By Christine Amarantus
Daily Titan Staff Writer
Published: November 08, 2009

By Christine Amarantus
Daily Titan Features Editor

On Thursday at the Titan Student Union, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the highest-ranking Latino in the Army when he retired in 2006, gave a detailed talk on his 33 years in the military, including a recount of the capture of Saddam Hussein. Sanchez was in command when Hussein was found and stood next to the camera when the first photos of the former Iraqi president were taken.

“I’d never before felt like I was in the presence of an evil man,” Sanchez said, adding that special permission had to be given from the White House to shave Hussein’s beard and cut his hair.

Fielding questions on Hussein’s discovery, Sanchez explained that the military followed every tip they received regarding Hussein’s whereabouts. Some soldiers noticed a patch of greenery they thought looked unnatural and found it was a cover for a hole. Just as the soldiers were about to drop in a couple grenades before going down to explore, they found the deposed Iraqi leader at the bottom and removed him.

Sanchez was shocked by the lack of remorse Hussein showed when speaking to him through an interpreter regarding the atrocities Hussein had allowed in Iraq.

“He felt (his actions) were justified,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez had traveled from his home in Texas for the presentation and to speak at a Veteran’s Day celebration, also held in the TSU, on Nov. 7. Prior to his retirement, Sanchez commanded 180,000 personnel from 36 different countries.

“I’ve served in the Far East, Middle East and Europe … There’s no better than this country as flawed as we may be. We’ve come a long way,” Sanchez said.

Before starting, Sanchez played a brief slideshow with pictures of him, his family and the various celebrities he had met over the years.

Among the slides were early shots of Sanchez doing laundry, washing dishes, going to church and photographed with actors Robin Williams and Drew Carey, talk show host David Letterman and World Wrestling Entertainment star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Several pictures had Sanchez with former president George W. Bush and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, prior to his gubernatorial election.

“He told me he was going to be the next governor,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez was born and raised in Texas, near the Mexican border. With Mexican-American parents and Mexican grandparents, English was Sanchez’s second language. “I was working at the age of 6 with my uncle. By the time I got to high school I had two jobs,” Sanchez said.

He went to college on ROTC scholarships, graduating from Texas A&I University, now Texas A&M, double majoring in math and history.

“The only thing that can transform who you are to who you want to be is education,” Sanchez said.
He addressed racial issues, saying that upon his retirement he returned to the “ugliness” of society. “Those of us that live in uniform get spoiled,” he said in terms of the military avoiding ethnic prejudice.

He described the absence of the technology today’s military has come to rely on, in his early career.
“Imagine a life without GPS or cellphones, having to use a paper map,” he said. “In 1990, when deployed in (Operations) Desert Shield and Desert Storm, we didn’t have maps, just a blank piece of paper. The world has changed.”

Sanchez emphasized pulling much of his strength from his faith and family, and that in while Iraq he made sure to call home every night – even if he ended up falling asleep with his wife on the line. “The worst possible decision you can make is to sacrifice family. When I was a captain, the military was my life.” After the death of his son, family escalated on the list of priorities, he said.

During the question and answer portion, Sanchez answered various questions regarding the United States’ presence in Iraq. Audience members asked why Sanchez was not as vocal in his criticism of the war as he is now.

“We should never and must never stand against the (government) while we wear the uniform,” Sanchez answered. “You’ve sworn an oath to the national constitution. It’s not about the individual, not about peers. It’s about the Constitution.”

Sanchez addressed an audience member’s assertions that the U.S. is in Iraq for the oil, saying, “We didn’t use any of the petroleum products from that country … It was about stabilizing the greater (Persian) Gulf region.”

Sanchez said that the U.S. did not take control of any Iraqi oil wells, explaining that they remained under the control of the country’s oil companies.

To a question regarding the Untied States’ spending in Iraq, Sanchez said it was up to $12-15 billion a month at the peak. “We made a commitment. Whether we want to call ourselves occupiers or not, by international law that is what we were,” he said.

Sanchez also touched on combat and how it changes a person. “When a soldier goes to war, they say goodbye to the person they will never be again.”

He further said that while speaking at a ceremony honoring a World War II veteran, he talked about a soldier’s life and combat. When the veteran came up to speak, tears filled his eyes as he described the ravages of war. The veteran’s wife later approached Sanchez saying she had never heard any of the stories her husband told that day in the 40 years they’d been married, and all because he felt he could relate with Sanchez.

Sanchez quoted Shakespeare’s “Henry V” saying, “He who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother,” in being able to relate to a fellow veteran.

“Combat is brutal, aggressive, demeaning. Use any word you want,” Sanchez said.

Following the presentation, Sanchez shook hands, answered questions and signed copies of his memoir, “Wiser in Battle: A Soldier’s Story.”

Sociology major Oliver Buck compared the points Sanchez touched on with watching stories about them on the news. “When you actually hear it from someone who was there, it’s a lot more interesting,” he said.

Junior Claudia Wigen said Sanchez was down to earth and very well spoken. “It’s good that (the school) is bringing people of important positions to students at the university,” she added.

Staff writer Portia Bode contributed to this story.