In the early months of 2003, as talks of a U.S.-led invasion into Iraq continued to grow, I stood in the control room of the USS Memphis (SSN 691), one of the countries most elite fast-attack submarines.

I listened as my shipmates discussed the idea of driving our submarine across the Atlantic Ocean, moving through Suez Canal and eventually gliding into the Persian Gulf. They talked of tomahawk missiles leaving our tubes and exploding hundreds of miles away in the heart of Baghdad.

I found myself with absolutely nothing to say. And when I did finally speak, it was not what my friends wanted or expected to hear.

I wanted nothing to do with Iraq.

Of course, I still went, I still did my job as best I could and I still supported the orders of my commander and chief. After all, the United States is my team, even if I despised the coach and disagreed with the call he made.

Now, four years later, with the deployment of 25,000 more troops hanging in the balance, our country continues to debate the future of Iraq.

And once again I am listening.

I am listening to a college campus built of knowledgable individuals who have been forced to grow up a little faster in the wake of 9/11. And yet, I still hear those voices from my old control room.

Opinions are a fascinating thing, but when built on a lack of insight, they can cost lives.

The president felt an invasion of Iraq would be highly successful due to our glaring military advantages. How about former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his ideas on attacking North Korea?

And what about the students on this campus who agree or disagree that sending additional troops into Iraq is the best solution? How many of them have spent time in the Persian Gulf, or at least know someone who has? How many of them have followed the war since its earliest stages? The fact is, a life is much easier to risk if it isn’t yours, and so is a war if someone else fights it for you.

I can attest to the fact that I have been to the Persian Gulf, seen what we are fighting for, and still question why we remain in the region. But I may not be right, and that has happened a few thousand times in my life.

So, I implore the students and faculty of this campus to hold onto their opinions on Iraq and its future (no matter what those opinions are), but hold on to this thought as well: Your decisions are as important as those held by the very people who run this country.

James Everetts is a broadcast news major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].