Interview with Torrey Tiedeman

Partial Transcript: Alright. My name is Neil Kline. I am here at Steenbock Library on UW-Madison's campus.

Segment Synopsis: Torrey was born in 1992, Janesville, WI, and moved to Rochester, MN in 1996. He graduated from high school in Rochester and departed for Boot Camp in 2011. At the time of the interview, he was a second year student at UW-Madison studying Economics and Political Science.

Keywords: Boot Camp; Economics; Political Science; UW-Madison

Partial Transcript: Do you want to give some, maybe a brief rundown of your military experience?

Segment Synopsis: In December of 2010, he spoke with a recruiter and was serious about joining the military. He wanted to be an officer, and wanted to fly for the Navy but he was prevented from doing so by color blindness. Torrey enlisted in the Marines in January 2011, where he entered the delayed entry program because he wanted to come to UW-Madison for a fall semester to get the college experience, having been accepted in February. Torrey really wanted to get into the Afghanistan war in the infantry and he did not want to miss the war. He convinced the Marine Corps to take an infantry position away from one recruit and give it to him. He also turned down offers for ceremonial roles at Camp David and the White House to get to Afghanistan. Ultimately, he forwent UW-Madison and swore into the Marines Corps on Labor Day 2011 and shipped off to boot camp in September 2011. He graduated December 2nd, reported to infantry school, and was assigned to Delta Company. Torrey graduated from infantry school on February 22nd and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, Alpha Company. Torrey shipped on June 28th, 2012 to Afghanistan, arriving June 31st.

Keywords: 9/11; Afghanistan; Marine Corps; boot camp; enlistment; infantry; medical qualification; military; military academy; military occupational specialty; naval aviation; physical training; recruit training

Partial Transcript: So, you kind of touched on some of your reasons for wanting to join.

Segment Synopsis: The 9/11 attacks were a major motivator for Torrey. He also believed that the U.S. had a responsibility to leave Afghanistan better then it had been found and felt that he would be a good representative of the United States on the ground.

Keywords: 9/11; Invasion of Iraq; Marine Corps; Taliban

Partial Transcript: Do you, you know there's been a lot of change over time in the way the military has worked to encourage recruitment...

Segment Synopsis: Q: How did benefits packages for volunteers play into your decision to join?

A: Most people who joined when he did joined for the same reasons he did (patriotism, response to 9/11, etc.) Many of his peers had familial ties to military service as well. Torrey was aware of veterans benefits but it was not a reason for his enlistment.

Keywords: 9/11; War on Terror; benefit packages; patriotism; recruitment

Partial Transcript: Alright so you walk off the plane..

Segment Synopsis: Torrey served in the South Central/South West part of the country, which is a very arid part of the country.

Keywords: Afghanistan; Helmand Province

Partial Transcript: One thing that I'm curious about is your combat experience, the kinds of things that you did, the kinds of things you went through that your comfortable talking about.

Segment Synopsis: Q: Combat Experience, the kinds of things you did, what was life like?

A: Torrey’s company was responsible for helicopter interdiction operations in the northern part of the Kajaki District in Helmand Province. In the end of July, Torrey went on his first mission.

Keywords: Afghanistan; Helmand Province; Kajaki District; Marine Corps; deployment; helicopter interdiction operations

Partial Transcript: So describe breaking in, describe entering a compound.

Segment Synopsis: Q: Describe entering a compound.

A: They were kicking down doors, compound to compound, trying to find information about the Taliban. Torrey felt that a lot of the time, the people he interacted with were playing dumb.

Keywords: Navy Corpsman; Taliban; demolition; medical personnel

Partial Transcript: I really appreciate you describing, you know, kind of what your up to, was that, I've got some follow up questions, but was that what you were doing most of the time you were there?

Segment Synopsis: Q: Was compound to compound stuff what you did the whole deployment?

A: It was only the first mission, and compound to compound activities only happened during the night. The Taliban did not have good nighttime vision. One they returned to their own camp, they could see military aged males coming in and the families all leaving.

Keywords: Taliban; civilians; compound; mission; night vision; optics; patrol; tactics

Partial Transcript: So you're sitting in a compound, on the roof...

Segment Synopsis: Q: What was it like to sit on top of a compound and watch the enemy come in?

A: This was Torrey’s first time in battle, and he was a little scared which was good. It helped him focus. When he got back from the clearing operation in the other compounds, he went to sleep and awoke to gun fire and a rocket propelled grenade flying over the compound. Torrey did not fire during the first round of engagement, but he was manning a machine gun during the second round of fighting and he engaged. It was 4 days of back and forth intermittent fighting, and no one with Torrey was injured or killed. This first operation was the most kinetic of his entire deployment.

Keywords: IED; Taliban; airstrikes; battle damage assessment; fighting; machine gun; rocket propelled grenade; snipers; twinkie huts

Partial Transcript: Is it okay if I take that really quick.

Subjects: [Interview interrupted for a phone call]

Partial Transcript: Are we on?
Yep, we're good, we're back.

Segment Synopsis: On the first mission, Torrey believes he stress-fractured his right leg when they were arriving at the compound. Then when leaving, the Taliban was firing on their position and he had to run towards the helicopter. With bad depth perception, he fell into a hole and broke his right fibia in 4 places. He then ran to the helicopter on his broken leg. As it was healing, the Taliban stormed the airfield he was staying at, about a mile away from where he was. He was called to hold a defensive position and saw no action. Two Americans died in the fight.

