CAMPUS CORRESPONDENCE : Why Fight for Oil and Rich Emirs?

This is the debut of a new Opinion feature--occasional articles written by college students on issues pressing to them.

During the early days of basic training at the Naval Training Center in Orlando, Fla., I remember being asked: “Would you die--and kill--for the sake of your country?”

“Yes, sir,” I yelled, obediently.

I never thought again about those days and what had I said. After basic, I returned home and began college. But at a two-week training exercise for the Navy reserves last week, I heard that question again, only this time it was less abstract: “Are you ready to go to the Middle East and kill a few ragheads for our national interest?”

“National interest”? “Ragheads”? My hesitation to answer was as troubling to my senior officer as the question was to me.

Yet it was clear to me--3 1/2 years after basic and now a petty officer second class in the Navy reserves--that I couldn’t be truly “combat ready” if activated. The reason: My education and military training don’t mix.

I joined the Navy at the end of my high-school senior year to supplement my college education. I thought that serving part time in the military while attending college would offer me two vividly contrasting perspectives. I would be a stronger individual as a result.

But after studying political science and journalism at Moravian College, and applying what I’d learned to the crisis in the Persian Gulf, I discovered that the Navy and college went together like, well, oil and water. The last thing this college reservist is, is “combat ready”--mentally and physically prepared to be ready, on 48-hours notice, to go anywhere and do anything asked of me.

Part of the difficulty is my upbringing. While growing up, I blindly accepted much of the patriotism and most of the nationalistic values that were passed on to me by my family--grandfather was a gunner’s mate in WWII, my uncle an Army officer in Vietnam--of veterans. My friends never challenged them, either.

During military training, my senior officers reinforced many of these values, as did my fellow trainees. For many of them, the “stated” ends--freedom, democracy and our lifestyle--justified what I soon learned to be the implicit means--imperialism, aggression and occasional exploitation of smaller, weaker countries.

I always had some doubts about mindless loyalty. But they were mostly vague--until I completed several college courses on U.S. foreign policy, international relations, Third World politics and political economy. They were further intensified after spending a semester in Washington, D.C., where I worked on Capitol Hill for a popular congressman. I watched elected officials devote countless hours catering to special interests just to raise money for their reelection.

Having had such experiences, I now wonder what my role in the reserves is. Did I join the reserves to protect U.S. soil from foreign invasion, as did my grandfather? I thought so.

Or does being in the reserves mean protecting “oil reserves” and the pride of super-rich emirs thousands of miles away? Does mobilization, in fact, mean Mobil- ization? And should I again mindlessly yell “Yes, sir!” as congressmen, champions of special interests, mouth support for our buildup in the Persian Gulf?

The military helps pay--$140 a month--for my education. But, ironically, that education inspired me to question the very ends the military is called on to serve. I don’t remember seeing a clause in the GI Bill prohibiting me from taking courses that encourage skepticism toward government policy. Yet whenever I question the government’s vague ends, the usual reaction I hear is one of utter contempt: “You’re not being patriotic.” “You’re not willing to pay my dues.” “Love it or leave it.” “My country, wrong or right.”

Perhaps my questions are hard to answer. Perhaps they make others uncomfortable. I do love my country. I do believe in freedom and democracy.

But now that President Bush has called up the reserves, my need for satisfying answers is especially pressing. As a member of a construction battalion--I’m trained to operate the heavy equipment frequently used in building airstrips--my unit is probably more likely than many others to be called for duty. Is it essential to being patriotic and a “contributing” member of the military to be “combat ready”?