Spring Break
The Iraq War Comes Home
As war in the Middle East continues, the impact of Iraq invades the lives of an increasing number of Americans
Steve Markley, Senior Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/7/06 Section: Features
Professor Laura Neack agreed.
"It's not fair to say that everyone is isolated from this, but the bubble that people talk about is real," she said.
Neack's nephew fought in the initial invasion of Baghdad before being reassigned to patrol near Mosul on the Syrian border. In June of 2003, he was severely injured while on a night patrol, shattering his hip. He is now considered permanently disabled and, although he can walk, will likely need a hip replacement in the future.
"It's something a lot of people don't think about," Neack said. "There a lot of soldiers coming back with severe injuries."
As of the publication of this article, there were approximately 16,420 non-fatal casualties throughout the entire war.
According to Neack, this is largely due to advances in field medical technology that can save the life of a wounded soldier when years ago that life would have been lost.
"One of the reasons fatalities are relatively low is because these advances save the lives of the severely wounded who otherwise would have died," she said. "It's not something that occurs to people, though. It's not something you think about if the war isn't real to you."
For senior Mark Loughry, however, the war is all too real.
His brother, Daniel, serves in the Army as a paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne. He has served three tours of duty since 2001, one in Iraq and two in Afghanistan, where he is currently deployed along the Afgan-Pakistan border.
"It's one of those things where every time you see something's happened over there - one soldier killed, two soldiers killed - you're thinking about it," Loughry said.
Loughry's views of the war have shifted over the past few years because of Daniel.
"He's sick of it," Loughry said of his brother. "My parents are sick of it. His wife is sick of it. At this point, we just want him home."
Loughry said he gets phone calls where his brother will tell him that he's going out on a mission and will be out of contact for three or four days.
"It's not fair to say that everyone is isolated from this, but the bubble that people talk about is real," she said.
Neack's nephew fought in the initial invasion of Baghdad before being reassigned to patrol near Mosul on the Syrian border. In June of 2003, he was severely injured while on a night patrol, shattering his hip. He is now considered permanently disabled and, although he can walk, will likely need a hip replacement in the future.
"It's something a lot of people don't think about," Neack said. "There a lot of soldiers coming back with severe injuries."
As of the publication of this article, there were approximately 16,420 non-fatal casualties throughout the entire war.
According to Neack, this is largely due to advances in field medical technology that can save the life of a wounded soldier when years ago that life would have been lost.
"One of the reasons fatalities are relatively low is because these advances save the lives of the severely wounded who otherwise would have died," she said. "It's not something that occurs to people, though. It's not something you think about if the war isn't real to you."
For senior Mark Loughry, however, the war is all too real.
His brother, Daniel, serves in the Army as a paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne. He has served three tours of duty since 2001, one in Iraq and two in Afghanistan, where he is currently deployed along the Afgan-Pakistan border.
"It's one of those things where every time you see something's happened over there - one soldier killed, two soldiers killed - you're thinking about it," Loughry said.
Loughry's views of the war have shifted over the past few years because of Daniel.
"He's sick of it," Loughry said of his brother. "My parents are sick of it. His wife is sick of it. At this point, we just want him home."
Loughry said he gets phone calls where his brother will tell him that he's going out on a mission and will be out of contact for three or four days.
