What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago this week I was at Camp Striker in Iraq, reporting on the men and women of Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat team, under the command of a great American and Monroe County native, Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver. Why I made the decision to go to Iraq is still a bit puzzling. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Obviously, I had no … [Read more...] about October 5, 2015: Ten Years Later: Remembering A Special Group Of Georgians In Iraq
Iraq
October 6, 2014: Some Random Thoughts On Some Random Subjects
If I die anytime soon — and I have no plans to do so at the moment — please see that the first paragraph of my obituary reads, “He was past president of the University of Georgia National Alumni Association.” You can save for later paragraphs the part about my being often mistaken for Brad Pitt and my uncanny ability to put commas where they don’t belong. I had the honor of … [Read more...] about October 6, 2014: Some Random Thoughts On Some Random Subjects
June 23, 2014: Retired General Sees Hope In Future Iraqi Generations
In my home hangs a photograph of a rather large and deep hole on the side of an asphalt road. It is the aftermath of an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) — or in more simple terms, a homemade bomb — that went off just as the Humvee in which I was riding passed over it. The date was Oct. 13, 2005, and I was in Iraq, embedded with the men and women of Georgia’s 48th … [Read more...] about June 23, 2014: Retired General Sees Hope In Future Iraqi Generations
November 5, 2012: A Salute To The Hero That Made It Home And To Those That Did Not
Because of the timing of my column deadline, I will have to defer comment on the elections until next week. I can say this much, however. We cast our votes freely and with no tanks in the street. As imperfect as we may think ourselves to be, this is still the greatest country on earth. The only thing that can change that is our own apathy and lack of appreciation for the … [Read more...] about November 5, 2012: A Salute To The Hero That Made It Home And To Those That Did Not
Oct. 1, 2007: Reflections On Iraq Two Years Later
REFLECTIONS ON IRAQ TWO YEARS LATER It has been two years since my trip to Iraq to see the war through the eyes of Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team located in the aptly named “Triangle of Death”, south of Baghdad. The longer I am away, the scarier it seems. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Happily for them and their families, members of the 48th are back home and back … [Read more...] about Oct. 1, 2007: Reflections On Iraq Two Years Later