Road to Denver: Jacob from Iowa

August 21, 2008

JacobIA Jacob, 24, of New Vienna, Iowa was not even here to cast his vote in the 2004 elections. He had to send his ballot in direct from Baghdad. A soldier in the 82nd Airborne based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Jacob spent four years in the Army, including two deployments to Baghdad as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

But his next deployment will be much easier – Jacob is soon leaving Iowa for Colorado to be a delegate at the national convention.

“Since I was oversees during the last election, I wanted to be more involved this time,” he says. “It’s just something I felt I had to do. In that way, it’s a lot like when I joined the Army. I just followed my gut.”

This time, Jacob’s gut has driven him to get involved in influencing the future of the Democratic Party at the convention and stand up for his fellow soldiers.

I told people at the delegate electing convention how I felt about the war. We have 150,000 pairs of boots on the ground, and every day a family is told that their son or daughter will come home wearing only one boot, or simply find their boots sent him in a box.

I will be wearing my boots at the convention. I wanted to be a delegate to give a voice to the men and women in the military and make sure the government hears them.

Jacob is especially concerned about the Iraq war and veterans issues. He was injured in Iraq and is now considered 80% disabled by the Army, primarily due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). When he left the Army, he joined a group in Iowa trying to get help for injured soldiers returning home.

The government estimates that more than 20 percent of soldiers coming back from Iraq have PTSD. The effects of this are huge. Families are hurt by it. We need to care for these guys and get them the help they need. The new GI Bill is a great start. It’s about time.

Jacob even wrote a book about his own experiences in Iraq. He says the writing helped in dealing with his own PTSD and the realities of war.

My greatest hope is that we can get out of Iraq soon. We need to finish the job but do it responsibly. There are good things coming out of the war, but they are nothing compared with the atrocities we are seeing. There are over 35,000 dead and 4,000 wounded. We’re sending people home broken. And we need to fix this policy.

Jacob hopes Obama will bring a fresh perspective to the war. “Obama is new, young, and has the intestinal fortitude to see these things through and bring back the power to the people. America has always been great. We just need to get back on track.”

Since returning from the Army, Jacob has become a full time college student studying secondary education and English. He hopes to become a teacher. He is also adjusting back to farming life. Jacob hopes to address agricultural issues as a delegate at the convention.

I was raised on a family dairy farm, and when I got out of the military I bought acreage next to the farm I grew up on. Family farms are really struggling right now. The rising costs of fuel is hard on farmers, and the price that we’re getting for our products is not keeping up with rising inflation. We need to help the small family farmers.

In addition to being a delegate, Jacob has been working to get more people voting. “We can’t forget the power of the vote. It’s the most powerful tool we have.”

With just four days to go until the start of the Democratic National Convention, excitement is building in Denver and across America. Soon, delegates from all fifty states will convene in the Mile High City to cast their ballots for Barack Obama and witness his acceptance of the Democratic Party’s nomination for president of the United States.

Thursday, August 28th will be the biggest night of the campaign so far. Even if you can’t be in Denver, you can be a part of this historic convention by attending a Convention Watch Party in your area.

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