When Max Krafft ’09 dropped out of Wesleyan halfway through his junior year in 2003, he never imagined that in one year he would be playing bass guitar for the Army Band in Iraq.
“I am one of the least likely people that could have joined,” Krafft said. “Not only did I serve as a musician, but as a radical, agnostic, liberal vegetarian queer.”
After a successful audition, Krafft enlisted in June 2004 as a Private First Class and went to Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, S.C. After Basic Training, Krafft went to the Armed Forces School of Music at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Virginia, where he was promoted to Specialist upon graduating in March 2005.
Krafft’s decision to join the Army stemmed from his curiosity to experience Iraq first-hand and to gain a better understanding of American involvement in the Middle East. Having studied music here at the University, Krafft thought that the Army Band would be a good option for him. It also presented an opportunity to serve the nation without necessarily having to be involved in the violence.
Despite having conflicting feelings about the War in Iraq, Krafft acknowledged that joining the Army was a somewhat natural option for him, as his uncle and grandfather both served in the military.
“I think that service, not necessarily military service, is an integral part in participating in our Republic,” Krafft said. “But I wouldn’t categorize my beliefs as being pro-War in Iraq, and my reasons for going there were not about an assertive, unquestioning patriotic belief about what our military is doing there. I wanted to get a better view of what has been a central issue in American life for the past several years. I don’t think that my motivation for enlistment would have been present if there wasn’t a war going on.”
Although Krafft did have this familial connection to military service, he noted that his experience at the University also gave him a unique perspective on the military.
“Going into the army from an incredibly liberal school, while not unheard of, is certainly less than common,” he said. “At the same time, I didn’t think I was going to use a rifle to spread democracy. I played music for entertainment and morale building. My experience was probably different than what most people think of in terms of the possibilities of military service.”
Krafft was deployed to Southwest Asia from November 2005 to January 2006, where he toured with the 389th Army Band in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. After serving at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, where he was promoted to Sergeant in June 2006, Krafft was once again deployed. The second tour, which went from December 2006 to February 2007, included stops in only Iraq and Kuwait.
During both tours, Krafft played bass guitar in a pop/R&B/rock cover band called “Raw Material” and a jazz combo. He also served as one of the band’s sound engineers.
Although Krafft was not involved in direct combat, there were constant reminders of the dangers surrounding him.
“There were mortar attacks every day,” Krafft said. “We would fly in helicopters that had the possibility of being shot down. We did actually get shot a few times.”
Krafft noted that his experience in Iraq convinced him that the military should withdraw forces and allow the Iraqis to settle the problems themselves.
“Being there changed my views of the way the Iraqi people are living,” he said. “I didn’t get to talk to them, so I have no idea what their view points are, but these are people in the country just living their lives peacefully. If we were to withdraw, I don’t believe their animosity towards each other runs that deeply to destroy each other. Our presence is only fueling that hatred. To think that we are preventing such violence is to not credit them as moral people. It’s like we are transforming them into dependent subjects.”
Despite this realization, however, Krafft also cannot help feeling that the U.S. will not be leaving any time soon.
“Having seen the structures we’ve built there, there’s so much invested, and there are many people who believe in our presence there and will continue to contribute resources,” he said.
Krafft explained that one major challenge he encountered during service was the Army’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Before leaving the army this past summer, Krafft published a letter in the Army Times entitled “The Deception Must End,” which challenged the Army’s policy on gays.
“As one of 10 noncommissioned officers selected to compete in last year’s Armywide Best Warrior Competition, the NCO [noncommissioned officer] of the year for one of the Army’s major commands and a decorated veteran of two deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I have, by all accounts, served my country honorably and well,” he wrote in the letter. “I am writing because, as an open and avowed homosexual, I cannot, under current policy, continue my service any longer.”
Krafft decided to return to the University halfway through his service. While the transition back to school has been strange, Krafft acknowledges that his life in the Army has allowed him to be more tolerant, social and academically thoughtful. He also noted that he has had positive responses from people who have heard about his service.
“I think most people here have been very supportive, sometimes appreciative and always curious,” he said. “Even those with initial negativity usually come around when I explain what I did there and why I thought I was doing it. I think this is a testament to one of the most positive aspects of liberalism: the open mind.”
While Krafft’s service in the Army Band proved to be challenging in many ways, he acknowledged the positives that came out of it.
“While I wouldn’t say the Army made me more liberal or conservative, I would say it made me more receptive to and tolerant of other people’s points of view,” he said. “Also, the Army is an egalitarian system. I’ve never seen more minorities in such high positions. I wish it was viewed as more open by more people and wasn’t so tied to an arch-conservative mindset.”
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