Redeployment

This line is spoken by the narrator of “Psychological Operations,” but the truth of it is apparent in every story. People will act on whatever they believe to be true, and circumstances; history; religion; the influence of parents, peer pressure, trauma, basic training; and more can shape their beliefs. Many of the Iraqis in the stories have the perception that the American occupation has made things worse, and there is little reason to argue with this perception. In any event, they act as if it is a reality. Some Marines perceive all Iraqis as enemies and attack them accordingly and indiscriminately. Gene Goodwin has the perception that baseball is a unifying democratic force, and he has enough influence to force his reality into the life of the narrator of “Money As a Weapons System.” The propagandist of “Psychological Operations” has studied the art of influence and knows that he can mold the perception of suggestible people into a reality that suits his aims. Marines tell war stories to advance a certain view of themselves in order to seduce women. Without a consensus of what reality really is, there can be only confusion. In a situation like a war, that confusion can be lethal.

Women are talked and thought about incessantly among the Marines in the collection, but none of them are spoken about as objects of love or devotion. They are typically reduced to their bodies. Even when Old Man fantasizes about a prostitute in “They Had Whores in Vietnam,” he talks about wanting to cry into her body, not using her sexually. Most of the conversations are sexual, however. And yet, there is not a single example in the book of sex being anything but a momentary relief or distraction. Women in Redeployment are not bonded with or flattered sincerely. They are pursued, used, discarded, obsessed over, and made into therapists and mementos. It is unclear why the men in the stories see women as such sources of comfort, given how little comfort they get from them. Over the course of the collection, it becomes clear that this view is something that changes for the men during their deployments. They come home expecting things to feel the same with the women in their lives but are disappointed to find that it no longer does.