Why are Americans forced to feel the same fear that I did as a soldier in Iraq?
Opinion by Thomas Leonard - 1h ago
The entire United States Military Academy Corps of Cadets (roughly 4,000 men and women) eats meals together in a massive, open mess hall. At the center of it all is what remains of an early structure of the academy; an open balcony that overlooks each of the thousands of cadets at their 10-person tables.
During lunch, it is common for an appointed cadet to ascend the balcony, grab a microphone, and make announcements that pertain to the entire Corps. "Attention to orders," the cadet will lead in, and at once, thousands of conversations and clinking utensils will drop silent. The announcing cadet then passes along the relevant information of the day.
I attended and graduated from the United States Military Academy – West Point – during a time of war, as did tens of thousands of future officers over the past two decades. When I started in 2002, the United States had forces in active combat in Afghanistan. In the spring of my first year, we invaded Iraq. As my time at West Point progressed and the wars escalated, so did the number of my friends and acquaintances who had gone into the fight.
During that time, I came to brace myself for the sad new reality of the lunchtime announcement: the persistent expectation that it may bring news of the death of another graduate — a leader, mentor, and friend to those of us still wearing cadet gray. "Attention to orders...the Corps mourns the passing of..." a graduate of the Academy who was killed on combat operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, a fellow cadet would say. This was the announcement each time a death had been made public.
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