Illustration by Cody Angell

What follows are excerpts from an interview I conducted on the basis of anonymity with a 20-year-old sophomore Marine at UA who is being deployed today for extended training. I originally planned to use his comments in a column but, after the interview, decided they warranted 700 words on their own.

Are you going to Iraq?
We haven't officially been told, but it's pretty obvious that we are.

What will you do if you are deployed there?
I'll help maintain a fuel farm ÷ the place where planes and helicopters and tanks get fuel. I'm a machine-gunner, which basically means I watch the perimeter.

How do you think being on active duty will affect your education?
It's going to seriously hinder my education ÷ I'm going to be at least a year, maybe a year and a half, behind my peers · I'm looking at six and a half years of college.

Caitlin Hall

Why did you join the Marines?
I don't know. I think I watched too many Rambo movies as a kid. Actually, I thought it was my duty ÷ most other countries have mandatory military service.

What is your opinion of Saddam Hussein?
I think he's a horrible person, but I don't think he's a credible threat to the U.S. or to even his neighbors. Just think of the consequences if he sent a SCUD missile to Israel · He values his life and power too much to do something stupid.

What about President Bush?
I think he's basically a good person and that he tries to do what he thinks is right. At the same time, I think he's kind of a power monger who · knows that the executive branch gets the most power when there's war.

What do you think the effects of war would be for Iraq?
It would hurt the people · look at Afghanistan. It's like, "Wow, we freed all these people. Now what?" Afghanistan is no better off. It's ruled by warlords instead of an organized mafia. War always screws the people.

Are you worried about your safety?
No. I know I'm fighting with good Marines.

What about chemical and biological weapons?

(Pause) I don't believe we have an adequate defense against chemical weapons · I thought about donating sperm, because you can never know, but I decided not to.

How do you feel about the possibility of having to kil someone?
I would never ever want to kill someone. That's the last thing I want to do in my life. I mean, if he's going to kill me, then I would have to kill him. But I'm not going to go out with blazing guns like a cowboy. He would have to pose a credible threat. (Pause) You see planes and bombs dropping on TV; you don't see what happens after, when there are body parts everywhere. It's brutal. I say avoid it at all costs. These are people that have families and lives, just like I do.

Do you think that war can be averted?
Yes. I don't think (George Bush) is a completely unreasonable man · maybe I just hold out hope because I don't want to go.

Why do you think some European nations don't support war?
I think they realize more what war entails ÷ they've had a lot more wars fought on their turf. I drive to school or work and know that in a month I'll be killing people or dead. And I see other people driving down the street and know that in a month they'll be driving down the same street. It's just too easy. I have to live with it every day.

Do others you know in the military agree with you?
There's a broad range. Of course, a lot of the people have one-sided views because they're in the branch of the military they're in ÷ they're conservative, gung-ho, let's-go-kill-someone · they don't realize the ramifications. It's hard to talk about, too, because if you say something like, "I don't want to go to war" around a group of them, you get made fun of. But I would say a large majority doesn't want to go to war, and a smaller majority thinks we don't need to · You're sick if you want to go to war ÷ no one prays for war. How can I agree with doing something to put my life in danger when I don't think it's a threat to my country or the world? How do you expect me to want to go to war?