ABC Nightline For Friday -- R&R for troops in Iraq

[Bozita]

 
Nightline Daily E-Mail
October 17, 2003


TONIGHT'S SUBJECT: They come home to children they've never met, and a lifestyle that seems foreign. And they leave behind danger and chaos and death. For two weeks, soldiers are sent home from Iraq for what's called R and R. And then they have to go back.

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I think some things are easier to take if you don't know what's coming. When Ted and I were embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division for the war with Iraq, we really didn't know what we were getting into. Once in, you can't turn back. You just deal with what comes. But then we got to go home, and perhaps more important, we got to decide when we went home. If you had asked me to go back a couple of weeks later, it would have been much tougher to go. Why? Because I would know what was coming. Sometimes it's easier to just be surprised. Which is a long way of getting to our show for tonight. Soldiers serving in Iraq, or at least some of them, are being given the opportunity to come home for two weeks. It's called R and R, rest and recuperation, or recreation, or recovery. But you get the idea.

The pictures of the homecomings are very emotional. Very emotional. Who can't be moved by the sight of a young soldier meeting his child for the first time, a child born while he was serving overseas? And it is a real culture shock to come back, too. Electricity on demand, no sandstorms, lots of light, American food, all the comforts of home, and above all, the presence of loved ones. And equally important is what is left behind, all of the stress and danger of serving in Iraq. It takes a while to re-adjust. Oddly, a lot of soldiers feel guilty about leaving their comrades behind. It's an emotionally powerful, and confusing, experience.

Tonight we'll follow a couple of soldiers through their two-week home leaves. And then comes perhaps the toughest part, going back. This time they know what's waiting for them back in Iraq. I can't think of a tougher thing to do than getting back on that plane. I hope you'll join us.

Leroy Sievers and the Nightline Staff
Nightline Offices
Washington, D.C.