{"id":33146,"date":"2013-03-19T10:04:01","date_gmt":"2013-03-19T17:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=33146"},"modified":"2013-03-19T13:45:59","modified_gmt":"2013-03-19T20:45:59","slug":"local-soldiers-reflect-on-10th-anniversary-of-iraqi-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/03\/19\/local-soldiers-reflect-on-10th-anniversary-of-iraqi-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Local soldiers reflect on 10th anniversary of \u2018Iraqi Freedom\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Valley<\/a>
Valley resident and U.S. Marine Sergeant Carlos Ulloa with the Iraqi police force during ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom.’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 On March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush announced the start of \u201cOperation Iraqi Freedom\u201d. Ten years have passed since this monumental broadcast that impacted millions of lives on a worldwide scale, in both positive and negative ways.<\/p>\n

Opinions raged on both ends of the spectrum. Some say the war was completely unnecessary and unwanted. Others say it was a much-needed decision and support all that has been done. One of the main questions people have today center around how the soldiers who served in Iraq feel about their experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalling to mind the past 10 years, I could not be prouder of the service to my country,\u201d said current Air Force Reservist Master Sergeant Johnathon L. Ervin<\/b>, who served as part of a special program innovation team in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). \u201cI know the work we did continues to support our nation\u2019s security and protect our men and women in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ervin<\/a>
Ervin (second from right) was awarded an achievement medal for his time spent supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most U.S. troops are proud of their experiences and service during the Iraq war, saying they wouldn\u2019t trade the experience for anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the world knows we are not going to sit around and do nothing when we feel that there is a possible threat,\u201d said U.S. Marine Sergeant Carlos Ulloa<\/b>, who was in charge of protecting the General when going into towns to speak with the Sheikhs, Iraqi leaders and governors. \u201cI wanted to serve my county. I couldn\u2019t expect anyone to protect my freedom if I was not willing to protect it for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main objective behind Operation Iraqi Freedom was to release Iraq from Saddam Hussein and to spread freedom and democracy throughout the area. The U.S. troops on site assisted in this mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the proudest moments during my tenure in the military was working to get Global Hawk, one of the first production UAVs, up and running in order to defend and provide continued support for the U.S. Forces on the streets of Baghdad,\u201d recalls Ervin. \u201cI can still remember hearing the National Anthem playing after it was announced that U.S. Forces had taken control of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Citizens of Iraq had mixed emotions regarding the U.S. presence. Nearly one million Iraqi citizens, both insurgents and civilians, were killed throughout the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left right before the Iraqi were voting, so it was getting hot again,\u201d says Ulloa. I feel like they were happy. Some of them didn\u2019t like us, but as with anywhere, people love us or hate us. I was just happy seeing people say thank you to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Approximately 4,500 U.S. service members lost their lives and nearly 33,000 were wounded during the war in Iraq. The financial cost of the war totaled nearly $3 trillion for the United States. The war led to the eventual apprehension and execution of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, as well as helping to lead the Iraqi government to a more democratic, but not yet stable, administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that our nation is in a much better place since Operation Iraqi Freedom,\u201d explains Ervin. \u201cOur country has, in the past 10 years, strengthened its foreign policy and has worked to build a stronger, more stable Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June 2009, U.S. troops withdrew from the towns and cities in Iraq and officially passed over security duties to the new Iraqi forces. Iraq declared June 30, 2009 as \u201cNational Sovereignty Day\u201d.<\/p>\n

In December 2011, the U.S. military formally declared the end of its operation in Iraq.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love my country. It\u2019s not perfect, but the fact is, we are still one of the only countries that goes to other countries to help,\u201d said John D<\/b>. of the U.S. Army, who was recruited the day after September 11, 2001. \u201cWe may not be the most successful. Sometimes you can do the right thing, or you can do the wrong thing, but anything is better than not doing anything at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

–<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 On March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush announced the start of \u201cOperation Iraqi Freedom\u201d. Ten years have passed since this monumental broadcast that impacted millions of lives on a worldwide scale, in both positive and negative ways. Opinions raged on both ends of the spectrum. Some say the war was completely unnecessary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":33147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33146"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}