David Robson - The War In Iraq: A Bodybuilder's Story.

[webmaster]

Hostilities are still alive and well in Iraq. Today we are going to get a bodybuilders perspective on the action and live's of those in Iraq. Get Damion Ricketts story right here.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson110.htm

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you have a very easy job wich you try to make sound as if it were dangerous, you have one of the easiest jobs in the military. 12 hours shifts, I wish we were all that lucky. stop complaining , by the way, yor still small. BY THE WAY , IM ON MY FOURTH ROTATION TO IRAQ.



SSG GARZA

To begin with, anyone who has to ride in as many convoys as I'm sure Lance Corporal Ricketts does have a dangerous job. It is not as dangerous as being in the infantry or related jobs, but dangerous none the less. And judging from the nature of his answers to the questions it does not sound like he was bragging or trying to portray himself as more then he was.
In regards to his training, it is saying something that he devoted two hours of his own time to what was obviously some very good weight training. As he is only 19 and has only two years in the military his commitment is all the more impressive.
A few issues with the nature of the questions themselves though. He was not "drafted" into the second rotation to Iraq, or as we called it OIF II. Drafted makes it should like it was involuntary, and Lance Corporal Ricketts was a volunteer, just like everyone else in the military. I am sure he was proud to go and will do so again if called upon. It's called being a Marine, and a Soldier. As for the questions about interacting with the locals, unless you are doing foot patrols through town, kicking down doors looking for bad guys, or dealing with the ones that work on the bases, you don't interact with them. Certain soldiers with special jobs in Iraq may interact with the locals on a one to one basis, but the average soldier does not. And a Lance Corporal, a very low ranking person, definitely would not be. The last issue I have with the article is that the writer does not agree with the war at all, and that’s fine. This is obvious from the opening of the article. But he is interviewing a Lance Corporal, the second lowest rank you can be after getting out of initial training, and asking what amounts to some very leading questions. The article is supposed to be about a soldiers great gains in regards to bodybuilding, and out of thirty-five questions not one was, "what exercises were you able to do?" or, "what equipment were you able to train with?" Ten of the questions had nothing to do with bodybuilding, but the soldier’s opinion about the locals, and his views on the war. And how in the Hell would he know about steroid use among the locals? If he did know, he would basically being putting himself out there with his command. Is the author insinuating the soldier may have been doing 'roids while in Iraq? Instead of maybe just being a nineteen year old kid who probably ate more in Iraq, we do get fed three meals a day, and trained more then he ever did before. I would suggest to Mr. Robson to stick to writing about bodybuilding, on a bodybuilding site. If he has opinions about the war, this is not the place for them. And it is pretty reprehensible to interview a teenager under the guise of a bodybuilding article to put his own views about the war out there.

P.S. Between Afgan and Iraq, I have been deployed almost three out of the last four years.

SSG Zink

This article was not intended to be a definitive summary of the present war in Iraq. My intention was to present the facts in a clear, concise, manner. For the record, I am not opposed to this war, and feel the military are doing an excellent job. Damion Ricketts was one soldier who had made some outstanding training progress - this alone warranted my decision to interview him for bodybuilding.com. Although he is a Corporal, his views are exactly what they are: his views. They should be respected, as he is serving his country and contributing to the efforts of the US military.

David Robson

[llamabob]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This article was not intended to be a definitive summary of the present war in Iraq. My intention was to present the facts in a clear, concise, manner. For the record, I am not opposed to this war, and feel the military are doing an excellent job. Damion Ricketts was one soldier who had made some outstanding training progress - this alone warranted my decision to interview him for bodybuilding.com. Although he is a Corporal, his views are exactly what they are: his views. They should be respected, as he is serving his country and contributing to the efforts of the US military.

David Robson

No offense but I would strongly recommend re-writing and erasing the 1 page history lesson from a biased point of view. You clearly left out the points of how Iraq, on MANY occasions, refused and blocked UN inspectors, not allowing them access to their facilities. This happened for years, and there are official UN reports out there, one of which where they managed to chase down trucks who exited out the back of a base they were not allowed to enter, and were able to take photographs of machines commonly used with nuclear reactors. I did a report on it in college, I can try to dig up my sources if it means that much to anyone, but the point is, you come off as VERY biased, and 3/4 of that article has nothing to do with bodybuilding.

Secondly, it came off as very condescending how you described the Iraqi bodybuilders. Claiming they have bad genetics and are skinny and small. Well did you take into account their current situation and resultant poor diets? Starve anyone and they won't make progress. Then explain why Arabs commonly do well in powerlifting if their genetics suck.

These points may not have been your intention, but it def. came off that way to me.

The chronicle of events in this article was based on several authoritative accounts of what had happened. What you have researched may well have occurred, but I hadn't come across any of this during my research. I did not comment on the genetic potential of Iraqi bodybuilders. These were Damions comments. If you read this again, you will see this is true. I will say this again: the article was not intended to be an exhaustive account, factoring in all opinions and theories. This can be left for another time, and another forum. The intro served mainly as a prelude to Damions experiences - his views and opinions are his own.

Thanks for your feedback though.
David Robson