Cassandra Merrill

Segment Synopsis: Born July 31, 1982, Merrill was from a non-traditional family and spent her childhood living on a bus on the California Coast. While the military was never stressed in her family, members of her family served during every major American conflict and ultimately Merrill did too. Originally planning to join the Navy incorrect paperwork kept her from joining until years later, when she joined the Army.

Keywords: Apache (Attack helicopter); Armed OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (Observation helicopter); Germany; Military police; Ohio State University; Portland (Or.); United States. Marine Corps

Subjects: Childhood; Choosing the military; Family Military Tradition

Segment Synopsis: Merrill talks about her basic training and the hardest part for her, being constantly surrounded by so many people. She spent a short time in the Combat Sustainment Support Battalion before a friend recommended she transfer to PSYOPS. They don't like to call it propaganda, but Merrill admits the term fits. They produce cartoons, radio programs, soap operas, commercials, comics, towels, soccer balls, and various other marketing materials to brand with their message.

Keywords: Basic training; Gas masks; Marketing; Military occupational training; Psychology, military; United States. Army. Signal Corps

Subjects: Basic training; Specialization

Segment Synopsis: Merrill describes PSYOPs as being very similar to project management. She talks about the "We love Iraq" campaign, an Iraqi kids Cartoon that never saw distribution, and the dangers of pamphlet drops.

Keywords: Bombs; Cartoons; Gap analysis (Planning); Leaflets dropped from aircraft; Products; Project management

Subjects: PSYOPs training; Pamphlet drop; Product descriptions

Segment Synopsis: Merrill discusses the way guys behave when they are away from home, which includes lots of flirting and chewing with their mouths open. She talks about the kind of work they did and the long hours. They did not get a half-day break until someone threatened violence. Communicating with home was easy with the internet, but finding new things to discuss was difficult because every day was the same and the "anomalies" were often things they were not allowed to talk about.

Keywords: Anomalies; Commercial products--Testing; Communication; Flirting; Hours of labor; Internet; Product design; Skype (Electronic resource); Women soldiers

Subjects: Anomalies; Communication; Flirting; Typical Day

Segment Synopsis: Merrill talks about her premobilization training with its bad food and unnecessary rules that was worse than being in Iraq. She discusses her leave to New York City before deployment. She describes what it was like to arrive in Kuwait, being taken out into the dessert to sight weapons, and then having those weapons taken away before being sent off base. She also talked about how she came to love the people and the culture, and how her job was to reach the people who were neither for or against America.

Keywords: Adaptability (Psychology); Airport; Armed Forces--Mobilization; Counterinsurgency; Fort Dix (N.J.); Iraq; Kuwait; Qaida (Organization); United States. Army--Reserves; Weapons

Subjects: Arriving in country; Hearts and Minds; Leave; People and culture; Pre-mobilization training

Segment Synopsis: Merrill discussed how boredom could be one of the biggest problems on base and what they did to stay busy. She talks about when you do the same thing everyday personality became very important because it was the only way to differentiate yourself from those around you. She described the treatment she and other women received from men and how it could be sometimes beneficial, but mostly disagreeable. She shares stories about sexist behavior.

Keywords: Boredom; Combat roles; Interpersonal relations; Iraq; Military culture; Segregation; Self-destructive behavior; Sexism; Women soldiers

Subjects: Men and women social dynamic; Self-destructive behavior; Sexist behavior; Staying busy on base

Segment Synopsis: Merrill describes the 10' x 13' shipping container houses which had no windows and sometime had air conditioning. She discussed the things that she will miss about Iraq like the sunrise, the people, and the delicious "shit-bread." She shares stories about the animals in Iraq which include cats, wild-dogs, ravens, and Saddam's special freshwater asps. She also discussed how hard it was to come home where no one shared her experiences, but she was able to pick-up a state-side deployment training new PSYOP soldiers.

Keywords: Animal culture; Barracks; Bread; Cats; Dogs; Fish; Fort Bragg (N.C.); Iraq; Military training camps; Mortars; Veteran reintegration

Subjects: Animals; Containerized housing unit (Chu); Leaving Iraq; Reintegration

Segment Synopsis: Merrill's husband is a Marine Corps veteran and she finds that having shared experiences has made their relationship stronger. They do see some scenarios through different view points while she went door to door giving out fake-looking toy guns his door to door experience usually involved searching for weapons. While they both had some adjusting to do when returning to civilian life she is quick to point out that PTSD does not define veterans.

Keywords: Post-traumatic stress disorder; Scenarios; Sleep disorders; United States. Marine Corps

Subjects: Shared-experiences and relationships

Segment Synopsis: Reflecting on her service, Merrill talks about how the Army taught her to take better care of herself and not rely on others as much. She discusses how she did not want her awards at first, but over time they have helped her feel more connected to her service. She lauds the adaptable nature of veterans and how they are not damaged like some people believe.

Keywords: Adaptability; Assertiveness (Psychology); Self-care, Health; Voluntarism

Subjects: How do you feel about your service; How has your military experienced changed you; What is the most important thing to know about those who serve

Segment Synopsis: Merrill warns against eating any Cinnabon buns from Iraq. She also brings up the issue of the fine dust in Iraq perhaps from burnt materials or missile debris as it has cause respiratory issues in many soldiers.

Keywords: Dust; Respiratory agents; Toxins

Subjects: Toxic dust

Segment Synopsis: Merrill originally wanted to enlist in 2000 but because of a paperwork error she did not enlist until 2005, in between the September 11th terror attacks occurred. In a way she felt relief that she was not enlisted at 9/11, but growing-up made her see her choice to serve differently and she decided to enlist. She talks about how many infantrymen get through their service by not believing they would ever make it home, while she felt that believing she would go home safely was her light at the end of a tunnel. She also explains the term "fobbit" a combination of Forward Operating Base (FOB) and hobbit.

Keywords: Emotional maturity; Peace; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; Voluntarism

Subjects: 9/11; Fobbits; Maturing

Segment Synopsis: Merrill describes the iconic soccer balls that all Iraqi children expected when the PSYOPS came around. She explains that the one she donated is 2nd generation because the first was marked with the name of God which would have been sacrilegious for anyone to kick. She also talks about how the combat focus of military training does not prepare soldiers for counterinsurgency tactics.

Keywords: Combat; Counterinsurgency; Gifts; Infrastructure; Snipers; Soccer balls

Subjects: Soccer balls; Winning the Hearts and Minds vs. Combat

Segment Synopsis: Merrill discusses the changes to the rules of engagement, which she believed compromised the safety and effectiveness of soldiers.

Keywords: Beanbag toys; Warning strikes

Subjects: Less-lethal means of engagement