When Richard Ruiz graduated from Mt. Madonna Continuation High School and joined the Marines at 19, he had no idea what the military was about.Twelve years and a lifetime later, he's picked up a few clues … and a whole new perspective.
Ruiz, 31, just wrapped up a tour in Afghanistan where he "lived, breathed and fought," with Afghan soldiers fighting against Taliban forces. He served as a liaison between the American military and Afghan soldiers and was promoted to captain upon his return.
During his tour, he saw a way of life that changed the way he lives his own.
In villages where the faces of little girls are nearly identical - unsmiling and shrouded - Ruiz saw their mothers toiling in the fields while old men looked on, sipping their chai in the shade.
"The men watched them like cattle," he said.
A video Ruiz took in a packed classroom showed rows of young girls sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes fixated on the lesson before them. Devoid of expression, their gazes strayed only briefly to the newcomer.
"They couldn't show happiness," Ruiz remembered.
During his nine-month stint in Afghanistan, Ruiz became acquainted with various other Afghan customs. In Afghanistan, men gather to celebrate over a glass of chai, rather than beer. In fact, a man is measured by how quickly he can down his glass of steaming chai, Ruiz said. Many of his photos show men raising a glass of the amber liquid in a salute.
He bonded with his Afghan counterparts, photos and videos showing rowdy dinners crowded around a rustic table, regional cuisine interspersed with cans of Coca-Cola.
Humanitarian efforts were offset by battles that played out in a matter of minutes.
"Everything happens so fast," Ruiz said. "You don't and should not have to think. You should know. If you don't, people get killed. I never second guessed myself."
When his troops rolled into a village, the presence of women and children in the streets was a cue that they would not meet resistance. If the women and children were hidden, he knew trouble was brewing, he said. The title of the book he's planning, "Bullets or Candies," was inspired by these visual cues. When troops entered a peaceful village, Ruiz and his fellow soldiers tossed pieces of candy to the children. When they clashed with insurgents, bullets, not candies, flew through the air.
"Over there, we're winning hearts and minds, showing them the positive aspect of the U.S.," Ruiz said. "But we're getting shot at. We were saving lives and taking lives."
A photo in his album shows a grieving sergeant kneeling before the boots, helmet and M-4 rifle of a soldier killed in battle.
Ruiz said it was hard to come back to a country where "people are fighting over irrational things, gangs are fighting for dishonorable reasons."
"We have electricity, we have a warm shower," he said naming many of the amenities Americans take for granted. "Be happy."
