2RHPZ
05-27-2004, 05:10 AM
Spc. Nick Crawford
By Sarah Kucharski
Spc. Nick Crawford, 24, of Haywood County, chose to forgo college and become a member of 101st Airborne, 187 Infantry for three years. His unit was deployed to Afghanistan immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, to act as security for tactical teams including the British SAS, Navy Seals and Delta Force units. Following his tour, Crawford returned to his home in Crabtree, where he learned that the 211th MP Company was to be deployed to Iraq. He signed up and volunteered for the tour. While overseas, Crawford met and fell in love with a fellow MP officer. He now plans to move to Minnesota with the intent of transferring companies and putting in another 16 years before retiring from the military.
Q: Several soldiers have talked about getting out of the MP Unit following their tour in Iraq, perhaps becoming highway patrol officers or security guards. Have you thought of doing the same?
A: I don?t like law enforcement too well. I?d rather do military. See I?m not really MP, I?m infantry. But from what I?ve seen it?s a lot different. Law enforcement here in the United States is like riding around in a car doing stuff like that, serving warrants, stuff like that. In the military it?s more than that. You ride the roads and stuff; you escort people to other places. You can get shot at at any time, you know what I mean? It?s a little bit more exciting.
Q: So I guess you like the danger element of it?
A: Yeah.
Q: If they came up with orders that you guys had to go back, how would you feel about it?
A: I?d go. If I hadn?t had been gone for the last two years and my girlfriend ? she?s in the Army, too, she?s in the Military Police, she?s from Minnesota and I?m moving up there ? if it wasn?t for her and I hadn?t been gone for two years, I?d go again.
Q: What?s your stance on the war in general? Do you think that it should have been started, do you think it was started for the right reasons, do you think it should be going on now?
A: We went to Afghanistan. They attacked the United States, we went to Afghanistan. Everybody was fine with that, you know what I mean? Then we come back and they say, ?Oh, you?re going to Iraq.? I was just like, ?Oh, OK.? Cause it makes sense. They tied them in with the Taliban. It?s like we didn?t go over there for no reason. There?s a reason behind it, you know what I mean? It wasn?t like President Bush is the one that sent us over there. I mean it takes checks and balances in the White House. So they wouldn?t have sent us over there if there weren?t a reason.
Q: Do you think that reason was the Taliban or do you think it was a move to get Saddam out of power?
A: I think it was a little bit of both.
Q: How successful do you think we?ve been?
A: Well it?s going to take a long time and we?ll probably never get rid of them (the Taliban), but you can at least take out the main ones and it will calm down for a while. Me honestly I don?t know any intelligence, so I don?t really know how many are left and you?ll never know.
Q: How do you see your mission as being a part of the grand scheme of things?
A: Well you have more than just one mission. You gotta help the people out, you know what I?m saying? Plus you?ve got all these insurgents coming from other countries that don?t like us. And you have the people that don?t like us that live there that just want us gone. But you?ve just gotta try to help everybody, you know what I?m saying? It isn?t just one mission to go over there and kill people, you know what I?m saying? You gotta try to help the people out. But you also have people out there trying to kill you, you know what I mean? It?s just a mix of everything going on.
Q: As far as the humanitarian mission, we in the States are getting a real mixed message about what?s going on. On one hand you see Iraqis who are happy and thankful, on the other you see people who just want us to get out of their country. What did you see that made you feel one way or another?
A: It?s all according to where you live. This town might not like us, but this town right next to it might. It?s like that wherever you go. But it?s just like here, you know what I mean? A lot of people want us to be over there and they?re glad that we?re over there and they support everybody. And then you?ve got people over here who don?t want us over there, can?t stand it, don?t know why we?re there, just downs the military, downs the government.
Q: Do you just accept it as part of your job to do what you?re told whether or not you agree with it?
A: Yeah.
Q: Have there been things that you haven?t agreed with on a personal level that you?ve had to do?
A: No. I?ve just never questioned anything I?ve been told to do. I trust the decisions from my higher ups.
Q: With that in mind, are you at all worried about the fact that information is now coming out that our leaders might not have listened to the briefings about Sept. 11, that perhaps they had the information, but didn?t act on it? Do you think it was a mistake?
A: Good question. It?s hard to say. I mean I?m not there. I don?t know what was going on or anything like that. You?d probably have to have been at the White House or some upper level to know what was going on anyway. I?m pretty sure they hear stuff all the time anyway: ?Oh this is going to happen, this is going to happen.? Anything could happen at any time.
Q: America largely has been pegged as the world?s peacekeepers and police unit. What do you see as our responsibilities to other nations? Do you think we should be pro-active or wait until called for help?
A: Good question, you got me on that one. I wouldn?t say so much as it?s our responsibility. But we should help people out, you know what I mean? We have the best army in the world, you know what I mean, and probably the best country and the best government and everything like that so why not?
