Sometimes it is easy to forget that many of the men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are young. Some are still students, but many more are recent graduates. One such graduate is Zebulon M. Pike, who was on campus last week during a two-week trip home.
Pike graduated from The University of Memphis in 2004.
His discipline and determination helped him to graduate with a degree in criminal justice and as an officer in the U.S. Army. His service took him quickly to Iraq where he trained to be a battalion chemical officer.
Pike was taught how to recognize chemical and biological weapons and then advise other officials on the best way to keep his fellow soldiers safe.
“Basically, I’d be the first person to inspect the device,” he said. “Then I report what it is, how dangerous it is, and how we can avoid it.”
However Zeb, as friends know him, would never get the chance to use his training.
Almost immediately his flexibility was put to the test. Pike was sent to Forward Operations Base (FOB) in Iskandariah, Iraq.
There he began work as a targeting officer. His new job was basically intelligence gathering.
“I receive human intelligence on the ground, then pass it up the chain of command,” he said. “That intelligence is then used to help direct troop action.”
Some Americans are asking questions about the current war, but Pike insists that coalition intentions in Iraq are noble. He points to schools that have been started by U.S. soldiers.
“We sponsor three schools,” he said of the 1,000 or so soldiers who are in his unit.
He also said that he wished the American media would focus a little more on the successes of our troops.
“So much is focused on the numbers,” he said, referring to the ever-growing list of casualties. “It’s upsetting to see the way the war is portrayed over here.”
Pike is not the only member of The U of M community that has seen action in Iraq. Capt. Christopher White, a professor of aerospace, went to Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.
He sees some connections to the current conflict. He says that, in a way, this war is a continuation of the first gulf war.
“This one is more thorough,” he said. “The U.N. wanted to leave Saddam in power.”
When the American military went into Iraq in 2003, 12 years and 14 U.N. resolutions had previously failed to satisfy U.S. intelligence that Saddam was doing what he was supposed to.
“Military force is just one of the president’s tools,” White said. “We’re always the last resort.”
He said he sees the United Nations’ inactivity as one of the main reasons the U.S. went to war in Iraq. He said that with the oil-for-food scandal, member nations had no incentive to see change happen.
Pike sees the changes American troops are making there as positive.
“We are making progress,” he said. “In the end, the world will be safer.”
