Veterans Day

In 2004 I was deployed to Iraq with the 372nd Engineer Group as the command’s senior attorney. In addition to my legal responsibilities, I also spearheaded our command’s humanitarian and development missions.

Some of our missions included collecting and distributing over $100,000 in school and medical supplies to the Iraqis, building 12 new schools and three water filtration sanitation systems that provided clean water, for the first time, to the community. Having access to clean water was particularly significant because at the time, Iraq had the second highest infant mortality rate in the world due to drinking unsafe water from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

I will never forget the look of joy on the faces of the Iraqi people as we cut the ribbon for a new medical clinic. Before the doors were even open, the walls of the clinic were lined with new mothers and expecting mothers needing medical care. These development missions created an extremely strong bond with the Iraqis that we built upon and, as a result, it improved my unit’s security.

If we allow fragile states to become failed states, extremist views have an opportunity to take root. Without doubt, the work we did in Iraq and the work the U.S. is doing in Africa, not only improves the lives of millions of people, but also improves our country’s national security.

-Charles W. Larson, Jr.

With the 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, I completed over 75 combat missions with U.S. Special Forces and the Multi-National Division in Central and Southern Iraq. I also worked with the Army Civil Affairs unit, which was responsible for helping the Iraqi people rebuild clean water delivery systems, schools, and hospitals.

Our mission was not just about rebuilding, it was also about providing the proper tools and training necessary to promote stability and independence. Through our efforts we established a relationship built on trust, which played an important role to our own security. Oftentimes, the Iraqis would notify us of potential attacks or provide information on the locations of insurgents.

The Iraqis worked with us, not against us, as we rebuilt, refurbished, and supplied them with their basic needs of food and clothing. We helped improve lives, which in turn helped support a stable and healthy society. All of our work built a high level of trust with the Iraqis and improved our overall security. Likewise, development work in Africa can help improve our country’s national security.

-Pablo Castañeda

2006 was arguably the most intense year of the insurgency. Iraq was on the precipice of all-out civil war and the Iraqi-American relationship was strained near the breaking point.

That spring, many of us spent off-duty time volunteering at a community medical operations center, which provided free outpatient care for Iraqi women and children. Each day it was open, hundreds of Iraqis visited the center to receive basic medical/dental care, medications, basic supply kits and toiletries, and other incidentals.

My time was often spent playing and interacting with the kids, which was the best part of my tour. Coaxing these shy kids out of their shell and seeing them laughing and playing is an achievement you have to experience to understand. Often times they would come with no shoes or a decent shirt so we’d work to find something that fit them.

The look of relief and gratitude on their faces is an image I’ll carry with me forever. In a very direct and personal way, the Iraqi people experienced the giving and nurturing side of American’s, dispelling their negative perceptions. My unit saw a very significant improvement in our overall security because of the development work we did to improve the lives of the Iraqis. I truly believe that my humanitarian work was probably my greatest contribution to the war effort.

-William Bennett

As a Commander in the United States Army Reserves, I witnessed, firsthand, extreme poverty in Afghanistan. While stationed at the Bagram Airbase, near the capital city of Kabul in 2004-2005, I led 550 troops in 38 different locations across the country. Most of my efforts focused on stability operations, working with civil affairs units to help the people make a better future for themselves and their families.

It’s difficult to accurately describe the level of pain and hopelessness I saw that was caused by poverty, disease, and hunger. However, I also observed the incredible impact American humanitarian relief efforts had on communities and the country as a whole. Imagine the gratitude we received when we drove trucks full of food and blankets into snow bound villages and to schools and refugee camps. Or the look on the Afghans faces when we showed up with 5,000 pairs of shoes that were donated from a shoe drive back home.

As the resources and trust we provided were absorbed, the people gained the hope and confidence to work toward a strong, legitimate livelihood. Not only did we help improve the lives of Afghans, but also through our work, we saw a dramatic increase in our own security.

-Scott Anderson

In January 2003, I deployed for the first time to Iraq with the Marines. I was a junior officer responsible for a 28 man light armored reconnaissance platoon. My unit and I participated in the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in 2003 and were one of the first to cross into Iraq during the actual invasion. After this first deployment I returned twice more to Iraq in both 2004 and 2005 to assist with the rebuilding of the country. One week into my second deployment, I was fragged with shrapnel from enemy mortar fire in the city of Fallujah.

Through these three successive deployments I was able to see the relationship and trust between the Iraqi people and the United States dramatically shift for the better. This was not done by the bullet or air strike but rather through the mortar and brick of a new school, the hum of a new water pump in a small village, and by the inoculation shot provided to a sick child at a mobile medical clinic. It was done by everyday Iraqis seeing American serviceman repeatedly risking their lives to improve their situations. Seeing and reaping the benefits of such American aid work the Iraqi people turned their back against the insurgents. It is how I am convinced we defeated the insurgency in Iraq and will eventually defeat the insurgency in Afghanistan.

I have been on the frontlines. I have seen the smiles and felt the appreciation of the Iraqi people. Like others suffering in hard times, they just wanted to succeed, not just survive. I think it’s our duty to help the American public understand the important role aid plays in the security of our soldiers and the United States.