Q: In Iraq, it seems as though we are trying to institute democracy and capitalism, but we are a completely different culture and what works for us may not work for them. Is their culture even capable of accepting our norms?
A: You can?t tell. It?s like the change over in June. It isn?t just going to happen. You can?t snap your fingers and ?oh this is a democratic place.? What, it took our country 200 years? You don?t know what?s going to happen until it happens. It?s just like Afghanistan; they assassinated what, the first two presidents there were elected? Now things are going smooth. It seems to be going pretty good over there. Nobody?s dying over there, not like Iraq. See Iraq?s a little bit different compared to Afghanistan. It?s like a whole other war over there. There?s like not even a quarter of the people involved in Iraq as was in Afghanistan. There was a small force, all Special Forces. And now you?ve got like 200,000 troops and how many people?s been killed? 600? Over 600? Think about it 200,000 ... 600. They make it look like everybody?s just getting slaughtered over there.
Q: But we?re not used to it.
A: After Sept. 11 everybody was like ?go, go, go, go.? Went to Afghanistan and not all that many people died. Then we go to Iraq and they?re like ?Oh, well,? everybody started doubting it. Because the Sept. 11 thing had kind of worn off, you know what I mean? We get over there and somebody dies and everybody freaks out. It?s war, you know what I mean? Everybody wants everybody to come back home, says it isn?t right cause somebody died over there. Well, it?s war.
Q: How do you feel about people, particularly former soldiers, coming out and saying that we shouldn?t be over there?
A: I don?t think they have any respect for the country to tell you the truth. There?s people going over there and giving their lives just so they can make those decisions, you know what I mean? It seems that everybody else was helping us out while we were over there. Then you?ve got all these people over here who are either jumping on a bandwagon cause everybody else is against the war or they just don?t have any pride. No respect. No respect for the country and no respect for people serving. People that serve over there and come home and hear that kind of stuff, it?s kind of like slapping them in the face. Might as well spit on them.
Q: How do you feel about President Bush as a leader?
A: Tell you the truth, we had everything we needed. I think he?s a good leader. There was not one time that we didn?t have anything we needed or that we couldn?t get.
Q: Would you say he?s doing a good job with the war and with the country as a whole?
A: Oh yeah.
Q: Would you align yourself with Democrats or Republicans?
A: Republican.
A: Would you vote for him again?
A: Sure. He?s done a good job so far.
By Sarah Kucharski
Spc. Nick Crawford, 24, of Haywood County, chose to forgo college and become a member of 101st Airborne, 187 Infantry for three years. His unit was deployed to Afghanistan immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, to act as security for tactical teams including the British SAS, Navy Seals and Delta Force units. Following his tour, Crawford returned to his home in Crabtree, where he learned that the 211th MP Company was to be deployed to Iraq. He signed up and volunteered for the tour. While overseas, Crawford met and fell in love with a fellow MP officer. He now plans to move to Minnesota with the intent of transferring companies and putting in another 16 years before retiring from the military.
Q: Several soldiers have talked about getting out of the MP Unit following their tour in Iraq, perhaps becoming highway patrol officers or security guards. Have you thought of doing the same?
A: I don?t like law enforcement too well. I?d rather do military. See I?m not really MP, I?m infantry. But from what I?ve seen it?s a lot different. Law enforcement here in the United States is like riding around in a car doing stuff like that, serving warrants, stuff like that. In the military it?s more than that. You ride the roads and stuff; you escort people to other places. You can get shot at at any time, you know what I mean? It?s a little bit more exciting.
Q: So I guess you like the danger element of it?
A: Yeah.
Q: If they came up with orders that you guys had to go back, how would you feel about it?
A: I?d go. If I hadn?t had been gone for the last two years and my girlfriend ? she?s in the Army, too, she?s in the Military Police, she?s from Minnesota and I?m moving up there ? if it wasn?t for her and I hadn?t been gone for two years, I?d go again.
Q: What?s your stance on the war in general? Do you think that it should have been started, do you think it was started for the right reasons, do you think it should be going on now?
A: We went to Afghanistan. They attacked the United States, we went to Afghanistan. Everybody was fine with that, you know what I mean? Then we come back and they say, ?Oh, you?re going to Iraq.? I was just like, ?Oh, OK.? Cause it makes sense. They tied them in with the Taliban. It?s like we didn?t go over there for no reason. There?s a reason behind it, you know what I mean? It wasn?t like President Bush is the one that sent us over there. I mean it takes checks and balances in the White House. So they wouldn?t have sent us over there if there weren?t a reason.
Q: Do you think that reason was the Taliban or do you think it was a move to get Saddam out of power?
A: I think it was a little bit of both.
Q: How successful do you think we?ve been?
A: Well it?s going to take a long time and we?ll probably never get rid of them (the Taliban), but you can at least take out the main ones and it will calm down for a while. Me honestly I don?t know any intelligence, so I don?t really know how many are left and you?ll never know.
Q: How do you see your mission as being a part of the grand scheme of things?
A: Well you have more than just one mission. You gotta help the people out, you know what I?m saying? Plus you?ve got all these insurgents coming from other countries that don?t like us. And you have the people that don?t like us that live there that just want us gone. But you?ve just gotta try to help everybody, you know what I?m saying? It isn?t just one mission to go over there and kill people, you know what I?m saying? You gotta try to help the people out. But you also have people out there trying to kill you, you know what I mean? It?s just a mix of everything going on.
Q: As far as the humanitarian mission, we in the States are getting a real mixed message about what?s going on. On one hand you see Iraqis who are happy and thankful, on the other you see people who just want us to get out of their country. What did you see that made you feel one way or another?
A: It?s all according to where you live. This town might not like us, but this town right next to it might. It?s like that wherever you go. But it?s just like here, you know what I mean? A lot of people want us to be over there and they?re glad that we?re over there and they support everybody. And then you?ve got people over here who don?t want us over there, can?t stand it, don?t know why we?re there, just downs the military, downs the government.
Q: Do you just accept it as part of your job to do what you?re told whether or not you agree with it?
A: Yeah.
Q: Have there been things that you haven?t agreed with on a personal level that you?ve had to do?
A: No. I?ve just never questioned anything I?ve been told to do. I trust the decisions from my higher ups.
Q: With that in mind, are you at all worried about the fact that information is now coming out that our leaders might not have listened to the briefings about Sept. 11, that perhaps they had the information, but didn?t act on it? Do you think it was a mistake?
A: Good question. It?s hard to say. I mean I?m not there. I don?t know what was going on or anything like that. You?d probably have to have been at the White House or some upper level to know what was going on anyway. I?m pretty sure they hear stuff all the time anyway: ?Oh this is going to happen, this is going to happen.? Anything could happen at any time.
Q: America largely has been pegged as the world?s peacekeepers and police unit. What do you see as our responsibilities to other nations? Do you think we should be pro-active or wait until called for help?
A: Good question, you got me on that one. I wouldn?t say so much as it?s our responsibility. But we should help people out, you know what I mean? We have the best army in the world, you know what I mean, and probably the best country and the best government and everything like that so why not?
Q: In Iraq, it seems as though we are trying to institute democracy and capitalism, but we are a completely different culture and what works for us may not work for them. Is their culture even capable of accepting our norms?
A: You can?t tell. It?s like the change over in June. It isn?t just going to happen. You can?t snap your fingers and ?oh this is a democratic place.? What, it took our country 200 years? You don?t know what?s going to happen until it happens. It?s just like Afghanistan; they assassinated what, the first two presidents there were elected? Now things are going smooth. It seems to be going pretty good over there. Nobody?s dying over there, not like Iraq. See Iraq?s a little bit different compared to Afghanistan. It?s like a whole other war over there. There?s like not even a quarter of the people involved in Iraq as was in Afghanistan. There was a small force, all Special Forces. And now you?ve got like 200,000 troops and how many people?s been killed? 600? Over 600? Think about it 200,000 ... 600. They make it look like everybody?s just getting slaughtered over there.
Q: But we?re not used to it.
A: After Sept. 11 everybody was like ?go, go, go, go.? Went to Afghanistan and not all that many people died. Then we go to Iraq and they?re like ?Oh, well,? everybody started doubting it. Because the Sept. 11 thing had kind of worn off, you know what I mean? We get over there and somebody dies and everybody freaks out. It?s war, you know what I mean? Everybody wants everybody to come back home, says it isn?t right cause somebody died over there. Well, it?s war.
Q: How do you feel about people, particularly former soldiers, coming out and saying that we shouldn?t be over there?
A: I don?t think they have any respect for the country to tell you the truth. There?s people going over there and giving their lives just so they can make those decisions, you know what I mean? It seems that everybody else was helping us out while we were over there. Then you?ve got all these people over here who are either jumping on a bandwagon cause everybody else is against the war or they just don?t have any pride. No respect. No respect for the country and no respect for people serving. People that serve over there and come home and hear that kind of stuff, it?s kind of like slapping them in the face. Might as well spit on them.
Q: How do you feel about President Bush as a leader?
A: Tell you the truth, we had everything we needed. I think he?s a good leader. There was not one time that we didn?t have anything we needed or that we couldn?t get.
Q: Would you say he?s doing a good job with the war and with the country as a whole?
A: Oh yeah.
Q: Would you align yourself with Democrats or Republicans?
A: Republican.
A: Would you vote for him again?
A: Sure. He?s done a good job so far.