Vietnam was my generation’s “war to win the hearts and minds of the people,” and Iraq is the same kind of war for a new generation. Many of the problems we geezers faced in Vietnam the new kids are facing in Iraq, although some would say (and I am one of them) that the conditions are harsher now, and the stakes are higher.
In May, 2007, I began “embedding” with Army Civil Affairs soldiers in Iraq. As a young man in 1970-71 I had served as a Vietnamese interpreter in a Civil Affairs unit, and although I hated the war I have cherished my memory of service in it. If infantry is “the point of the spear” in a shooting war, Civil Affairs is the spear point in the battle for hearts and minds. My intention in going to Iraq was to learn about modern Civil Affairs methods and objectives; to see how much better these soldiers have become; and to get some sense whether Civil Affairs can thrive in the current battle zone, and affect the outcome of the American enterprise.
Some of the stories were published in The Providence Journal, where I got a job and priceless training as a staff reporter forty years ago.
