New generation of troops inherit long Afghan war

Washington Post ^ | 11/4/2010 | Todd Pitman

[Saije]

Lance Cpl. Jacob Adams was in 5th grade math class when hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. His parents took him out of school early that day.

Adams, 20, is now serving in a Marine battalion battling Taliban gunmen, many of whom were also just kids on Sept. 11, 2001. He's part of a new generation of U.S. troops inheriting the wars spawned by the terror attacks.

Many of the men and women who took part in the initial invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have since left the military and moved on with their lives. The changing of the guard is a graphic and personal reminder that the fighting has dragged on longer than anyone ever imagined.

"It's kind of weird having watched it all on the news those first days," said Adams. "And then 10 years later, here I am, and here we are still fighting it."

Adams is on his first combat tour - with the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, which deployed to Afghanistan in July. He spoke at a rugged outpost called Typhoon 4, where his squad patrols an endless patchwork of fields growing cotton, corn, marijuana, opium poppies and other crops. There are no paved roads or electricity here in Marjah. There are plenty of hidden bombs.

Adams, from Jacksonville, Florida, said even though he was only 10 when the Twin Towers collapsed, he knew then that he wanted to join the military. But back then, "I didn't think we'd still be at war," he said.

[Saije]

I think this 9/11 generation is going to do great things. Many of them already are.

[Sax]

Lance Cpl. Jacob Adams was in 5th grade math class when hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center

Hey John Kerry, Lance Cpl. Jacob Adams has been following the war since he was ten years old, saw the merit, the strategic 'big picture' and answered the call. He joined the best all volunteer force in the history of humankind.

Most of us appreciate his service more than he'll ever know.

[Tublecane]

We sure use terms loosely, don’t we? It’s only been 9 years since 9/11. Traditionally, a generation was said to last 19 years. Nowadays it tends to be longer, what with average first-time motherhood coming at 25 and fatherhood at 27.

So, yes, Afghanistan’s been going on a while. And it’s interesting to think that those who were 10 year olds on 9/11 are now killing people. But it’s not a “new generation.” And they didn’t “inherit” it any more than anyone who couldn’t vote or volunteer before it started inherited it.

[castlebrew]

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