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Volume CXXXII, Number 19 |
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Bowdoin Marines ready for overseas action
ALEC SCHLEY
STAFF WRITER
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| Alex Cornell du Houx '06 is a member of the United States Marine Corps. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient) |
The war in Iraq is omnipresent in the lives of Bowdoin students. We cannot watch television, listen to the radio, or pick up the newspaper without learning about casualties or "shock-and-awe" bombings. While war coverage may be as distressing as it is ubiquitous, it is easy for Bowdoin students to feel safely removed from the conflict in the Persian Gulf, their role is relegated to that of couch commando. Students like Alexander Cornell du Houx '06 and Jamie Nichols '03, however, have an active part in the war in Iraq - they are both enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Cornell du Houx participates in a "Split Function" program. For one weekend a month and two weeks a year, he trains with the Marines. On weekends, he may fly down to a base in South Carolina to practice marksmanship or train at the base in Topsham. During his week-long training sessions, he could do anything from Arctic training at Mount Fuji to jungle training in Hawaii. Each semester he spends at Bowdoin he gets promoted. Upon his graduation from college, Cornell du Houx will attend officer training school. Over the summer, Nichols completed his ten week officer training. When he graduates this spring, he will be commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, and upon his arrival at The Basic School in Virginia this fall, he will be on active duty.
According to Cornell du Houx, "Right now, I'm in the Bowdoin bubble, but if the U.S. was in a more severe engagement, there is a chance I could be called [to active duty]."
He also added that, "Because of the war, I may not be at Bowdoin next semester. I would be finishing my training at an earlier date than otherwise planned. This is a result of a new rule suspending the Split Function Program."
Cornell du Houx and Nichols have different ideas as to whether or not military action was necessary to deal with Iraq. Cornell du Houx, a member of the Bowdoin Student Government, voted in favor of the controversial anti-war resolution. He is not in favor of pre-emptive military action. According to Cornell du Houx, "I do not believe it's a just war, and the situation could have been dealt with differently without the great loss of life."
Cornell du Houx's political stance, however, does not interfere with his commitment to the Marines. "There is a saying that 'the best warrior hates war the most,''' said Cornell du Houx. "If I was called to action, I would do my job and do my job well, as a member of the world's finest military."
Nichols, however, said, "I have no reservations [about whether war is justified], but hindsight is always 20/20. A stance needs to be taken on Saddam and Iraq and the overwhelming number of hints point toward military action, so I think the Bush Administration is doing a great thing by taking care of this situation. If for some strange reason it turns out that the whole thing was a very bad idea, which I seriously doubt, then at least we did the wrong thing for the right reasons.
"We must learn our lessons from the past about appeasing evil dictators. I'm proud that the Bush Administration has the guts to step up to the table and do something about it."
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