As the U.S. war with Iran intensifies, student veterans at Dartmouth say the conflict feels both familiar and unsettling. For many students on campus, the fighting unfolds through headlines and government class discussions. But for those who once served in the military, some of whom were deployed in the Middle East, the war carries memories of their time in service, concerns for friends still serving and questions about whether the region is once again entering prolonged instability.
The conflict, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, has rapidly expanded across the Middle East. Seven U.S. service members have been killed in retaliatory Iranian strikes so far, according to the U.S. military.
Randle Young ’27, who enlisted in the military at 22 and later volunteered for a force protection deployment in Qatar from 2021 to 2022, said his experiences during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan shape how he views the current war in Iran. The American withdrawal from Afghanistan turned Young’s assignment into a “humanitarian and security mission” as refugees were flown into Qatar, he said.
“Nothing can really prepare somebody for a refugee crisis,” Young said. “Our base wasn’t really designed to support all those people … Things got out of hand pretty quickly.”
When Young heard about the U.S. strikes on Iran, he found himself asking, “Why are we doing this?”
“Israel definitely has more than enough capability to conduct these types of strikes on their own,” Young said. “Why are we being dragged into another war over suspected nuclear armaments? It’s just going to cost not only American lives, but the lives of innocent people.”
Young also expressed feeling “a lot of anger and resentment” towards the decision-making process behind the military action. While President Donald Trump’s administration decided to strike Iran without congressional approval, the House of Representatives voted largely along party lines on March 5 against a War Powers Resolution to require the president to halt unauthorized military operations.
For Young, the vote reflects a familiar pattern in American foreign policy, similar to recent debates over U.S. military action in Venezuela, where lawmakers also struggled to assert congressional authority over presidential military decisions.
“It’s tough when the whole democracy thing isn’t working,” Young said. “… The only ones facing the real consequences are everyday ordinary people.”
Drawing on personal experience and conversations with friends who are still serving in the military, Young said he believes the conflict could expand beyond a short-term military operation.
“If they had just looked at the mistakes made by previous administrations, I feel like they would have made a different decision,” Young said.
Thomas Haliday TU’26, who majored in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University and deployed with the Navy twice, said he expects the war to “rapidly destabilize” the region.
“Historically, it’s very reminiscent of when we removed Saddam Hussein from Iraq,” he said. “I don’t think you’re going to see one American-friendly group coming and seizing power. I think it’s going to be a power vacuum with a lot of people fighting over it.”
Haliday deployed in 2021 throughout the Middle East, where he transported Marines responding to the collapse of Afghanistan. During a second deployment, he said he was in the Red Sea when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Haliday expressed skepticism that the threat Iran posed warranted such a response, adding that Trump’s actions were not appropriate for national security.
“I understand the administration’s rationale of Iran being a state sponsor of terrorism — they have expressed nuclear weapon aspirations,” he said. “But at the same time, Israel and the U.S. have been saying that Iran is weeks or months away from a nuclear weapon since the 1990s, so I’m not sure I buy [their argument].”
Haliday said that although he thinks that Trump will try to avoid a prolonged war, the U.S. could be pulled into one unintentionally through the emergence of insurgent groups that will target U.S. bases in a “more aggressive” manner.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see insurgencies from many different groups in Iran start to pop up and the country kind of fractures,” he said. “You’ll have a whole refugee crisis associated with that.”
Eric Rachell TU’27, who served as an Army psychological operations specialist and later as an Air Force cyber warfare officer, highlighted the necessity for Americans to recognize the human costs of a war abroad and the similarities between American and Iranian civilians.
“We may have different ideologies or different beliefs, religious values, societal values and norms,” he said. “But to hope and dream for something better than what you have is a fundamental state of being for humans, and the average person in Tehran and the average person in New York City is not so different in those regards.”
War has the “unacceptable” effect of dehumanizing the other side as conflict escalates, Rachell added.
“Regardless of what you see in the headlines you have to constantly fight a bias to reframe human conflict as anything else,” he said.
For Young, the war is similarly difficult to witness because he has many friends who are still active in the military. Some were preparing to leave service but now fear their plans could be disrupted, he added.
“They could be stop-lossed,” he said, referring to the policy that can keep service members in the military beyond their contracts during wartime.
Young said he also recently saw footage of a missile strike near the base in Qatar where he was once stationed.
“When an incoming missile alarm goes off, you grab your friends and try to make the best decision in the moment,” he said. “It’s really hard to feel so disconnected from my friends right now.”
The contrast between campus life and war abroad can feel surreal, he added.
“There’s a war going on, and my friends are involved and at risk,” Young said. “But I have to sit here and take a math exam next week.”
