Editor’s Note: This is the third in a six-part series about war veterans who are members of UC Irvine’s Veterans Student Union.
As a medic serving in Iraq, Michael Flores sometimes had troubling choices.
There would be times the seriously wounded Iraqis before him had just tried to kill or hurt his fellow soldiers.
“I was conflicted,” Flores said. “I would think, ‘I want to punch these guys,’ but I also had to do the right thing.”
Flores focused on his job, which often consisted of treating Iraqi detainees. It was a delicate balancing act for him — he treated Iraqi prisoners who required serious medical attention, but he couldn’t treat them too well because he’d catch flak for it from the other guys in the platoon.
It was something of a trade-off for Flores: In order to fulfill one moral obligation he had to compromise a little bit of another.
Flores, 22, a sophomore at UCI, views much of his service time like that trade-off. He gained a lot from the military, but at the same time, he believes he endured a lot — enough to say that if he had the choice again he might not have joined the National Guard.
After 9/11, Flores remembers America’s protectors on bridges, in the subway, patrolling the streets and all over the news. The National Guard was all over New York City, and Flores remembers being grateful.
“I never really appreciated the military until I saw them protecting what needed to be protected,” he said.
That view, along with a classmate who had a positive experience in the National Guard, inspired Flores to sign up as a junior in high school. He ended up being deployed to Iraq on Sept. 11, 2006.
“I was morally compelled,” Flores said. “There are a lot of other people who need help too.”
Flores knew his service time wouldn’t come without sacrifice, that satisfaction isn’t found in the desert’s dust, but he did his job.
“When you are on the road and someone gets hurt, you are obligated to help them,” he said. “If they die, it’s on you.”
But there were times when his duty and sacrifice weighed on him.
Sgt. Sellen Dennis, a close friend of Flores’ and the joker of the company, died from a gunshot wound from a “friendly fire” accident, Flores said. Dennis’ death crushed the company’s already low morale.
