What Was Asked Of Us Analysis

The want to serve one's country is a powerful theme around the world. Men and women from countries all around the world risk their lives to ensure the safety and protection of their country. Enlisting in one’s armed forces brings a strong sense of camaraderie and companionship to the soldiers, as they mostly stick with the same people they went to training with. There are also long lasting effects of going to war, such as PTSD, amputations, and various health conditions. One of the biggest things about enlisting is the emotional stress it puts on people’s loved ones. All of these points are evidenced time and time again in Trish Wood’s book, “ What Was Asked of Us” as it tells the accounts and stories of American men and women who fought in the Iraq war.
Enlisting in a nation’s military brings a strong sense of camaraderie to the soldiers as they go through training together and eventually fighting on the front
lines, the soldiers start to trust and get along with their fellow combatants. A section in the book goes over the stories of three tankers in the 3rd infantry division, their names are Mario Mihauchic, Michael Soprano, and Jason Neely. They were in the same division and had the same role so they got along really well together. A quote from the book that describes their relationship got formed is, “In Kuwait, the tents could burn down really quickly, and I think one may have burned down because someone was smoking in it, and that kinds of leads to Soprano, Mick, and me got hooked up. When we had guard duty, we had to go a certain distance from to tents to smoke, and me and Soprano used to go off together to have a smoke. Sometimes we would head to the chow hall for coffee, and Mick caught on to that, so during out downtimes the three of us hung out together”(P.39).
After soldiers of nations enlist in their country’s military, they come home scarred and changed.
An example of change they face would be American veterans coming home and not being able to go to a fireworks show because it reminds them too much of combat and explosions. A quote from What Was Asked of Us that describes this is, “War is a unique human experience. For those involved in the business of killing or witnessing it, the experience is life altering”(P.XV), and, “This is what war does. War turns you into what your mother wished you would never be”(P.274).
The emotional stress on people’s loved ones from enlisting is a very hard side effect. While the soldier is off fighting for their country, their loved ones are at home wondering if they’re okay or if they’re coming home. A web page from Military.com details the affects for before the deployment, during, and once the deployment is over, such as financial difficulties, lonileness, fear for their service member’s safety, feeling overwhelmed, and added family duties or responsibilites to name a
few.