Q&A With a Vancouver Marine

A local boy deploys to Iraq

By James Walling

Vancouver native Lance Corporal Andrew Brown of the U.S. Marine Corps has been training Iraqi policeman in Anbar Province for four long, hot months. The Voice spoke with him briefly via phone about his motivation to enlist, his experiences in the Middle East, and his outlook on the war.

VV: Where did you go to high school, Andrew?
BROWN: I went to Prairie High.

VV: When did you join the Marine Corps?
BROWN: I joined up in August of ’05.

VV: What prompted you to join?
BROWN: I was looking for a challenge, for life experience, and for a way to get my life on the right track.

VV: Were you recruited, or did you seek out the Corps on your own?
BROWN: Oh, no, I went looking for them. I just walked in there and said, “I want to be a Marine.”

VV: What aspect of military life surprised you the most initially?
BROWN: It’s hard to say, it’s definitely a different way of life. People have no idea. It’s rough sometimes, but I know when I get out I’ll have more practical experience and expertise than most kids coming out of college.

VV: Did you expect to be deployed to Iraq when you joined up?
BROWN: Yes, I did. I was trained as an aircraft mechanic, but eventually I volunteered to come over here to do what I’m doing now.

VV: What was your first impression of the Middle East?
BROWN: It’s hot! It’s not as bad now, but for a while there it was like 130 degrees.

VV: Did you meet a lot of civilians right away?
BROWN: Once I got where I was going, I got to meet a lot of civilians. It was a real eye opener. My experiences have been almost all good. Lots of really good people. Things have really changed. If I wanted to, I could walk through downtown Ramadi without a flak jacket or anything and I wouldn’t have any trouble. It didn’t use to be that way. The people I meet are really grateful to have us here.

VV: We hear a lot about the improved situation in Anbar as a result of cooperation from the sheiks. Do you think it’s a marriage of convenience or a sincere alliance?
BROWN: They don’t have much of a choice. Over here, what the sheiks say goes, but if they weren’t willing to cooperate, none of this would be possible. If they hadn’t made the choices they’ve made, it would still be the way it was six months or a year ago.

VV: What are the Iraqi policemen you’re working with like?
BROWN: They’re very friendly, and they’re very willing to give. A lot of these guys would take a bullet for me if it came to that.

VV: What’s life like for the new arrivals like yourself?
BROWN: That’s a toughie. It really depends on what your job is. I mean, back home I was working on Harriers. If I had been deployed to do that job, I’d be on base all the time working on airplanes, basically doing the same stuff I was doing back in the states. Since I volunteered to do this, it’s completely different.

VV: How’s the change of duty treating you?
BROWN: It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. You get to see the difference you’re able to make, and how grateful the people you work with are to have your help.

VV: Nevertheless, are you anxious to get back home?
BROWN: Oh, yeah, very much so.

VV: What do you miss the most about civilian life?
BROWN: Being able to jump in my Jeep and go surfing whenever I feel like it.

VV: Is there anything in particular you’d like to say to the folks back home?
BROWN: Support the troops.

VV: What does that mean to you? That phrase means different things to different people.
BROWN: People get their news from the media, or some reporter sitting a hotel in Baghdad, but most people never hear what’s going on straight from the mouth of a Marine. We’re doing a lot of good, and we need all the support we can get to complete our mission here.

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See also this issue: Walling's op-ed about the interview, Straight From the Source.