by Sue Orsen
The tall handsome boy with the bright eyes is in fact not a boy at all, but a young man, an adult still being shaped by the forces around him and also those within.
As Caleb Fisher was growing into manhood, he relied on the authority of his parents, good teachers, and God to help lead and direct the way. 
His parents are Doug and Shelley Fisher of Victoria.  His teachers were instructors in the District 112 system from kindergarten through middle school.  His high school teachers were at Southwest Christian High School in Chaska from which he graduated in 2002.  His church is River Alliance Church in Chaska.  Said Caleb's father, "Prayer is what got him home."
As a U.S. soldier growing in the military for the past two years, Caleb relies especially on the authority of the Commander in Chief and his team leaders.  He does not rely on major news sources where war grabs headlines and churns out one paragraph after another.  "They lie," stated Mr. Fisher.
Caleb is not so blunt, but he is also honest.  His dark blue eyes are clear and direct, unafraid yet modest.  If eyes are indeed windows unto the soul, Caleb Fisher is an honorable young man.  The eyes of Doug and Shelley Fisher reveal obvious love for their son, and also concern for his safety and well being.
Sitting in the comfort of his parents' home here in Victoria in early January, on a two-week leave for Christmas, Caleb answered questions about his past year of active duty in the Iraqi War.  He spent almost all of 2006 in Iraq.
"Nobody wants war," said Caleb.  "Nobody is in favor of war.  It's not our first choice.  Nobody wants to go to Iraq but we want to support our President.  He's our boss."
Caleb hopes he will not have to return to Iraq during his next three years of active duty.

"I was a gunner," said Caleb, "one of three people in a truck.  There was also the driver and the team leader who worked the radio and was our authority."
What is the role of a gunner?  "To provide security and help protect," replied Caleb.  "I sat on top of the truck, an ASV, inside a turret.  An Armored Security Vehicle is pretty safe.  We're all inside.  We got hit twice by roadside bombs.  They didn't hurt the vehicle."
"In a Humvee there are also three guys," he said, "but they're all exposed so it's less safe.  Humvees are good vehicles, though.  They're pretty tough, too."
Caleb and his company of about 150 soldiers were stationed in Ramadi, a city located in the center of Iraq, about 15 miles west of Baghdad.  "Ramadi is the capital city of a large province," said Caleb.  "It was our job to set up IP stations there."
There are lots of acronyms in the military.  IP stands for Iraqi Police.  Iraqi citizens are recruited and trained to be police, to protect other Iraqi citizens and help maintain law and order.  Ramadi is a particularly difficult place to recruit IPs.
"In Iraq as a whole there are Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites," explained Caleb.  "But in Ramadi, it's all Sunni.  A lot of people there worked for Saddam.  When we busted Saddam, they lost their jobs.  We'd hear them say, 'Saddam good.  Bush bad.'"
Paragraphs under headlines tell us that approximately 20% of the Iraqi population are Sunni, that the Sunni heartland is mostly lacking in proven oil reserves, that Saddam and the Sunnis were the oppressors.
"And yet we recruited 4,000 people in Ramadi to be Iraqi Police," continued Caleb.  "There's roughly 1,500 of them working.  We send them to school but some of them take the money and run."
How does recruitment work?  "We actually talked to the local sheiks," he replied.  "We put out flyers for a recruit-ing drive.  People showed up and we ran a background check kind of thing."
Caleb said background checks are difficult in part because of their names.  "They've each got from three to five names," he explained.  "First is their given name, then their father's name, then their grandfather's name.  So they could be Mohammed Mohammed Mohammed.  Then some of them also have a tribal name plus their mother's maiden name.  They pretty much do anything they want."
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