.Ivy Leaguer shadows Petraeus, soldiers in Iraq
You get a clue as to Watertown native Wesley Morgan's interests as soon as you call his cellphone. It plays a rousing instrumental version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in place of a dial tone. The 19-year-old Princeton University sophomore has been studying military history and tales of various counterinsurgencies almost since he was old enough to read.
This summer, he did more than read about what the military was doing in Iraq - he went there, thanks to a personal invitation from and a special relationship he has forged with Army General David H. Petraeus, the commander of American forces in that embattled country.
Morgan, a member of Princeton's Army ROTC, spent about six weeks bouncing among various FOBs - Forward Operating Bases - in Iraq. He met with unit commanders, attended security briefings, patrolled neighborhoods, and shot the breeze with soldiers no older than he was.
The Globe agreed to omit specific locations and names of the people he met with to honor security concerns.
Morgan returned to the states some time on either Aug. 31 or Sept. 1; it's hard to keep your dates straight when crossing a half-dozen or so time zones. Adjustment, he said, is pretty easy. He was happy to be greeted at the airport by his parents and 12-year-old brother, Owen. He returned to Princeton to find that hardly anyone asked, "What did you do this summer?"
Most people already knew, through his articles in Princeton's student newspaper; his blog, Notes from Downrange; or the recent Washington Post profile that featured him this month.
He also found that his sparse dorm room felt luxurious compared with the accommodations at most FOBs.
Morgan received his unusual opportunity after interviewing Petraeus for a profile he was writing for the student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian. Petraeus received a doctorate from the school. He and Morgan kept in touch, and last spring, he gave Morgan a personal invitation to see some of the things he'd been writing about.
Kerry Tucker, Morgan's mother, was well aware of her son's longtime interest in history and the military, and on some level, saw the trip coming and tried to prepare herself.
"I came up with what I thought was a really fast and good response: 'That's a very nice opportunity, but we're not paying for the airfare and your health insurance wouldn't cover you in another country, so you can't go,' " she said.
The next day, Morgan found his own funding.
"All moms will freak out for the rest of their lives when their children are somewhere away, but it comes to a point where you realize they need to make their own decisions," said Tucker. "I knew if I said, 'No, you can't go,' he'd go anyway."
Morgan's fascination with the military began very early, so long ago that he doesn't even remember when or how it started. After pursuing a general interest in the armed forces in kindergarten, he progressed to a curiosity about the history of the Vietnam War and Special Forces soldiers by the time he was in second grade.
His third-grade teacher at the Shady Hills School in Cambridge once asked him about his goals for the year.
"I said my big goal was to finish this big book I had started," said Morgan. The book? "Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu" by Bernard B. Fall, an account of the battle that eventually led to US involvement in Vietnam.
These days, he keeps up his reading - accounts of insurgent battles, historical documents, several daily newspapers, and anything he can get his hands on about the ongoing war in Iraq. He hopes to study national security and foreign policy at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Petraeus himself, reached via e-mail, said Morgan has "a bright future as an officer, and letting him see his fellow 19-year-olds in action in Iraq - soldiers like those he'll lead as a lieutenant - has undoubtedly been a great experience for him."
Petraeus added, "In truth, the motivation for the invitation was to let him see the situation on the ground for himself. I wasn't aware that he was blogging until he'd been there for a while. And when I read the blogs, I was impressed yet again by his skill as an observer and writer."
When Morgan talks about the war, it isn't in terms of polemics or opinions on whether it's going well or badly. His remarks and his blog posts are about the people he meets, the strategies he observes, and how hard the job of the soldiers must be. He's the first to admit that he doesn't know everything about the war, or even everything about the small sliver of it he observed on his trip.
Morgan watched the first day and half of the second day of Petraeus's testimony before Congress two weeks ago. He said he didn't find it much different than what Petraeus had been telling legislators much of the summer. He hesitates to judge, saying he "only saw a few pieces of the puzzle."
During the six weeks he spent overseas, Morgan said he only spent about one day with Petraeus himself, although he knows that it was the four-star general's intervention that allowed him to get as close to the operations as he did.
Morgan also found himself inspired by role models much further down the chain of command. He said he met one officer who, in addition to his regular duties, devoted himself to helping his unit's experienced Iraqi interpreters prepare paperwork to help them become American citizens. "It was fascinating and very admirable to watch that," Morgan said.
He said he was also impressed by the soldiers who were doing the dirty and dangerous work of rooting out insurgents, a job some of them hated, but one they did nonetheless.
"In civilian and student life, you always think that if people hate what they're doing, they're going to do it less effectively," said Morgan. "But with soldiers, they do their job and they do it well, regardless of what it is."
