At the end of the Revolutionary War, a group of veteran officers created a society dedicated to the ideals of the Roman statesman Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus. Cincinnatus was the prototypical citizen-soldier, a Roman who left his fields to deliver Rome from rebellion, then, after 16 days in power, he relinquished his position and returned to his simple life. The members of the Society took as their credo, “…the glory of the soldiers cannot be completed without acting well the part of citizens…”
Sgt. Sean at writes
At the end of the conversation, Sean reports asking
Nothing remarkable: just a conversation between two human beings, doing their jobs, coping with a shared peaceful moment in the midst of a miserable war.
And what happens when Nasam returns home? When someone makes a disparaging comment about the “American thugs”, Nasam might speak up and say, “They’re not all bad. We shouldn’t be mad at those who are just doing their jobs. We should save our anger for their leaders. I met a very nice American today…”
Read the rest of his archives and put a face on the troops we are supporting and trying to bring home. As one of Sgt. Sean’s commenter noted, a minute-long conversation with a soldier like Sean does more to win hearts and minds than Paul Bremer will ever achieve.
