This is the

first year that my friend, Chris, will not be stateside for the Fourth

of July. This year, he celebrates Independence Day in Tikrit. Though he

still follows Red Sox baseball here and there through use of the Internet

and watches DVDs on his portable DVD player on those rare occasions that

he gets the chance, the Fourth of July will likely be just another day

as he counts down to that box on the calendar where he gets to come home.

Chris is in

the Army. Before heading into Iraq, he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

He entered the reserves when he was in college, stayed out for a few years

working in landscaping and decided to go back into the service to pay

for law school. He works for the Judge Advocate General's office and claimed

that in Iraq he would most likely be working in an office and doing the

same things he was doing in Texas, namely paperwork and research. Is that

what he's doing now? I couldn't tell you and I don't think he can tell

me.

What can he

say about Iraq? Try this on for size. "Imagine going into a sauna,

wearing boots, pants, a shirt and a jacket, spreading sand all over the

place and then bringing in a fan to blow the sand around. That's Iraq."

Ouch.

He's alive,

though. I check the newspaper everyday, making sure that he didn't get

popped by some sniper. I thought that when the war was declared over,

he was safe as kittens. He'd be helping grateful Iraqi people out, as

part of the team that hooked up water and electricity and restored order.

I've pictured him handing out chocolate bars to little Iraqi children,

while the statue of Saddam got dragged around the block a couple more

times. Of course, when I really think about it, chocolate wouldn't last

in all of that heat.

Seriously,

though, I'm sure lots of people over there are grateful for what the U.S.

did, but others just don't give a hoot and I'm pretty sure they never

did. We don't understand their religion or their politics or their history

or their socio-economic status. We know of them, but we don't really get

it. We never will. These are some of the poorest people in the world.

They have lived in a violent world with little hope for centuries. There

are a number of different religious groups that want power and control

and they are not afraid to shed blood to get it. Removing Saddam was an

important first step, but there are thousands of more steps to take. I

wonder if Chris really wanted to take those steps.

He was psyched

about going. During his stint in the Army, the farthest he went was Texas.

I know he wanted to have the experience of being overseas and helping

his country however he could. He was also looking forward to the increase

in pay. But I'll bet if you asked him, or any soldier, what they thought

they would be doing over there, this would not have been it. I don't think

they would have thought that they would be in danger of sniper attacks

after the end of the war had been declared.

He's not complaining

though. He signed up and he'll do what is asked of him. No questions asked.

That is what it means to serve this country. You do all you can when you

are asked to and you have faith that the leaders know what they are doing.

The job of the Armed Forces is to protect the United States and make it

the strongest country possible.

I am proud

of Chris and the rest of the troops over there. I know they are doing

their job to the best of their ability. I hope they get a decent Fourth

of July this Friday and I hope that time flies and they get back stateside

as soon as possible. Chris thinks he will be back before Christmas and

he is planning on driving through Georgia on his way back up to Massachusetts.

I'm looking forward to hearing about his experiences over there. I'm also

looking forward to not scanning the paper or that ticker under the news

on CNN looking for his name.

As you look

at the flag and tap your toes to patriotic tunes this Friday, keep in

mind that there are people in harm's way who are sworn to defend this

country. Send them good thoughts and know that they are over there thinking

of you as well.

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