Winning the Hearts and Minds - 50 Cents at a Time

I had guard duty yesterday. It was a quiet day. Not much action. Recently its been kinda hot out there. By hot I mean lots of action. Last night it was not "hot" at all though. In fact it was cold as hell. Last night the temperture dropped down into the 50s. There was a strong wind blowing through our tower so it felt even colder. It seems along way from those 120 degree days in Kuwait. But anyway, yesterday we watched alot of Iraqi farmers doing their work and we exchanged waves with most of them. They have become accustomed to watching us in the towers as they do their work. As they watch us doing our job watching them do their job, I wonder what in the hell they must be thinking. Do they hate us? Do they fear us? Do they wish they were in that tower aiming their weapons at us instead? I don't have a good answer for these questions but they are very intriguing nonetheless. On my first day on guard duty, I interacted with an Iraqi girl. She was there today as well. Still as spirited as ever. She yelled something to us in the tower, but I could not make anything out. I watched them for hours just doing them work...watched as they took breaks and talked to one another. Watched them have lunch. Then as they were beginning to load up the truck to head out of the field, a little boy about 8 years old came running up to our tower and yelled for us to look down. He was yelling for us to throw him down something. I looked at my tower guard buddy and he told me that we were not suppose to give anything to Iraqis from the tower. But I knew that lots of the guys often throw candy and water and other stuff down to them when they asked. Especially if they were kids. They were hard to turn down. So I looked down at the kid and I yelled that I didn't have any candy. He then said "dollar!" I laughed and yelled back down that I didnt have a dollar but I did have two quarters in my pocket. I pulled them out and I threw the first one down and the boy found it in the grass. He seemed excited about it. He then yelled at me to throw the other one down. Which I did. He grabbed it and waved back up at me and took off to join his family in the truck. Now I know that what I did was not by the "book", but then again, I don't like alot of things about the "book". You see, I came here to meet and to interact with Iraqis. Even if there is wire strung up between us...I still want to reach out and get to know these people. Many of my fellow soldiers don't view things this way. They see every Iraqi as an enemy or someone that must be feared. Call me naive, but I don't see it that way. I want to do my part in winning "hearts and minds" of the Iraqis. I don't want them to view me as a threat. I want them to know that I respect them, their country, and Islam. That I care about their future. That I want for them...what I have. A good life with lots of friends and a roof over my head and food on the table. Today...I tossed two quarters to an 8 year old Iraqi boy. What do you think he thinks now? A small gesture yes. But its possible it could make a difference on how he view soldiers and Americans in the future. Hard to measure but you never know. So yesterday, I made a down-payment on the "hearts and minds" thing and I will do it the next time too. Army procedures be damned. I am an Army of One and I am sticking to it.