Native son shares thoughts on Iraq with Rotarians
COVINGTON -Conyers resident Nate Pulliam felt the call of duty last year, so he stepped out of his civilian clothes to don his military dress again and headed off to war.
In November, the 51-year-old real estate broker returned from his 13-month tour of duty in Iraq with one thing clear in his mind: Iraq is an absolute disaster,but it is imperative that the United States emerges victorious.
It is going absolutely terribly -there's no sugarcoating that,Pulliam said during a meeting of the Covington Rotary Club on Tuesday.
At the same time, he said, "We're not winning, but we cannot afford to lose."
Pulliam, who grew up in a military family, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1978. He later commanded an Armored Cavalry Troop on the Iron Curtain in West Germany; commanded the Army's prestigious Berlin Brigade Tank Company at the height of the Cold War; commanded Headquarters Company, Third Army at Fort McPherson; and held various staff positions in combat units; as well as served in Korea.
He retired from the U.S. Army in 1997 as a lieutenant colonel and settled in Conyers, where he launched his real estate company, Pulliam Blasingame Realty and enjoyed civilian life where he could raise his family in one place.
And then Sept. 11 happened and the country went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"I felt, and still feel, very passionate that Iraq had to be done and we absolutely must win," he told the lunchtime crowd. "I felt so strongly that I put my money where my mouth was."
Furthermore, he said, the responsibility of a father overcame him as he thought about his daughter, Katie, who is now in her second year at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
"I felt odd sending my daughter to war when I'm sitting back selling houses," Pulliam said.
So, on Nov. 6, 2005, he was back in active duty serving on an advisory team -or Military Transition Team, referred to as MITT -to the 6th Iraqi Division in Baghdad.
And even though he qualified his job as "pretty safe," Pulliam described how after he and his superior discussed who should travel to another area of town, his boss got on the bus that was later hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). Pulliam said he never saw the man again because his injuries, though not life-threatening, required that he be evacuated to a hospital in Germany.
Pulliam also described that it was not unusual to witness bombings or murders, and shellings were a daily event.
Perhaps the most difficult portion of his experience, however, was learning just after he returned home in November that a good friend of his, who had one more week to go in Iraq before coming home, was killed, along with his replacement, in a roadside bombing.
"It's an absolute disaster in Iraq that was created by the Republicans,"Pulliam said, who also noted that he voted for President Bush twice and, given the same election choices, would vote for him again.
That said, he said the administration has created a situation in Iraq that makes it impossible to win. First and foremost, Pulliam said, it is critical to send in more troops to get the job done right and then get out of there.
"The military is way too small. If anything happened anywhere else, like North Korea marched south, it would be a disaster,"he said.
Furthermore, he said the war is being conducted on the cheap and there are critical Iraqi military divisions, such as along the oil pipeline, that do not have American advisors -something Pulliam believes is the best way to proceed with the war.
Militia groups have become stronger and gained more power and the United States has dismantled the Iraqi army and only allowed them to have 10 divisions.
"Bush has created a situation that's impossible to win,"he said.
But what is right in Iraq, Pulliam said, is that it's the right war to wage; it's not entirely a military operation; and efforts are made to turn the country over to the Iraqis as soon as possible.
He did say he is concerned that the American public does not have the stomach to see the war to completion, something he thinks can have far-reaching consequences. Victory, he said, is when the United States can pull out of Iraq and the government there is not a satellite or a puppet for Iran or a haven for al-Qaida or other terrorist organizations.
"We must not cut and run or give anyone the impression of cutting and running," Pulliam warned. "We must get out absolutely as fast as we can, but not before we fix the mess we created. Remember, we weren't in Iraq on Sept. 11. If we pull out, it will appear to our enemies that we are a paper tiger, and they will keep hitting us, and it will get to the point where we are hit by IEDs on our way to church here in Covington."
Rockdale Citizen
12-14-06
Copyright 2006.
In November, the 51-year-old real estate broker returned from his 13-month tour of duty in Iraq with one thing clear in his mind: Iraq is an absolute disaster,but it is imperative that the United States emerges victorious.
It is going absolutely terribly -there's no sugarcoating that,Pulliam said during a meeting of the Covington Rotary Club on Tuesday.
At the same time, he said, "We're not winning, but we cannot afford to lose."
Pulliam, who grew up in a military family, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1978. He later commanded an Armored Cavalry Troop on the Iron Curtain in West Germany; commanded the Army's prestigious Berlin Brigade Tank Company at the height of the Cold War; commanded Headquarters Company, Third Army at Fort McPherson; and held various staff positions in combat units; as well as served in Korea.
He retired from the U.S. Army in 1997 as a lieutenant colonel and settled in Conyers, where he launched his real estate company, Pulliam Blasingame Realty and enjoyed civilian life where he could raise his family in one place.
And then Sept. 11 happened and the country went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"I felt, and still feel, very passionate that Iraq had to be done and we absolutely must win," he told the lunchtime crowd. "I felt so strongly that I put my money where my mouth was."
Furthermore, he said, the responsibility of a father overcame him as he thought about his daughter, Katie, who is now in her second year at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
"I felt odd sending my daughter to war when I'm sitting back selling houses," Pulliam said.
So, on Nov. 6, 2005, he was back in active duty serving on an advisory team -or Military Transition Team, referred to as MITT -to the 6th Iraqi Division in Baghdad.
And even though he qualified his job as "pretty safe," Pulliam described how after he and his superior discussed who should travel to another area of town, his boss got on the bus that was later hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). Pulliam said he never saw the man again because his injuries, though not life-threatening, required that he be evacuated to a hospital in Germany.
Pulliam also described that it was not unusual to witness bombings or murders, and shellings were a daily event.
Perhaps the most difficult portion of his experience, however, was learning just after he returned home in November that a good friend of his, who had one more week to go in Iraq before coming home, was killed, along with his replacement, in a roadside bombing.
"It's an absolute disaster in Iraq that was created by the Republicans,"Pulliam said, who also noted that he voted for President Bush twice and, given the same election choices, would vote for him again.
That said, he said the administration has created a situation in Iraq that makes it impossible to win. First and foremost, Pulliam said, it is critical to send in more troops to get the job done right and then get out of there.
"The military is way too small. If anything happened anywhere else, like North Korea marched south, it would be a disaster,"he said.
Furthermore, he said the war is being conducted on the cheap and there are critical Iraqi military divisions, such as along the oil pipeline, that do not have American advisors -something Pulliam believes is the best way to proceed with the war.
Militia groups have become stronger and gained more power and the United States has dismantled the Iraqi army and only allowed them to have 10 divisions.
"Bush has created a situation that's impossible to win,"he said.
But what is right in Iraq, Pulliam said, is that it's the right war to wage; it's not entirely a military operation; and efforts are made to turn the country over to the Iraqis as soon as possible.
He did say he is concerned that the American public does not have the stomach to see the war to completion, something he thinks can have far-reaching consequences. Victory, he said, is when the United States can pull out of Iraq and the government there is not a satellite or a puppet for Iran or a haven for al-Qaida or other terrorist organizations.
"We must not cut and run or give anyone the impression of cutting and running," Pulliam warned. "We must get out absolutely as fast as we can, but not before we fix the mess we created. Remember, we weren't in Iraq on Sept. 11. If we pull out, it will appear to our enemies that we are a paper tiger, and they will keep hitting us, and it will get to the point where we are hit by IEDs on our way to church here in Covington."
Rockdale Citizen
12-14-06
Copyright 2006.
Added on December 14, 2006 by RYSA 90 Blue
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