(03OCT2008)
It’s easy for to lose track of what’s going on in the States, and it’s easy to feel disconnected from current events even when I’m aware of them. I have a television in my room, and I get a news channel that I watch at times, but most of my attention is centered on my job out here.
The economic crisis back home feels particularly remote, as money is a very different creature for deployed personnel. I have very few occasions to buy anything; all of my necessities are provided. The price of gasoline is a non-issue; fuel for our shared vehicle is free.
I am perhaps even more isolated from such issues back home than most, not having a wife and family left behind who would relate their experiences. Certainly many of my colleagues are not immune to their houses in the States losing value, and we’re all affected as much as anyone by investment losses, but it never seems to be at the forefront of our conversations. More often than not, and unsurprisingly, we discuss the war going on around us.
I have been watching the debates and I keep up with the Presidential campaigns, and I discuss these with my colleagues and others when I can, but of course politics can be divisive and I try to avoid any topic that may potentially strain a relationship with someone who I will see for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the next several months.
One thing that has surprised me, though, in my few conversations on the topic, is that all political perspectives are represented and there is not, as I would have expected, an overwhelmingly conservative viewpoint.
While many news stories can come and go without my even noticing them, others certainly catch my attention more than they would back home – namely, anything happening in the Middle East.
Last year while I was in Iraq, there was an incident wherein the Iranian Navy boarded a British ship and detained a number of its sailors for allegedly crossing into Iranian waters. There were tense negotiations to free the “prisoners” and eventually the British were released. During that time, we in Iraq kept careful tabs on the situation, and more than one person expressed the concern that if things went poorly, war with Iran could follow and the base we were on in Iraq would be a prime target for the Iranian Air Force. At least one of my friends had his escape planned if worse came to worse. It was certainly something we did not want to see, and there was a palpable relief when the incident was resolved peacefully.
Likewise, last week there was an incident at the Afghan/Pakistan border that saw US and Pakistani forces exchange fire. Knowing that any sort of escalation of this conflict would directly affect my safety and probably my job, I looked for updates on this story whenever I could, and was of course glad that it did not develop into anything further.
It’s definitely something that takes getting used to, and it’s easy to forget, but Pakistan is in my neighborhood right now, and Afghanistan is “home”.
