TINA GARNANEZFrom Bring The Troops Home Now |
I was a lost native. I joined the U.S. Army when I was 17. I wanted to attend college, and I knew that between my family situation (my four brothers and I were raised by a single mom) and being from the (Navajo) reservation, I had few options to get a college education. I was not told about the Army's stop-loss policy and I served for five years even though I only signed up for four. I served in Tikrit, Iraq from July to December 2004 with the 557th Medical Company. One day in Iraq I was delivering supplies and was nearly killed by a roadside bomb that exploded in front of my vehicle. I was so upset and angry. I was not angry at the Iraqi people, but angry that I was there. I asked myself, "What am I here for?" I decided that I was finished. I was not going to fight for anyone's oil agenda.
The things I saw as a medic were terrible; God-awful things that I can't get out of my head. To be so young, sent to war and to return home expecting to be the same is near impossible. War changes you and there is not a day that goes by that my life is not affected by it. The recruiters target poor and minority students. These kids are looking for a way out. The military is not the only option but it's usually only the military recruiters that are there in the schools. So I speak at high schools and tell the kids the truth.
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TINA GARNANEZ |
