Sunrise Over Fallujah Discussion Question 1

Critique Robin's decision to join the military. Would you join the war? Why or why not?

A collage of photos from the war in Iraq.

Robin's decision to join the military was not the wise one, and if I was in a similar position I would never make the same decision. Although Robin joined the Civil Affairs Unit and is not necessary always fighting on the front line, he is in danger of losing his life every day. There are street bombs everywhere and civilians will shoot anyone who appears to be an enemy, whether they are the Civil Affairs Unit or the infantry. Robin's group has engaged in already quite a few dangerous scenes, and with the language barrier it can be chaotic and very frightening. Ahmed is the only person in their squad who can speak Arabic, and sometimes he can not understand the different dialects the civilians speak clearly. In the heat of the moment, it is not unlikely that a civilian might open fire or attack Robin and his group. For example, Robin's squad enters Iraq and they try to support some wounded children by handing out medicine and bandages. By doing so without being armed, however, the group put themselves in potentially grave danger. "'How do you know there aren't a dozen enemy fighters hidden somewhere near here, Captain?' Maire confronted Captain Miller. 'I don't know, Lieutenant'" (232). Without armor or guns, the squad could have easily been ambushed and taken hostage or killed on the spot. I am sure that Robin never imagined that he could be killed so easily, for if he did, he would have second guessed his decision to join the military. I would never risk my life to fight unless we really needed it as a country. I personally do not believe that the war in Iraq was worth what it was after looking carefully at the statistics. I have a bright future ahead of me and I would never throw it all away for a rather unjustified and reckless war, and I believe that Robin should have looked at things from my perspective before he chose to enter the military.