I don't know why I survived Iraq and I don't know why I made it home, but I do know that this is my second chance at life and I can do whatever I want now.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
My experience in Iraq made me realize, and during the recovery, that I could have died. And I just had to do more with my life.
The reason why I have survived as long as I have survived is what my friends, comrades and supporters thought was an extraordinarily cautious approach.
Iraq is a country I came to know well and the place where I spent some of the most consequential years of my life.
I leave Iraq gladdened by what has been accomplished and confident your future is full of hope.
I went to Iraq because I wanted to see what one year of occupation had done to Iraqi society, and I went to the West Bank and Gaza Strip because I wanted to see what three generations of occupation had done to Palestinian society. I found a lot more hopelessness and despair in Palestine.
One of the reasons I survived as well as I did was my genetics. My mother and father both had very tough lives, and boy, were they survivors.
I was dying but suddenly had a second chance at living.
It was my duty to shoot the enemy, and I don't regret it. My regrets are for the people I couldn't save: Marines, soldiers, buddies. I'm not naive, and I don't romanticize war. The worst moments of my life have come as a SEAL. But I can stand before God with a clear conscience about doing my job.
When I first came back from Iraq, I of course found myself thinking a lot about it. Not just my experiences, but those of people I talked to, friends, and colleagues.
To be able to live and train in Iraq under these circumstances you need to be brave.
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