If you are under the age of 28 and living in the United States, you have now spent at least half your life in a nation at war.
Have you forgotten? It feels like many have.
We seem lost, oblivious to what war we’re in and who our enemies are.
Most of us hold onto memories of the tragedy in September some 14 years ago while we were still in elementary or middle school.
Since Operation Enduring Freedom launched on Oct. 7, 2001, followed by Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, 6,830 American men and women have lost their lives, and more than 52,000 have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan as of Dec. 22, 2014, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Although Dec. 15, 2011 marked the official end of our conflict in Iraq, America’s troops are headed back – more than 3,000 of them – to help “train 5,000 new recruits each week,” for Iraq’s own security force after they were trampled during the quick rise of the Islamic State, according to the Washington Post in a January 2015 article. President Obama authorized military airstrikes on the terrorist group in August 2014, and America still has about 10,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan.
Like a sadistic game of whack-a-mole, our biggest enemy is the unknown.
“There is definitely always going to be someone out there trying to get to us,” Jonathan Zarate, a first year aerospace engineer major, said.
Zarate was five years old when Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
A 14-year-long war thousands of miles from home has Americans feeling weary, weakening the extreme patriotism and resolve our nation once seemed to flaunt in the face of 9/11.
Our conflicts have become standard and mundane, leaving a false sense of entitlement to the many luxuries that exist in America and letting a generation grow up thinking war is just part of American life. It’s out of sight, so it’s out of their minds.
“Many Americans have a very sophomoric view of our role in world politics and world economy,” said Len Wruk, a NATO communications senior enlisted advisor, who is stationed at Camp Integrity in Kabul, Afghanistan. “It all comes down to our national security, standard of living and quality of life – which most Americans take for granted.”
The people with mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, husbands and wives overseas cannot afford peace of mind. They are forever worrying that they may have already seen their loved one for the last time. Multiple deployments of friends or family members are routine for some Americans. There have been more than 2.5 million service members deployed to the war since 2001, according to Costs of War, a website that keeps track of statistical information and war stories.
Americans must restore their focus and remember that it may be decade-old news, but your brothers and sisters are still fighting. They’re over there, even if you’re not entirely clear on why.
“The reality is that as long as America is the leader of the free world, we will always be directly involved in conflicts overseas, either financially, politically or militarily,” Wruk said.
Our generation must not let its attention fade at this critical point in time. Remember, war is still happening. When you’re sitting in class, out at the bar or tucked into bed, American soldiers continue to fight.
People sometimes refer to the Korean Conflict as the “Forgotten War.” It is our duty to never forget another.
Blake Pinto is a junior journalism major.
