In the spirit of taking notice of all things Middle Eastern, I ran across the movie Close to Home last year. This Israeli offering gives us a good peek at the complex day to day culture in that tiny nation. We are afforded this peek through the eyes of a couple young women pulling their compulsory military service in the Israeli Defence Forces in Jerusalem.
They are attached to a female unit whose main task is to randomly stop Arab looking men and ask them for their identification. They also work a border crossing where they strip search Arab women. As an American, this type of culture is foreign to us. Except for my time living and working overseas dealing with checkpoints in third world nations, and my days in heavily militarized pre-European-Union Europe, this is just a life I do not relate to; nor, am I forced to live it.
Smadar (Smadar Sayar) is a tough chick that sees life for what it is and takes little crap from it. Mirit (Neama Shendar) is a sensitive young woman who tries to do the right thing and follow the rules. Their leader, Captain Dubek (Irit Suki) finds great pleasure in forcing them to work together.
Via our two antagonist female soldiers, we are lured into their world and are drawn along with their young tendencies of screwing off, smoking on the job, chasing boys, looking at cloths, fighting with each other, sloughing off checking Arabs' IDs, and hiding from their Captain. Captain Dubek is another tough chick who will and does throw her girls in the brig for various infractions. She is not to be screwed with; but in the sprit of the paradox world of war they all live in, Smadar and Mirit catch their Captain necking with a boyfriend in an alley and in uniform. The moment of mutual indiscretion understanding does not last long as Captain Dubek is back to her tough policies in no time.
And just when we wonder what all the fuss is with this heavy handed security of random check points and constant discipline of the girls, a bomb explodes on a busy street.
This type of culture does not exist in my tiny Janesville, Wisconsin. I see what the creators of this film are trying to say. Point well taken. Life goes on, girls will be girls, but living in a war footing is foreboding and Orwellian. And, at the impressionable and malleable age of 18, while other girls around the world are still in high school, these young women's foundation is being crafted by their tough and ultimatley deadly serious war footing homeland.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Specialist Kevin James Graham, 27, of Benton, Kentucky, and previously of Salem, Wisconsin, died on Saturday, September 26, 2009 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was killed in an insurgent attack on his vehicle using an improvised explosive device. Graham was assigned to 4th Platoon, Company Alpha, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Lewis, Washington. Specialist Graham was on his first overseas deployment when killed in action.
The Website afghanistan.pigstye.net noted quoting information from the Kenosha News that Kevin had always liked all things military and was a military history buff. The Graham family moved to Salem, Wisconsin in 1991. Kevin later moved with his parents to Kentucky in 2005. Kevin's father was a Vietnam War veteran. Aside from his military interests, Graham had a 1965 Pontiac LeMans he loved to work on; he also attended car shows and cruise-in car nights. Graham enlisted with the Army in September of 2007. His deployment to Afghanistan began in July of 2009. Kevin is remembered for his quiet nature, sense of humor, love of old cars, and trap shooting. The Website went on to say one of Specialist's duties was as a mortar carrier driver.
In an obituary posting on the Website legacy.com using information from the Seattle Times notes Specialist Graham was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, A Purple Heart; the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Infantry Badge. He had previously been awarded the National Defense Service Medal; the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; the Army Service Ribbon; the Overseas Service Ribbon; the NATO Medal; and, the Expert Marksmanship Badge.
The Website freedomremembered.com said Kevin was born on March 30, 1982. His civilian education was via Home Study Diploma which he received in 2000. He was remembered for taking in his stepson as his very own. The House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky read into official record a resolution honoring Specialist Graham.
At the time of his death Kevin Graham was survived by his wife Krystal Graham; his stepson Brian Graham; his parents Sandra and Daniel Graham; and, three brothers Scott, Sean and Daniel. Kevin Graham was laid to rest at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, Texas. Army Specialist Kevin Graham was the 14th Wisconsin military service person killed in Afghanistan since October of 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
0 American/Coalition casualties in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March, 2011
100,693 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,950 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,455 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1571 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
874 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,079 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
11,191 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
31 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
148 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
4 journalists (regional and independents) have been killed in Libya since March, 2011.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
