.Watching Election Returns With the Troops
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, IRAQ — Here on the edge of Baghdad, soldiers who have served long deployments and those who have just arrived, lingered in the dining room long after their breakfast eggs were cold to watch the election returns flash on mounted television screens in the early morning hours.
As Senator Barack Obama took one state after another, there was the occasional cheer from admirers, the occasional grunt of disgust from detractors, but mostly the soldiers looked serious. Whichever candidate won had the possibility of changing their life; where they serve; how much they are in harm’s way and how long they live far from home.
“We watched the election every day; we talked about it,” said Katherine Roy, a wheel vehicle repair specialist from Houston, Tex. “What’s going to happen to us? We know we’re not going to leave Iraq right away, but we don’t want to go to Afghanistan. We just want to go home,” said Spec. Roy, of the First Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment Forward Support Company, Fourth Infantry Division.
Military rules ask that soldiers be non-partisan, but on Wednesday morning some could not hold themselves back, they blurted out who they had voted for or used code. Those who said “it’s time for a change” tended to be supporters of Mr. Obama. And there were several who did not say who they voted for this year, but said they had voted for Senator John Kerry in 2004, signaling that they were open to casting their vote for a Democrat.
For young soldiers there was a feeling of distance from both candidates. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is from an older generation; one soldier described him as being “like your grandfather, set in his ways.” But President-elect Barack Obama also seems distant. He is a newcomer to the military world, a rare visitor to Iraq, an unknown in many respects.
“We’ll support and defend him and support his wishes,” said Second Lieutenant Hunter Wakeland, Staff officer, First Brigade, Fourth Infantry division and a native of Kennebunkport, Maine.
“President Bush listened to the generals, the joint chiefs, they have a lot of experience; With President elect Obama’s lack of military experience, hopefully he listens to them too,” said Staff officer Wakeland.
The war and the economy were critical issues for soldiers here, just as they were for many Americans—only here the war loomed larger and when soldiers spoke about it, their comments were informed often by multiple tours in Iraq. Many enlisted men said they thought Americans had done enough to help Iraqis and it was time to let them stand—or fall–on their own.
“If we continue to babysit, they’ll continue to rely on us,” said Specialist Anthony Davis, 27, of Silsby, Texas, Headquarters, Second Battalion Fourth Infantry Regiment.
“We’re wanting a change,” he added. “The military acts democratic and votes Republican but I think there is a little more unity this year.”
For many soldiers Senator John McCain’s candidacy struck a chord. His identity as a soldier, a man who fought for his country on hostile ground is their identity writ large, but that did not translate into faith in his ability to lead the country.
“He is a soldier, it does matter to us; it means he knows how we feel,” said Sergeant James Real, 31, of the First Special Troops Battalion, First Brigade, Fourth Infantry Division.
A self-described independent Sgt. Real, who, after getting a take-out breakfast, paused to stare up at the television screens, added, “But it doesn’t mean he’s more qualified to be commander-in-chief. His votes were too pro-Bush,” he said.
Above all there was the feeling that the soldiers were part of history and that their vote, if the man they voted for won, might make history too.
“At first the big issue was the war, but when the stock market happened it was the economy,” said Spec. Anthony Kamps, 24, a native of Grand Rapids Michigan. Alpha company, 4th Support Battalion, First Brigade, Fourth Infantry Division, who serves as a gunner on a convoy escort.
“I think the election could make a difference. When you think about the depression and how Roosevelt built the middle class out of the depression,” said Spc. Kamps, who said he had worked for Senator John Kerry in the 2004 race. He was one of the first soldiers to arrive in the pre-dawn chill to watch the early returns, sitting staring up at the screens his hands folded in front of him as if he were at church.
“When we have an election, the world has an election.”
Baghdad Bureau
As Senator Barack Obama took one state after another, there was the occasional cheer from admirers, the occasional grunt of disgust from detractors, but mostly the soldiers looked serious. Whichever candidate won had the possibility of changing their life; where they serve; how much they are in harm’s way and how long they live far from home.
“We watched the election every day; we talked about it,” said Katherine Roy, a wheel vehicle repair specialist from Houston, Tex. “What’s going to happen to us? We know we’re not going to leave Iraq right away, but we don’t want to go to Afghanistan. We just want to go home,” said Spec. Roy, of the First Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment Forward Support Company, Fourth Infantry Division.
Military rules ask that soldiers be non-partisan, but on Wednesday morning some could not hold themselves back, they blurted out who they had voted for or used code. Those who said “it’s time for a change” tended to be supporters of Mr. Obama. And there were several who did not say who they voted for this year, but said they had voted for Senator John Kerry in 2004, signaling that they were open to casting their vote for a Democrat.
For young soldiers there was a feeling of distance from both candidates. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is from an older generation; one soldier described him as being “like your grandfather, set in his ways.” But President-elect Barack Obama also seems distant. He is a newcomer to the military world, a rare visitor to Iraq, an unknown in many respects.
“We’ll support and defend him and support his wishes,” said Second Lieutenant Hunter Wakeland, Staff officer, First Brigade, Fourth Infantry division and a native of Kennebunkport, Maine.
“President Bush listened to the generals, the joint chiefs, they have a lot of experience; With President elect Obama’s lack of military experience, hopefully he listens to them too,” said Staff officer Wakeland.
The war and the economy were critical issues for soldiers here, just as they were for many Americans—only here the war loomed larger and when soldiers spoke about it, their comments were informed often by multiple tours in Iraq. Many enlisted men said they thought Americans had done enough to help Iraqis and it was time to let them stand—or fall–on their own.
“If we continue to babysit, they’ll continue to rely on us,” said Specialist Anthony Davis, 27, of Silsby, Texas, Headquarters, Second Battalion Fourth Infantry Regiment.
“We’re wanting a change,” he added. “The military acts democratic and votes Republican but I think there is a little more unity this year.”
For many soldiers Senator John McCain’s candidacy struck a chord. His identity as a soldier, a man who fought for his country on hostile ground is their identity writ large, but that did not translate into faith in his ability to lead the country.
“He is a soldier, it does matter to us; it means he knows how we feel,” said Sergeant James Real, 31, of the First Special Troops Battalion, First Brigade, Fourth Infantry Division.
A self-described independent Sgt. Real, who, after getting a take-out breakfast, paused to stare up at the television screens, added, “But it doesn’t mean he’s more qualified to be commander-in-chief. His votes were too pro-Bush,” he said.
Above all there was the feeling that the soldiers were part of history and that their vote, if the man they voted for won, might make history too.
“At first the big issue was the war, but when the stock market happened it was the economy,” said Spec. Anthony Kamps, 24, a native of Grand Rapids Michigan. Alpha company, 4th Support Battalion, First Brigade, Fourth Infantry Division, who serves as a gunner on a convoy escort.
“I think the election could make a difference. When you think about the depression and how Roosevelt built the middle class out of the depression,” said Spc. Kamps, who said he had worked for Senator John Kerry in the 2004 race. He was one of the first soldiers to arrive in the pre-dawn chill to watch the early returns, sitting staring up at the screens his hands folded in front of him as if he were at church.
“When we have an election, the world has an election.”
Baghdad Bureau
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