Of veneers and reality

For this week’s field trip, our group visited the Pentagon and talked with a current coronel in the army.

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The tour was alright, but most of it wasn’t what you wanted to see or learn about when visiting the Pentagon. We walked around the inside and the courtyard; learned about how the Soviets thought that the Pentagon hotdog stand was an integral part of U.S. operations; saw the quilts, artwork, and pictures sent to the Pentagon; and learned a bit about the history of and the current jobs the military has throughout the world. The thing I was most impressed by was our tour guide, who gave the entire tour walking backwards and recited, verbatim, the tour (which, we learned later, is only about a quarter of the entire tour that he only spent two weeks to memorize).

Upon return, we gathered in the D.C. Room at LCWS to meet with Col. Maurice Clemons, a pastor who has served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics for 23 years. Col. Clemons had a candid humor in which he expressed what seemed to be genuine feelings about the army and his role that I very much appreciated, as I have with past speakers for LCWS.

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He talked about how, in going to Iraq, he was surprised to see many of the same faults there as we do here (pedophilia, prostitution, ect.); how this was an eye-opening experience, seeing that they’re just as human as we are. He also noted their merits. In Iraq, like in the U.S., people look like they come from numerous different backgrounds. But in Iraq, unlike in the U.S., the people identify under one, unified label: Iraqis, whereas we divide.

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He was very candid about expressing his perceptions of how Iraqis have received Americans. He seemed to understand why they’re less than welcoming, now that the U.S. has come in and beaten them down twice and stayed multiple years. He mentioned his having a $25,000 bounty on his head and his ultra-awareness of his surroundings since his tour in Iraq. And, not in an effort to scare us, but more to make us aware and appreciative of the efforts that are put into our protection, he reiterated that people are working around the clock to keep us safe.

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While he was critical of many things, mainly the attitude the army and many individuals brought with them to Iraq that they're better and that they know what is best for the people without ever asking, his having stayed in the military for 23 years, I believe, speaks to the value he sees in what he is doing and the potential he sees for being able to make a positive impact from his position.