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Cousin Deployed

Nzinga Moore talked with her cousin before he was shipped out to Kuwait on March 8.

Listen to this Commentary!

By Nzinga Moore

As the Bush administration pushes the U.N. security council for a swift vote on a possible military on Iraq, the number of U.S. soldiers in the region is already in the hundred thousands. Youth Radio’s Nzinga Moore recently talked with her cousin Omar Moore, who is in the army and stationed in Germany, before he was shipped out to Kuwait on March 8.

Youth Radio: How are you doing?

Omar Moore: Not bad. Just trying to finish packing up my military gear.

YR: Are you nervous about leaving, excited?

OM: A little of both. I don’t want to go because I’ve got my family stuff — of course, my daughter you know. Going out there, you are going to miss a whole lot.

YR: How do you get ready for deployment? I know you said you have to prepare and get your bags ready, but emotionally, how do you prepare, and how do you prepare your wife and daughter?

OM: We got signed up with the Red Cross, so if something happens you can contact your loved ones. There are a lot of shots we have to get. The anthrax shot. The smallpox one — that’s the one a lot of people don’t like to get because of the side effects to it. You have to get your wills done. You won’t be there to pay your bills, so I have to go over with my wife what bills to pay, where to put the extra money to save. It’s just a lot of little things you have to go over to get ready for deployment.

YR: Yesterday, there was a national walkout. I walked out.

OM: I can respect anyone’s opinion about it, but you’re seeing — you have a different view because you’re not here doing what we do. Sometimes people hop on the bandwagon because of what’s going on in the world. They think it’s cool to protest. But you have to put yourself — if you are in that leadership position as the president and something does happen, and he tries to turn the other way, look the other way, then whose fault is that? They are going to blame the president.

It was the same thing in the Gulf War in 1991. A lot of people didn’t agree. But then when we won the war and America looked good, then everyone wanted to be a patriot, hop on the bandwagon, and happily hang the flag. But people just need to not forget that a lot of people paid the price with their lives. And be thankful for the choices that we have to protest against the war and be supported. People need to be thankful. Because being over here and seeing the things that I’ve seen in Poland and third world countries like Macedonia. A lot of other countries are less fortunate than us. And people should be glad that they are Americans because it could be a lot worse.

YR: What do you want people to remember about you? If you had one last word?

OM: That even though I say I don’t agree with everything, I am serving my country. There are some people who try to get out of things, like complain about their back, or some people really don’t want to go to war and make up excuses why they can’t go. I have a family. I don’t want to go. But I’m still going to do what I have to do, do what I raised my right hand for — I swore to protect my nation. And just doing my part to fight for something that deep down inside, it’s right. There are pros and cons to it, but I mean, my daughter can live in a safer place in the world and I would lay my life down for her, just to do that.