Geography Of Iran

My Time in the US Navy: 'Service' to Whom?

“All warfare is based on deception.” ~ Sun Tzu

“Enemies are necessary for the wheels of the U.S. military machine to turn.” ~ John Stockwell

“If some peoples pretend that history or geography gives them the right to subjugate other races, nations, or peoples, there can be no peace.” ~ Ludwig von Mises

I never in my life would have thought that I would I enlist in the military. Sure, there are a great many reasons that people do enlist, some want money for college, others want a change of pace, yet others had dreamed of it since they were a kid. None of these reasons explains why I joined. In many ways it would dictate my fate.

I grew up in a middle-class Ohio town, went to college for a year, quickly realized that it just wasn’t for me, and began working for a records management service as a delivery/pickup driver pulling in about $27,000 a year. Sure, that isn’t much to some people, but it was pretty good back then for a 21-year-old with no education. I certainly didn’t love my job, but it paid the bills.

On September 11, 2001 all of that changed. I remember where I was when the planes hit, and I remember seeing those scenes of the towers falling, crying and hugging complete strangers in order to console each other in the devastation and horror that that event brought with it. It was at this time that I began talking to a Marine recruiter, but I had not yet made a commitment. When I lost my job that following January, I no longer had anything to prevent my choice. I called my father and told him about my plans. He agreed that it would probably be a good thing, but he had warned against joining the Marines, instead recommending that I join the Navy. That is just what I did.

Off to Bootcamp

I left for Navy Bootcamp in the afternoon of February 26, 2002 and arrived at Great Lakes Recruit Training Center later on that night. There is no describing how much of a change of pace one experiences in bootcamp, and there really is no amount of preparation to really make you ready for it. While it is indeed physically demanding for many, the bulk of bootcamp is entirely mental, it is their job to “train the individual out of you” and to prepare you for service with your Navy’s combat team, to follow orders without hesitation, and to put the needs of your nation ahead of any notion of self. In short, it is eight weeks of brainwashing and it is quite effective.

The Jews of Iran - Jewish Geography

And her people were laid in ruins. However, now I know that what would seem a logical course of history for other nations is simply not applicable to Jews. The chosen nation is inextinguishable. Unbreakable. Eternal.

The Jews of Iran have an incredibly long history that begins over 2,400 years ago and continues through today. They first arrived in the region during the Achaemenid period, after King (45:1–6) who would redeem them and provide them with the hope of returning to Judea. Indeed, when he became ruler, Cyrus sent a group of Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild the Holy Temple; but while some returned, many more remained in Iran.

Famous figures in the Jewish Bible are cited as living in or traversing the areas of Iran, and its populations are described in numerous books of the Bible. The prophet relates that in every province there existed a Jewish presence. But the Purim victory didn’t solidify universal tolerance for Jews by any means, and they still had many threatening enemies. After the miraculous salvation of the population under King Achashverosh, Jews were able to continue to live in their respective communities in Persia, but their numbers have alternately increased and decreased over the years.

Since the times of Queen Esther, however, Jews have maintained a strong presence in Iran. Just at the beginning of the Common Era there were many converts to Judaism in the Middle East, and Jews are said to have made up over 20% of the Empire’s inhabitants.

Less than a millennium later, in 693 CE, through wars, invasions, and conquests, the Jewish presence in Iran was still extant, and Shiraz was established as the capital of the Fars province. Though it would not grow to shelter as many Jews as other cities (such as Tehran, Iran’s capital), over the centuries Shiraz flourished into a religious, cultural, and socioeconomic center for Persian Jewry, even amidst enduring harsh anti-Semitism and persecution. The Islamic conquest of Persia, which would span 600 years, shook the sociopolitical and cultural dynamics of the entire region and made conditions exceedingly difficult for Jews and others practicing non-Islamic faiths. By the 12th century, near the end of the conquest, Shiraz alone is said to have been home to 10,000 Jews, a majority of whom were manufacturing wine for Europeans.

The pattern of relative calm followed by intense anti-Semitism continued for hundreds of years.

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