Boston.com
When will Hillary's term be over...2014, you think it's to soon to nominate Petraeus for president?
This summer, he did more than read about what the military was doing in Iraq - he went there, thanks to a personal invitation from and a special relationship he has forged with Army General David H. Petraeus, the commander of American forces in that embattled country.
Morgan, a member of Princeton's Army ROTC, spent about six weeks bouncing among various FOBs - Forward Operating Bases - in Iraq. He met with unit commanders, attended security briefings, patrolled neighborhoods, and shot the breeze with soldiers no older than he was.
The Globe agreed to omit specific locations and names of the people he met with to honor security concerns.
Morgan returned to the states some time on either Aug. 31 or Sept. 1; it's hard to keep your dates straight when crossing a half-dozen or so time zones. Adjustment, he said, is pretty easy. He was happy to be greeted at the airport by his parents and 12-year-old brother, Owen. He returned to Princeton to find that hardly anyone asked, "What did you do this summer?"
Most people already knew, through his articles in Princeton's student newspaper; his blog, Notes from Downrange; or the recent Washington Post profile that featured him this month.
He also found that his sparse dorm room felt luxurious compared with the accommodations at most FOBs.
Morgan received his unusual opportunity after interviewing Petraeus for a profile he was writing for the student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian. Petraeus received a doctorate from the school. He and Morgan kept in touch, and last spring, he gave Morgan a personal invitation to see some of the things he'd been writing about.
Kerry Tucker, Morgan's mother, was well aware of her son's longtime interest in history and the military, and on some level, saw the trip coming and tried to prepare herself.
"I came up with what I thought was a really fast and good response: 'That's a very nice opportunity, but we're not paying for the airfare and your health insurance wouldn't cover you in another country, so you can't go,' " she said.
The next day, Morgan found his own funding.
"All moms will freak out for the rest of their lives when their children are somewhere away, but it comes to a point where you realize they need to make their own decisions," said Tucker. "I knew if I said, 'No, you can't go,' he'd go anyway."
Morgan's fascination with the military began very early, so long ago that he doesn't even remember when or how it started. After pursuing a general interest in the armed forces in kindergarten, he progressed to a curiosity about the history of the Vietnam War and Special Forces soldiers by the time he was in second grade.
His third-grade teacher at the Shady Hills School in Cambridge once asked him about his goals for the year.
"I said my big goal was to finish this big book I had started," said Morgan. The book? "Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu" by Bernard B. Fall, an account of the battle that eventually led to US involvement in Vietnam.
These days, he keeps up his reading - accounts of insurgent battles, historical documents, several daily newspapers, and anything he can get his hands on about the ongoing war in Iraq. He hopes to study national security and foreign policy at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Petraeus himself, reached via e-mail, said Morgan has "a bright future as an officer, and letting him see his fellow 19-year-olds in action in Iraq - soldiers like those he'll lead as a lieutenant - has undoubtedly been a great experience for him."
Petraeus added, "In truth, the motivation for the invitation was to let him see the situation on the ground for himself. I wasn't aware that he was blogging until he'd been there for a while. And when I read the blogs, I was impressed yet again by his skill as an observer and writer."
When Morgan talks about the war, it isn't in terms of polemics or opinions on whether it's going well or badly. His remarks and his blog posts are about the people he meets, the strategies he observes, and how hard the job of the soldiers must be. He's the first to admit that he doesn't know everything about the war, or even everything about the small sliver of it he observed on his trip.
Morgan watched the first day and half of the second day of Petraeus's testimony before Congress two weeks ago. He said he didn't find it much different than what Petraeus had been telling legislators much of the summer. He hesitates to judge, saying he "only saw a few pieces of the puzzle."
During the six weeks he spent overseas, Morgan said he only spent about one day with Petraeus himself, although he knows that it was the four-star general's intervention that allowed him to get as close to the operations as he did.
Morgan also found himself inspired by role models much further down the chain of command. He said he met one officer who, in addition to his regular duties, devoted himself to helping his unit's experienced Iraqi interpreters prepare paperwork to help them become American citizens. "It was fascinating and very admirable to watch that," Morgan said.
He said he was also impressed by the soldiers who were doing the dirty and dangerous work of rooting out insurgents, a job some of them hated, but one they did nonetheless.
"In civilian and student life, you always think that if people hate what they're doing, they're going to do it less effectively," said Morgan. "But with soldiers, they do their job and they do it well, regardless of what it is."
Boston.com
When will Hillary's term be over...2014, you think it's to soon to nominate Petraeus for president?
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