Posted on Mar 21, 2023
Iraq vets reflect on a war Americans have largely put behind them
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https://www.npr.org/2023/03/18/ [login to see] /iraq-war-veterans-20th-anniversary
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War means different things to the vets who served there.
"All of our experiences were different," says Allison Jaslow, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). "It was such a long war. Every year of the war or every phase of the war was very different."
Marine aviator Scott Cooper had a role in the war's first minutes — the initial airstrikes that attempted to end the war before it began, by killing Saddam Hussein at his Dora Farms residence. Those strikes failed, but U.S. troops took Baghdad within a month, and Cooper thought the war was over.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War means different things to the vets who served there.
"All of our experiences were different," says Allison Jaslow, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). "It was such a long war. Every year of the war or every phase of the war was very different."
Marine aviator Scott Cooper had a role in the war's first minutes — the initial airstrikes that attempted to end the war before it began, by killing Saddam Hussein at his Dora Farms residence. Those strikes failed, but U.S. troops took Baghdad within a month, and Cooper thought the war was over.
Iraq vets reflect on a war Americans have largely put behind them
Posted from npr.orgPosted in these groups: 
Iraq
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)
Iraq Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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Excellent post. Thank You for sharing this shipmate. I was active duty Navy when the Iraq war started.
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I try to reflect on the good..the friends I made and sweated/bled with, the challenges we faced and overcame to get the mission done, being part of something biger than yourself, and that feeling of coming home safely. I try to forget the bad and I don't want to mention those here or frankly anywhere else ever again!
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