Marine Carlos Texeira

{[Some free time]}




They entertained themselves by “Playing playstation, watch TV, they also had special things for us. Dave Letterman came over to Iraq. People also went to the gym.”-Texeira

Marine Carlos Texeira

..::Al Fallujah::..

Served “In Al Anbar Province, Sunni Triangle like 20 miles northwest of Baghdad in Fallujah....We served seven months over there. From 2004 till like March 2005.”-Texeira

"We were over there basically to do convoy operations, transporting supplies, we had to run the gate (main entry points) and basically we had to protect the base. We were like guards."-Texeira

-->Saddam Hussein $5 dinars<--

Marine Carlos Texeira

“Every marine is a riffle man”. -Texeira






"Everybody had to learn basic infantry techniques. After boot camp, you had to go to a school where you learn basic infantry skills. Then after that you go learn whatever your occupation is. So after we did that for like two months, I went to Oklahoma. It was an army base, that where we went for our military occupation. It was all about the canons over there. We was over there for like three months. "-Texeira

Marine Carlos Texeira

..::Rules of Engagement::..

"The rules of engagement, you cant fire until they shoot first. I hated it. They had a big problem with the IEDs, they make bombs out of cars. They used to come to the base all the time. How were we going to search that? Fuck, i had to be the one who had to search them, the lower ranking people. Troops were the low ranking people. I used to be searching hoping the car doesn’t blow up. But you just had to do it. "-Carlos Texeira

Marine Carlos Texeira

Marine Carlos Texeira
Trooper
Served for 4 years on Active Duty from 2001-2005
{Status} "Inactive Reserves for 4 years."

Reason for enlisting “All my boys were joining so I wanted to do it too. On top of that I had a military tradition in my family, my dad was in it, so was my uncle. I was like I want to do it too then.”

My Experience...

My experience in the Voice of War class has been both interesting and educational. I had both Professor Vasquez and Paulino last semester and I already knew that this class was going to be excellent. The articles that we were assigned to read were very interesting. From the articles about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to women's roles in the military, I've read every single article and will bring this knowledge to me in the future. As a United States Marine Officer Candidate, the topic of war and other related issues interest me. All the information and things I learned in this class will definitely help me later on. The videos and clips we viewed in class were my favorite parts. Especially the live documentaries of the war and their personal views about the whole situation. The field trip to the Brooklyn Historical Society was one of the best field trips I took while being in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program. The whole setup of the individual accounts and views of their time in service was unique. I gathered so much information from just that one field trip and loved it. The gentleman who showed us around and gave us tips on our interviews was very helpful. I can tell he's been interviewing for quite sometime and knows his stuff and I respect him a lot. Our final project on interviewing a veteran was a perfect assignment for this class. Not only did we learn more about the military in it's totality, but the professional techniques and etiquette of interviewing. Even though my interview wasn't what I expected it to be, I know I used my techniques that I learned in class. I will being using this knowledge to me in the future. In conclusion, my experience in this class was excellent. I will be keeping in touch with both Professor Paulino and Vasquez in the near future. As an Officer Candidate in the Marines, all this information I have learned will just make me a better leader. Thanks.

-Daniel Dizon

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War