Becoming a man

Sophomore Chris King has 15 Republican Guard IDs that he keeps as souvenirs from his military tour of the Middle East. He found them in an administration barrack.\n"These people are probably dead," King said. "It's kind of freaky."\nBefore he joined the Marines, King described himself as wild, crazy and immature. He use to suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder, but because he couldn't take medicine in boot camp, he had to learn how to pay attention and follow drills. He said the Marines cured his ADD. \nNow, he cares more about politics and follows the news closely. \nOn Sept. 11, he had a gut instinct that joining the military was something he had to do. He grew up in a military family and thought about being a part of it since he was seven. Three of his friends decided to join with him. \nHe was scared of dying, worried about chemical weapons and afraid of losing track of his friends from home. On the 20-hour plane ride to Kuwait, he said he didn't know what he was getting into. Little did he know that the airplane Coca-Cola would be his last for a year-and-a-half.\nKing remembers seeing hundreds of rabid dogs and dead bodies on the border. His first day in Baghdad shaped him the most. As U.S. troops hit Baghdad, the sky lit up in blue and white colors.\n"I grew up right there," King said. "I knew I was in war. I wasn't a boy anymore. I couldn't play around anymore." \nKing was a radio control operator and coordinated supply runs with the infantry. He remembers one of the worst sandstorms in the desert, where he couldn't even open his mouth to eat a "Meal Ready to Eat." The storm lasted over 24 hours and combat stopped.\n"Everything around you was orange and you couldn't see anything," King said. "I started freaking out and I couldn't breathe. I was coughing up sand for three days. I wanted to be home."\nOn other days, King would just play with sand. He said he had difficulty combating boredom. He just wanted steak, beer and a potato. He started smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. He listened to a lot of Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney on his portable CD player. \nAt one point he hadn't smoked in a week and was willing to risk death for a cigarette. An Iraqi man sold him a block of Iraqi Sumers cigarettes, which were wrapped in newspaper.\n"(The cigarettes) could've been wired," King said. "But, you have to make a decision. I wanted to smoke."\nWhile King was in the desert, his friends were at school and partying during the weekends. He would look at pictures from his high school prom and think about what his friends were doing.\n"I was jealous of them because they were out having fun and drinking," King said. "I used to think that everybody should serve. But, now I know it's not for everybody." \nNow, King is back at IU, riding motorcycles with his Marine buddies and watching sports. When he first started school, he had difficulty concentrating on his work because he kept thinking about his friends who were overseas. \nHe said he decided to major in criminal justice because he is interested in the federal government and someday wants to become a U.S. Marshall. He considers himself to be on the same level as President Bush and wants to help fight evil forces in the world. \nKing doesn't know if he'll ever feel like a normal college student. \n"I've been involved in something bigger than just college," King said. "I don't know if I think the same way as everybody else in college does. I think about Iraq everyday -- I'm always reminded of it. I see people out having fun, and I think about my friends who are over there, and I just feel obligated to be with them."\nKing was told that he won't be called up for the next six months. \n"The thought of getting activated is a huge stress," King said. "You only have three days to pack up and say goodbye. But I feel like I should do another tour -- see what I started and hopefully finish it." \n-- Contact staff writer Jessica Levco at jlevco@indiana.edu.