of recruits, they work on a two week on and two week off schedule. And sometimes the two weeks off turns into three or four weeks off, or they never return to their duties. This applies to both police and the Iraqi Army.
Again, I can't swear that this is true, but if it is, then we are in a bunch of trouble. There is no way to build cohesive units with this type of situation. I hope this is something he heard that turns out to be wrong.
The other point he mentioned is that we should not be misled into thinking that just because Iraqis go to the polls and vote that they are really interested in democracy. First of all, he made the point we have all heard before, that you can't force democracy on a people by gunpoint.
But more improtantly, he strongly implied that democracy is purely a means to an end for most Iraqis, specially those in leadership positions. The end is power. And once power is achieved, democracy per se will be out the window. Yes, there will be elections, but they will be set up to make sure those in power will stay there, not much different from what it was in Saddam's day.
All that being said, he does know some Iraqi's and does like them as a people. But he feels the geopolitical situation in that area is not conducive to democracy as we know it. To me, it sounds a lot like the "democracy" that Republicans are trying to establish in thsi country.
So now his family and my wife, other son, and extended family members wait for him to come home. I am hoping that in a couple months I will be able to do an entry describing his homecoming.