On any given day, 1.4 million U.S. Armed Service men and women face the permanent instability of military life. This afternoon, Syracuse University students will get a chance to hear why some of these individuals choose to risk their lives for the good of their country.

At 3 p.m., three soldiers will speak to students in Grant Auditorium in the College of Law about their experiences serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event is sponsored by students from the Renee Crown University Honors Program (HNR 260) in conjunction with the public affairs program in the Maxwell School.

The panel will consist of three soldiers – Cpl. Sean Henry of the U.S. Marine Corps, Sgt. Jose Munoz of the U.S. Army and Tech Sgt. Mark DeCorte of the U.S. Air Force.

DeCorte recently returned from Afghanistan, Henry and Munoz from Iraq.

All three men are participants in the Department of Defense’s connector program called ‘Why We Serve.’

Mark Devine, a public liaison for the program, said the goal is ‘to reconnect the American people with their military and to offer the American public an avenue to hear the stories of people who are voluntarily serving during the war on terrorism.’

Devine said since the program’s start in 2006, SU is one of the first large college campuses to host the program.

Originally, Devine approached Mark Rupert, a professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs about the panel. Rupert had strong reservations.

‘It seemed to me that it was intended to substitute an allegedly ‘non-political’ meet-and-greet with the troops for a direct and explicitly political discussion of the issues,’ Rupert said in an e-mail. ‘I think the effect of de-politicizing and personalizing the discussion in this way is to immunize U.S. policy from criticism while fostering warm, fuzzy feelings about the U.S. military as represented by individually admirable service.’

Rupert also criticized the mixed message Devine sent describing the goal of the program. Rupert said Devine pitched the program as a non-political discussion meant to facilitate open dialogue. But Rupert was confused by his message, as Devine called the program part of a ‘war on narratives’ in the American Forces Press Service.

‘This is clearly a domestic propaganda operation they are presenting,’ Rupert said. ‘If the DoD (Department of Defense) was offering a straightforward debate about Pentagon policy, that would be a different matter altogether, and I would welcome it.’

Devine said after his invitation was declined, Rupert offered it up to other professors, a gesture Devine appreciated. ‘I don’t see where the real drama is. I think he’s done a good job as far as letting the information be passed along to his fellow colleagues.’

The real decision to bring the panel in, though, didn’t come from Rupert’s colleagues but from the students in HNR 260. The class decided to host the event namely because it represented a diverse viewpoint they thought was missing on campus.

‘We thought it would be a really good chance for students to get a different view on citizenship and a different perspective on the war in general,’ said Katelyn Hancock, a junior public relations major and student coordinator of the event.

Devine said students can expect to hear some personal experiences and about why these individuals decided to join the military.

‘Our program’s pretty simple. We’re going to talk about experiences. We’re not going to interject any political policy. Our elected leaders are the ones who shape political policy; we’re just the ones who carry it out,’ he said.

Professor Bill Coplin, who teaches HNR 260, is optimistic about the panel and anticipates high student interest and attendance. ‘We hope it’s a nice civil discussion that stays on topic. There’s a lot of interest, and it really is a discussion not about the war but about why soldiers are soldiers,’ he said.

Sgt. Bertha Flores, a student in the Military Motion Media program in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a combat camera for the U.S. Army, plans to attend the discussion to hear how the three soldiers’ stories relate to her own service experience.

‘I’d like to hear what their thoughts are compared to my own, and I think it would open your eyes to see that it’s not all as bad or as good as (the media) make it seem,’ she said.

Before the 3 p.m. panel, the soldiers will take part in a number of other activities on campus.

All three will attend a breakfast with the ROTC Air Force students, speak and answer questions in both public policy and geology classes and give a panel discussion through the psychology department. Devine will attend a public relations class to discuss issue advocacy in the war.

Hancock encourages all students to attend the panel, regardless of their political viewpoints.

‘We can’t kid ourselves to think that this isn’t a political issue, because it is,’ she said. ‘I think that students should just feel free to ask any questions that they want, but to realize the purpose is to focus on why they’re serving.’

Published on November 29, 2007 at 12:00 pm