Re-posted from William Dillard at facebook
Soldier nominated for Nobel Peace PrizeAn Individual Ready Reserve sergeant has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in a place where such an honor would seem impossible. Randy Sandifer, 30, deployed to Iraq after his sophomore year at the University of Mississippi and found himself at Abu Ghraib prison. Originally set to work as an administrator with his unit, 412th Theater Engineer Command, he volunteered to work with the soil lab and the environmental team, charged with testing for and cleaning up any pollutants left by U.S. forces. "I put down the M16 and pretty much picked up the beaker," Sandifer said in a Monday phone interview. "I was collecting samples in areas known for heavy sniper activity. It was an eye-opener." He spent about a year on deployment, testing for hydrocarbon levels in soil very near the local residents' water supply. It was part of the process of turning the controversy-stained prison over to the Iraqis, a move made official in September 2006.
When Sandifer returned to school, studying forensics on his way to a criminal justice degree, he weaved his experiences into a class project that required public speaking. His talk centered on the positive message provided by U.S. forces restoring the environment before leaving Iraqi facilities, and on the benefits such actions could have in the battle against what was then becoming a hotly debated concept - global warming. "A lot of scientists before me have came out and said we have evidence of global warming, but you couldn't see it, you couldn't touch it," Sandifer, 30, said. "A lot of people were highly skeptical." At least one person was paying attention: Jonathan Hutchins heard Sandifer's talk as a student in 2006, and eight years later, as a professor and assistant director of the Social Justice Initiative at Philander Smith College in Arkansas, he did something about it. Although the Nobel Peace Prize has gone to presidents, groups like the Red Cross, top-level diplomats and civil-rights activists since it was first awarded in 1901, the bar for nomination is low: Any person can be earmarked for consideration by members of a range of professions, including "professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology," according to the Nobel Prize website. Hutchins called Sandifer to tell the reservist that his name had been thrown into the ring."I was surprised because you never know ... how people could take the things that you're saying and remember them," Sandifer said.Hutchins' nomination letter praised Sandifer for having "taught himself the necessary skills to take on the large undertaking of environmental assessment, testing and cleanup of Abu Ghraib and other locations around Iraq. ..."Attempts to reach Hutchins by phone and email were not successful.
Sandifer moved to the IRR in 2012, he said. He runs his own forensics company, specializing in ballistics analysis, and is planning to resume work for a laboratory, having left the Army Crime Laboratory earlier this year. This year's Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced Friday. Sandifer said not expecting a call from Norway asking him to join the ranks of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. In fact, he's approaching the prize with a mindset more suited to Hollywood."Whatever happens, it's an honor just to be nominated," he said.
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