The Iraq War and Occupation:

A Struggle For Democracy

Kevin Cochran

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Kevin Cochran grew up in a small town in North Carolina. As a boy, Kevin had dreams of following in his
dads footsteps and becoming a mechanic and working for his dad. In September of 2004 his dreams were shattered when his dads shop had to go out of business due to financial difficulties. After graduating high school
Kevin decided to join the military.

What conflicts did you participate in?

Just small conflicts in the area of Afghanistan and Iraq.

What branch of the military, specifically, were you in?

Army.

Were you ever activated during wartime?

Once, yes.

When and why did you join the service?

November of 2006, and I joined because I wanted to blow stuff up, really.

What kind of pre-war training did you receive?

It was intense, we did basic training, and we got deployed. So it was very intense.

What was an average day in the military like?

Wake up for BT (Basic Training) every morning, eat chow, do training, get off about 6:00 at night. Well, it
varies from six until midnight.

How was diversity accepted in your group, in regards to race and women?
We didnt have very many, we didnt have different varieties in our unit. We had like two black dudes and an
Asian. That really was our diversity. It did go pretty well when we had different people.

Were you deployed during you service?

Yes.

When were you deployed?

I was deployed in about November of 2006.

What did you do at your duty station?

What did I do at my duty station? Well we trained to go to Iraq. We only had a month to do our initial training
and get all of our stuff together.

Where were you deployed to?

Iraq.
2010 D.C. Everest Area Schools Publications

COCHRAN, KEVIN

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The Iraq War and Occupation:

A Struggle For Democracy

All right, how many years have you been a part of the military prior to being deployed to Iraq?
How many years? Officially we hadnt finished a year.

What kind of preparations did you make prior to your

deployment?
Well, we got our gear together, signed all of the paperwork, and did some basic forced gun training, and thats
about it.

Forced gun training? What is that?

Its how you react, if youre in a hostage situation. We do
checkpoints on roads, where we have to follow the
Geneva Convention. A lot of rules have been changed
since then, regarding road stops and stuff like that. You
need to give certain warnings before you can open fire.

Certain people liked us,

and some people thought

we shouldnt be there.

What kind of training did you receive for the mission,

and how did that training differ from normal training?
It was a lot more intense than normal training. It wasnt much fun.

What was your life like at your duty station?

Well, it kind of stunk, wasnt much to do. Just party, stuff like that.

Just partied?
Well, when we were off work. When we worked we all worked. Um, not much to it really.

What would you say would be the hardest part about being there?
Being there? Well, it was hot, thats pretty much it. You never knew if you were going to get blown up that day
or not.

Did you see any combat while you were there? And if so, what was it like?
It wasnt that much fun. There were people that were just decent, well not decent but just driving to kill you.

Did you interact with locals, and if so were there any memorable moments?
There werent any particular memorable moments, but we had to deal with the locals.

What were their general attitudes towards you?

It varied from group to group, certain people liked us, and some people thought we shouldnt be there. Pretty
much the same as it is here, really except they had bombs.
How long were you over there?
I was over there for about a year and a half.

The current war is an urban war, what is meant by urban war, and how does todays fighting style differ
from what we have seen in the past?
Its fought right in your face, in the streets, its not fought over distance. It can literally take less than five minCOCHRAN, KEVIN

2010 D.C. Everest Area Schools Publications

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The Iraq War and Occupation:

A Struggle For Democracy

utes to get from one side of the city to the other Theres no heavy resistance really.

What effects did new technology at the time have on your experience and what is your opinion on this technology?
The technology hasnt really improved all that much. It took them so long to update things that by the time
they updated all the necessary equipment for my aid we were pretty much done. We had up-armored vehicles,
that was nice. Those things can take a bomb pretty nicely. I think they made the mod-kits for them in 2004 or
2005. Also used them for humvees and track vehicles.

What kind of stress did you endure while you were

deployed, and how does it differ from stress endured
here at home?
We did a lot of missions to clear paths for infantry troops
to do missions inside the cities. My job was to clear the
improvised explosive devices (IED) off the sides of the
roads. So, we had to keep a sharp look out, I mean one
false move and youre dead.

Its fought right in you

face, in the streets, its not

fought over distance.

What equipment did you have at your duty station?

Standard M16, body armor, uniforms, nothing really special.

What personal items were you allowed to bring to your duty station, and what specifically did you bring?
Personally, I just brought a mini DVD player, I didnt have that much to bring. Some books also, I figured I
might as well get some reading in. We werent allowed to bring too much of our own stuff, because we had a
lot of equipment. We were only allowed to bring a certain amount of bags.

What did you miss from home?

Food, real food. We had awful military rations, grade F food.

What did you do in your free time?

I hung out with the other people I was working with. I got to know them better. And we also did basic training,
pretty much the same thing we did here but, we just did it over there.

Are there any memorable moments you would like to share that you may have had during your time over
there?
Shot a camel with a 50 caliber rifle, pretty cool.
Really, why?
Why not?

How did you feel after you returned home and what kind of reception do you get?
Well I didnt tell anyone I went over, so the reception I got was pretty standard. Just, you know shook some
hands, got awards, and moved on from there.
What kind of awards did you get?
I got the Purple Heart.
COCHRAN, KEVIN

2010 D.C. Everest Area Schools Publications

The Iraq War and Occupation:

A Struggle For Democracy

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What did serving your country mean to you while you were on active duty?
I took that job very seriously. I mean, the whole concept behind the military is discipline and respect, and
learning how to move as a unit. I took that very seriously because when we were over there we had to move
and connect as one entity to stay alive.

You took serving your country very seriously?

Yes, yes I did.

Is there any message you would like to get out to the people or any feelings that you may have?
Well I mean, we initially went over there to get dirty bombs, but in the end, we did a lot more good that what
people talk about now. We liberated the people from being completely annihilated by genocide from Saddam.

When our occupation leaves the Middle East, what state do you feel the Middle East will be in? What will
this mean for the U.S. ?
Theyll probably have a civil war and then theyll finally have to make a choice on which direction theyre
going to go.

What will that mean for us?

Were just going to have to sit back and watch.

Do you agree with the US leaving?

I think its about time that we leave, but I dont think theyre ready yet completely.

Do you feel anything should have been done differently with the current conflict?
Better plan, way better plan.

How so?
To see what the dangers could be before they go over. I think a better risk assessment of the area and what they
did We underestimated them a lot.
Currently, Kevin resides in Weston, Wisconsin. He is pretty happy with what he has accomplished since his experience in the military.

COCHRAN, KEVIN

Interviewed by Adam Knowles

2010 D.C. Everest Area Schools Publications