Putting not only a human, but a female, face on the life of soldiers in Iraq was the focus of a talk given by UW-Madison senior Laura Naylor Tuesday evening about \A Woman's Perspective"" as a soldier.
A member of the 32nd Military Police company, Naylor joined the military in the summer of 2001. She was put on active duty in March of 2003 and spent late June 2003 to July 2004 in Iraq. There she worked with the Iraqi police, helping to guard, train and clothe them.
Speaking about her time in Baghdad, Naylor mentioned her experience with an interesting proposal from a local man.
""When we got there we were very popular with the Iraqi men,"" Naylor said. ""One guy saw me from the marketplace across the street and he told the infantry guys who worked with us that he'd give them a satellite phone and a scooter if they'd sell me to them.""
A difficult moment, according to Naylor, was when she was on the roof of the police station guarding one day after the sewage systems had broken.
""There were always sewage guys working and they would hold pipes they would use to shove down and unclog the drains,"" she said. ""And standing in front of the station, one guy had the pipe up [on his shoulder] ... and I saw this guy point it at the police station and I thought he had a rocket-propelled grenade. So I took my gun and put it on fire and was just about to shoot at him, then he turned around and I noticed he was a sewage guy and not some terrorist.""
UW-Madison freshman Kacey Vogt and sophomore Nicole Klinkner, friends of Naylor's, said they enjoy seeing another side of their friend.
""It's different hearing about [the war] from a girl,"" Vogt said. ""She has a different perspective than some of my guy friends over there-about bathrooms and showering.""
Klinkner said she feels strange thinking about Naylor as a soldier.
""There are pictures of her holding a huge gun and she's dressed so nicely here, so it's hard to think of her in a different way,"" she said.
Naylor said similar perceptions drive her to speak out about her time as a soldier. She remains in the military until 2007 and will most likely be redeployed. Until then, Naylor plans to continue sharing her experiences.
""The reason why I do this is because when I got back people didn't know what I and other soldiers went through,"" she said. ""I want to get the word out and let people know what's it's really like in Iraq.""
