Kenny Dupar

Scoundrels in Iraq Kenny Dupar

I have a comprehensive understanding of the war, having Soldiered there in its beginning and at the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In between deployments I trained troops to go downrange. The compulsion to write down my goofy adventures overcame the inertia since college that limited my writing to post-it notes, Emails and greeting cards. I finally had a storyworth telling. I don't see representation of ordinary Soldiers in Iraq in media. Didn't women deploy? Where's their attagirl? Strangers in grocery stores thanked me for my service. It bothered me and I avoided wearing my uniform in public. What if they knew about the terrible things I did?Heartache isn't the monopoly of Special Operators - the Men in Black. The petroleum specialist or mechanic halfway around the world feel the same loneliness amongst many as the Infantry Boys do. Going home can be harder than leaving. It doesn't matter what your job was downrange. But violence sells tickets and books. What about scoundrels in the Army? It seems an ageless tale. If deployed with Hannibal crossing the Alps, I would have been the guy who stole the elephant and got away with it. It seemed wise to retire before my entire confession was in print. But like we used to say, "what are they going to do to me? Send me to Iraq?" I'd love to go back, at least to Kurdistan. I know where ISIS came from and who won the war. But you'll have to read my improbable tale to find out.