Keywords: Camp Leatherneck; RPG fire; Taliban; broken leg; explosives; extraction; helicopter; injury; interdiction operations; stress fracture

Partial Transcript: Was that disconcerting?

Segment Synopsis: They were supposed to have been in the safest place. A month after that attack, his deployment was extended. His platoon was split up and sent all over Northern Helmand. He was sent to Sangin district, which for Marines was synonymous with losing limbs. He saw little action and in Fall 2012, the order came down that there would be no more offensive operations, and that they were only serving a mentoring role. At Forward Operating Base (FOB) Jackson, he would watch firefights between the Afghan Army and The Taliban, the latter he described as ghosts.

Keywords: Afghan National Army; Afghanistan; Forward Operating Base (FOB) Jackson; Sangin District; Taliban; mentoring; offensive operations; quick reaction force; security escorts

Partial Transcript: Are there any other experiences that you think speak to your time there?

Segment Synopsis: Torrey had a non-traditional deployment. Most units were out at a patrol base for 6 or 7 months and they would occasionally get to rotate. Living conditions during interdiction operations like the one Torrey was involved in were much more austere. He did not have cots, no changes of clothes, and was living off MRE’s (military rations) and bottled water. Torrey describes his deployment as either being at 10 or zero, zero being back at Camp Leatherneck and 10 being in the middle of nowhere, with the exception of FOB Jackson, where there was increased risk.

Keywords: MRE; military rations; mosquito netting

Partial Transcript: How did you conceptualize the risk?

Segment Synopsis: There was a lot of morbid humor, and there was confidence in their leaders. They also had the best Corpsman. Torrey had no doubt that if something happened to him, his comrades would take care of him. When the first rounds were fired, training kicked in and he didn’t think much about the risk.

Keywords: Corpsman; humor; leadership; risk

Partial Transcript: How did this, how did this impact you?

Segment Synopsis: It was eye opening for him. He saw the good side, and the American’s trying to fix it when things went wrong. He saw airmen who he described as “men of conscience” who were concerned with avoiding civilian casualties. Personally, he was able to truly appreciate the importance of a strong offense in defense of the U.S.

Keywords: Taliban; airmen; civilian casualties; conscience; defense; jihads; offense

Partial Transcript: How do you, um what do you think about the overall, we kind of touched on this so it can be a brief answer but...

Segment Synopsis: Q: What do you think about the overall
mission? It’s success or failure? Do you think that it was worth it?

A: He strongly believed it was worth it, and he was not saying that to protect the sacrifices people have made. He believes Afghanistan is far from a lost battle. Torrey’s interpreters voiced very strong optimism for the country. He also drew a distinction between Kabul, where all of his interpreters were from and who had strong national pride, and the rural areas of Afghanistan, where identities were much more familial and tribal. He questioned the national vision of the rural populace. He is frustrated by the losses sustained by the Afghans in places he served in. He notes that the Afghans lost territory, not the U.S. Marines.

Keywords: Afghan Government; Afghanistan; ISIS; Kabul; Taliban; family; nation building; nationalism; religion; rural Afghanistan; tribes

Partial Transcript: We're kind of wrapping up here, but I want to talk about you're transition back. What was that like?

Segment Synopsis: Q: What was your transition back like?
Did you experience problems?

A: Torrey does not think he has PTSD, the occasional dream, yes, but it does not affect him too badly. He notes that after Afghanistan, he had two more years in the Marines. When he left, he worked to not be the “walking stereotype.” He grew is hair out and he doesn’t wear clothes that reference his service. He considers his a very smooth transition to civilian life. He was not idle. He had a plan and stayed busy. There were also little things. His dog was still alive, his mom hadn’t moved, which provided some continuity. Some of his friends from high school were still at UW-Madison in Fall 2015, which gave him had a strong network.

Keywords: Japan; PTSD; Thailand; UW- Madison; sniper; sniper school

Partial Transcript: Did you know anyone who didn't have a smooth transition?

Segment Synopsis: Q: Did you know anyone who didn’t have a smooth transition?

A: Two of his fellow platoon members committed suicide, one in late 2014 and one a few months before the interview.

Q: Was it more about their personal life or was it PTSD compounded with personal troubles?

A: He feels it was a combination of both. He noted that different people deal with traumatic events differently.

Keywords: PTSD; suicide; trauma

Partial Transcript: I'm curious about, you know that we're at UW-Madison and this will be stored in the UW Archives, how has your experience on campus been?

Segment Synopsis: Q: How has your experience on campus been?

A: He says it has been good, and he noted that in terms of staff and faculty they are very veteran-friendly. He has had some anti-military students but nothing directed specifically at veterans. He joined the student veterans group and he stays busy with academic studies. He notes frustration with some perspectives but he believes strongly in the right of people to say what they think.

Keywords: UW-Madison, campus; academics; student veteran organization; veterans

Partial Transcript: Well do you have anything else you want to add?

Segment Synopsis: He wants people to know that he feels perceived failures in Afghanistan are the result of politics, not the people on the ground. The people he knows are doing good work.

Keywords: Afghanistan; politics