New war plan could send more Valley troops overseas

The direct orders came as a surprise to Christopher Rock considering he hasn't been on active military duty for four years.

But Rock has learned that orders come regardless, and the lengthy document that was delivered to his Edinburg residence came with a terse message: Report to Fort Benning, Ga., by Jan. 3.

Rock, who was discharged from the U.S. Army in 2006 after a tour in Iraq, was told in the orders that came in early November that he was going to Afghanistan.

When President Barack Obama unveils his intent to send roughly 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, Rock will listen closely for details in the president's nationally televised address.

With his regiment reorganized shortly after he was discharged, he doesn't know where to turn for answers.

And he knows few details beyond the orders that offer him a plane ticket and tell him when and where to be.

He'll listen to Obama's address tonight to learn whatever he can, enjoy Christmas with his family and report for duty next month.

"I would never turn it down if I could," said Rock, who worked as a truck driver in his time out of the service and now has a 4-year-old son. "I've done it before, so it's not a hard thing for me. Leaving my family is, but it's only a year and a half.

"I won't be gone too long."

Obama began issuing orders to military leaders Monday as part of a much-awaited rollout of his new Afghan war strategy.

The president is expected to authorize an additional 30,000 troops, which coupled with the 20,000 he sent in March would more than double U.S. presence in the war-torn country.

He'll try to sell the troop increase in an address from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. to a U.S. public that has grown weary of a war with a costly toll in dollars and lives.

As commander in chief, Obama's decision is solely his. But he made it only after consulting with top advisers and pondering the decision for months.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said a troop increase comes at a time when "the stakes are high and the sacrifices run deep."

"The President understands the implications involved and I trust this decision has not been made in haste," the congressman said. "A strategic plan for Afghanistan's security is a part of ensuring our security here at home.

"So we should be grateful to our brave men and women who will carry out this call."

Rio Grande Valley residents stood on both sides of the issue.

Joshua Quintanilla, a Vietnam War veteran whose nephew is serving in Afghanistan, said outside La Plaza Mall that he is opposed to a troop surge.

By doing so, Obama will at least temporarily renege on a campaign promise of pulling out of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. A troop increase only prolongs a war the U.S. should have left long ago.

The 62-year-old retiree has a pronounced limp that was caused by shrapnel from a land mine in Vietnam. He was at the mall Monday after a trip to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic, where he says patients with serious injuries are getting young and younger from the wars.

"We have no business building up more troops," he said. "We've got nothing to gain except more fighting."

But Ray Gomez, 59, who wore a camouflage U.S. Army ballcap from his own time in the service as he sat outside a taco stand on 15th Street, said the soldiers already on the ground in Afghanistan need more help.

The way to win the war in Afghanistan is through a troop increase, he said. It's a tactic used in Iraq and elsewhere with success.

"You've got to give them more troops or whatever they need," he said. "And the ones who are there, the generals, they know what they need. Give it to them."

As for Rock, he'll listen tonight to find out what he can and then await more details when he reports for duty.
Since he hasn't been out of the service a full six years, being recalled was always a possibility, he said. He spent two years in Iraq as a scout in his first stint in the military and he has no issue with going back overseas.

"I'm all for sending more troops," he said. "You can pump as much money as you want, but you need more people there. It's the only way to win."

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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.