-Knox Nunnally

As a Captain with the South Carolina Army National Guard, deployed to Afghanistan, I witnessed the great strength of America from remote and impoverished areas. I was deployed to serve as a mentor for the Afghan National Police (ANP). My team’s mission was to establish security through embedded operations with the ANP and to build stronger relationships with area villagers. Despite significant religious, language, and cultural differences, the ANP and I found a common bond. Not as soldiers, but as husbands and fathers, both seeking security for our children and our countries.

Working to instill the pillars of our national security strategy—defense, diplomacy, and development—we also worked to assist the local population in meeting their needs for water, food, shelter and education. Through these efforts, I experienced the positive, long-lasting consequences that come with helping people obtain their most basic human needs. Respecting human rights, providing security, fostering stability, and creating goodwill results in a most unbreakable bond.

Extreme poverty, lack of opportunity, and hopelessness can create conditions in which extremist ideologies take root. As I witnessed in Afghanistan, a solid, unbiased development assistance plan not only improved the perception of the United States, it also helped create an environment that was less vulnerable to terrorists.

Our development assistance played a strong role in saving lives by promoting regional stability and strengthening our diplomatic power through good will. It was one of our most important initiatives; by helping others we served U.S. national security interests as well.

-James Smith

In August 2004 I was deployed to Iraq. Working as a combat medic with a FRSS attached to 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, I witnessed a little bit of everything. Most of the time our battalion was hit with indirect fire, mortar rounds and if someone was hurt during night ambushes, including civilians, we were the first call.

Although providing medical care to numerous Iraqis was part of our mission, it was the compassion and care we exchanged that I believe had a lasting impact. In one situation, my medical team performed life saving surgery on a young Iraqi woman, who was hit by shrapnel. Along with treating several more wounded. Sleep was never an option, nor was leaving her side. In those dark moments, when your main focus is caring for another human being, camaraderie is established.

That same camaraderie carried through as members of our battalion worked to rebuild schools and construct water filtration systems, which provided clean water for drinking and cooking. The things we easily take for granted were often life changing for the Iraqi people.

Our human acts and good deeds significantly supported our progress in Iraq. By helping these impoverished people with such basic needs, we were able to foster stability and create trust. It was a language we all spoke, an action we all responded to.

-Hunter Hayes

Today we have the distinct honor of bringing to you a very special series from men and women who have served in our Armed Services. This piece comes from Jake Harriman, founder and CEO of Nuru International. Jake served over 7 years in the Marine Corps as an Infantry Platoon Commander and a Special Operations Platoon Commander for an elite unit called Force Recon:

On this Veteran’s Day 2009, the United States once again finds itself engaged in conflict. As you read these words, the brave men and women of our armed forces are battling Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and splinter terrorist organizations in half a dozen other countries around the world.

But on this Veteran’s Day I want to speak to you from the frontlines of a different war – a war against a senseless, unnecessary evil that daily takes thousands more lives than are lost in Baghdad, Gaza, Kandahar, Mogadishu, and Jaffna combined. It is the war against extreme poverty.
I have had the unique experience of fighting in both of these battles.

I spent 7-and-a-half years as a Marine Corps Infantry and Special Operations Platoon Commander – serving four operational tours in Iraq, the Horn of Africa, and other areas of southwest Asia. During combat operations in Iraq, I had several very profound experiences that awakened me to the fact that the only way to see the end of terrorism is to end extreme poverty.

The End (Jake’s Story) from Nuru International on Vimeo.

My men and I saw the desperation in the eyes of poor farmers who were coerced by Jihadists into fighting the Americans. Why? Is it out of some misplaced/ignorant sense of hatred for the West and all it stands for? No. It is because the farmers’ children were starving and the Jihadists promised food, education and money if they fought the Americans.

Extreme poverty strips a person of real choices. A life without choices leads to desperation, and desperate people do desperate things.

When my commitment was up, I left my career in the Marines and set out to create an organization to fight extreme poverty. Nuru International partners with the rural poor in the developing world and other nonprofit and for profit organizations to end extreme poverty one community at a time. We don’t give handouts, but instead through training and empowerment we actually equip the poor to become the answers to their own problems.

There is hope for those without choices. We can end extreme poverty in our lifetimes, and in so doing, answer the cry of the desperate, give a voice to the voiceless, and provide choices to impoverished men and women who have been struggling for so long.

A revolution has begun…a revolution to wake up and mobilize a generation to end this fight once and for all. There is no room in this fight for egos, partisan politics, or ideological differences. One sixth of humanity cries out to us today – asking you and me to simply put our differences aside and use our talent, skills and resources to empower them with choices. This Veteran’s Day, I ask you to step forward and get in the fight with us. In so doing, you will ensure that thousands of brave veterans and countless global citizens have not sacrificed their lives in this war in vain. Join the revolution. Be hope. Be light. Be Nuru.

All images copyright Nuru International 2009

As you probably know, tomorrow November 11th is Veterans Day. The ONE Blog will have the unique honor of running a very special series from men and women who have served in our Armed Services. While serving overseas, our veterans have an opportunity to see firsthand the connection between helping some of the world’s poorest people and our national security.

So be sure to check the ONE Blog throughout the day for some of these really great stories.