Caleb attended boot camp in October of 2004 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  "I loved it," he said, amazingly.  "It's all in your attitude.  But would I do it again?  No.  It's not the Boy Scouts." 
At Fort Leonard Wood until March of 2005, Caleb also received AIT (Advanced Individual Training) for Military Police.
"Then I was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas for nine months, where we trained for deployment to Iraq.  Fort Riley is like a city ... In December of 2005 my company went to Iraq.  There were about 200 of us for that deployment ...
"In May of 2006 I came home to Victoria for R&R for 15 days.  On December 5^th, 2006, I was back in Kansas from Iraq.  On December 16^th I was back in Victoria.  On January 13^th, 2007, I leave Victoria for Fort Riley." 
Caleb knows his schedule well.  And it's evident that he's not at the point of counting days yet, but months and years. 
Two years ago he began as Private First Class, then moved up to Specialist in his rank, and hopes to be promoted soon to Sergeant.  He's not sure what his next three years of active duty will bring.  Maybe it'll include a stint in Germany, maybe more time in Iraq.  Whatever it is, maybe he'll put more meat on his bones.
"A lot of people lost a lot of weight in Iraq," he said.  "You carry a lot of equip-ment.  And in the morning you'd rather sleep than eat breakfast so you mainly eat dinner."
If he could talk to his Commander in Chief, what advice might he give Presi-dent Bush?  "I'd tell him to actually talk to the people on the ground and not just the generals," said Caleb.  "Trust the generals but talk to us also, to the people actually doing the job firsthand.  When things go through the chain of command, the emotion is lost.  Emotions help relay the message accurately."
Caleb's father would have his own advice for the President:  "I think the higher ups should talk to the parents.  The news from the media and from the soldiers are two different stories."
Added Caleb's mother, "I'm glad he's home from Iraq.  It's been a terrible year.  It was hell.  There was a lot of interrupted sleep, when I'm sure I was being prompted to pray."
Said Doug, "When Caleb called us from Iraq, it was always a blessing to hear his voice."
Does Caleb see an end to the War in Iraq?  "Yes," he replied, "but I also see that we'll keep a presence there for some time."
Paragraphs under headlines don't often tell us that keeping a presence is often the case in countries where the United States has intervened to help prevent mass murders and other atrocities that humans can heap upon each other.

At the end of the conversation, at the end of the day, there are no easy answers.  There are, in fact, more questions than answers, and even contradictions.  That's probably the nature of war, when people don't see eye to eye on things and individuals like Saddam Hussein become bullies and beasts about it. 
The eyes of a soldier must remain clear and direct, unafraid yet modest.  Thank you, Caleb, for your service to humanity.  You've done your parents proud, and also your community.  Good luck and best wishes for your future time in the Army.