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05.14.04 - 8:12 p.m. Today, I was talking with "Military Man," he had worked at the center about a year and half ago, but then his squad called to Iraq. He just recently got back, and started work again last Monday. Now, Military Man has shit-tons of testosterone, so when he and I talk it's a little weird, because he's always talking about boobs and 'ginas. I've never came right out and told him, "Hey, Military Man, I'm gay," so, there is a chance that he doesn't know. My sexuality is not something I bring up...I talk about D. at work, and if people are smarter than a pencil they will realize I have a boyfriend. This is all beside the point, really. I'm just trying to convey it's really odd talking with Military Man, because even though he's a 'nice guy,' it's still a bit uncomfortable talking to him because he is such a "Man." Make sense? Probably not...moving on...So, today he brought a lap top to work and he sat it in the break-room with a slide show running. A slide-show of photos from Iraq. Something we all want to see during our moment of escape from the donors. When I was first in the break-room the slide show featured many pictures of cheerleaders from some professinal football team, performing for the troops...'cheering' that is. I know he told me the name of the team, but seriously when it comes to most sports...I just don't care. When I went back to my training office (and not an "office in training"), he was finishing up some of the exams I had given him earlier...and here's where the conversation begins... Me: So, did you just watch cheerleaders while in Iraq? That and run from *camel spiders and shoot rats with old epi-pens? (*from a conversation yesterday about the crazy camel spiders...an urban legend of Iraq) Military Man: *chuckles and face gets red. Big guy blushes a LOT* yeah, it was nice, the -insert name- Cheerleaders came to entertain us. Our seargent acted like a 'homosexual' and schmoozed their manager, who was a 'homosexual' and our Seargent talked him into gettin' the girls to come by the medic tent so we could all meet them. *Guessing at this point he doesn't know that I'm gay...in a way that's hilarious* Me: So, did you give any of them CPR?*I'm stupid* Military Man: No, but I would've liked to do more than that... *side note: Military Man got married a day before his deployment to Iraq. That night, before he left, he 'gave it to his girl' and nine months later, while he was still in Iraq, she gave birth to MM's mini-me. He left just married, and came back a Dad. He's trying to adjust...end side note* *okay, not quite...MM is a pretty big, slightly doughy, usually sweaty, very pale guy who turn red a LOT...oh and he is bald...so the baby truly is his "mini-me"* Me: Yeah, I suppose it's 'war-time,' anything goes... Military Man: I wouldn't tell my wife, and she wouldn't know, cuz what happens in the military...stays in the military. Unless, you are that son-of-a-bitch who released those prison photos. He's to keep that shit to himself. If the son of a bitch is smart he'll get his ass out of the military now... Voice from the Donor Floor: Hey, Military Man we need help doing set-ups. Military Man: Is that okay, boss? I can finish these tests later. Me: Sure, man, whatever. *I realized then, in that instant when he mentioned to the prison photos and 'what happens in the military 'Stays' in the military, that they ALL knew what was going on. I'd already thought about that, but when you REALLY think about it...we humiliate, abuse, torture and murder people as part of our warfare and the everyone in the military knows about it, and of course the President knows about it. But, they know to say, "We didn't know about that..." What did Kerry say today? Something like..."These actions of those soldiers do not represent the ideas and actions of the other 99% of our military. These are simply 'soldiers run amuck.'" He made this comment after seeing the additional photos, where I have heard involves sexual abuse like forced masturbation. The actions of those soldiers do represent America, and our attitude towards the people of Iraq, whether we like it or not. President Bush called them "evil," and made them less than human...so our soldiers treated them that way. And they knew...most all of 'em knew. What happens in the military, stays in the military. Epilogue: Later on, in the day I went upstairs to make copies and I saw Jewels, our Manager, looking at pictures on the laptop in the breakroom. I hadn't went through any of them, because earlier he played footage of some Iraqis getting shot while trying to hide some guns in a field. It was shot on infra-red, heat-vision, film, so it took a lot of the 'realness' out of it. One of our nurses walked into the breakroom just as the shots started and one of the Iraqi's went down. At this point a couple other guys were huddled over the laptop laughing when the first Iraqi was shot. At this point, the nurse and I made our way out of the breakroom. I didn't want to see anymore, and I know she was shocked that it was playing at all. Hell, I just went in for coffee... Jewels said a lot of the photos were really shocking. There was a photo of just a foot, with shards of bone sticking out of it...she said she couldn't tell if it was a children's foot or not. She said that's when she had to quit going through the images...when she saw pictures of all these Iraqi children, dead and with burnt faces.
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