Sean Huze Response

I had never read anything like Sean Huze's 'The Sandstorm' before. I didn't know what it was about, so I wasn't looking forward to reading it. But once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. I was amazed at how raw and real it was. I had never heard a soldier talk about his experiences in war or about how he felt, so I didn't really have any idea about what it was like for them. The way each soldier talked about their experiences, how they felt and what they went through really opened my eyes and helped me see them in a very different way. I feel more respect toward them now because I see the things that they have to go through and how much they suffer and sacrifice. I can't imagine the nightmares they have due to all the psychological trauma they receive after everything they see and do. Many of them are forced to live each day feeling guilty for all the things they did, for all the people they killed. They try to cause the least damage possible, to kill as few people as they can, but many times they are forced to do things that they wish they didn't have to do in order to protect themselves and make it out alive. They live every day wondering if they will survive to fight another day, fearing what will become of their families if something were to happen to them. I hate to think about how they must feel every time they have to see one of their friends get killed, or every time they see innocent men, women, and children die because of them. Many times, they are forced to fight in a war that they don't believe in, but even though they want no part in it, they have to go and give it their everything as if they were the ones that wanted to be there. This reading really changed they way I viewed the members of the armed forces. I feel alot more compassion and respect for them and for their families now.

Heres the link where i got the image from http://blog.usnavyseals.com/2010/06/memorials-for-the-fallen-of-iraq-and-afghanistan-in-kansas.html

Heres a link to some statistics from the war in Iraq http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm