TALES FROM THE FRONT:

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a six-part series about war veterans who are members of UC Irvine’s Veterans Student Union.

As a medic serving in Iraq, Michael Flores sometimes had troubling choices.

There would be times the seriously wounded Iraqis before him had just tried to kill or hurt his fellow soldiers.

“I was conflicted,” Flores said. “I would think, ‘I want to punch these guys,’ but I also had to do the right thing.”

Flores focused on his job, which often consisted of treating Iraqi detainees. It was a delicate balancing act for him — he treated Iraqi prisoners who required serious medical attention, but he couldn’t treat them too well because he’d catch flak for it from the other guys in the platoon.

It was something of a trade-off for Flores: In order to fulfill one moral obligation he had to compromise a little bit of another.

Flores, 22, a sophomore at UCI, views much of his service time like that trade-off. He gained a lot from the military, but at the same time, he believes he endured a lot — enough to say that if he had the choice again he might not have joined the National Guard.

After 9/11, Flores remembers America’s protectors on bridges, in the subway, patrolling the streets and all over the news. The National Guard was all over New York City, and Flores remembers being grateful.

“I never really appreciated the military until I saw them protecting what needed to be protected,” he said.

That view, along with a classmate who had a positive experience in the National Guard, inspired Flores to sign up as a junior in high school. He ended up being deployed to Iraq on Sept. 11, 2006.

“I was morally compelled,” Flores said. “There are a lot of other people who need help too.”

Flores knew his service time wouldn’t come without sacrifice, that satisfaction isn’t found in the desert’s dust, but he did his job.

“When you are on the road and someone gets hurt, you are obligated to help them,” he said. “If they die, it’s on you.”

But there were times when his duty and sacrifice weighed on him.

Sgt. Sellen Dennis, a close friend of Flores’ and the joker of the company, died from a gunshot wound from a “friendly fire” accident, Flores said. Dennis’ death crushed the company’s already low morale.

“We were always willing to die for our country — do what is right,” Flores said.

But after an accidental death like Dennis’ some soldiers were left mentally defenseless, some going as far as threatening suicide, Flores said.

“I kind of went in knowing I would lose somebody,” he said. “I don’t know how I dealt with it.”

The avoidable problems bothered him the most.

One attack in particular sticks with him. Upon leaving an area they were patrolling, Flores’ unit informed the incoming sister unit they were expecting insurgents to plant improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and they were checking the anticipated spot every two hours.

Despite their warning, the command decided to pull more troops inside the facility for more enforcement on the detainees, Flores said. Soon after, a sergeant drove over an IED and lost his legs.

Flores blames the military bureaucracy for the tragedy, but he doesn’t see an easy solution.

“We try to do the right thing, but sometimes it’s convoluted,” he said. “The ends justify the means, and the means is the bureaucracy.”

When Flores returned home on Sept. 11, 2007, the transition wasn’t an easy one.

The military had made Flores a man. When he returned home, he was more responsible and involved with his family. His role had changed, and that threatened his father.

“He said to me, ‘This isn’t your family, this is my family,’” Flores said.

Flores went to Veteran’s Affairs and sought help. Over a period of months, they helped him sort things out at home.

Flores has a more earnest approach to his post-Iraq life. After dealing with a bureaucracy on an intimate level, he has decided to be more of an activist, which may be part of the reason why he recently joined a Student Veterans Union at UCI. But he also makes sure to enjoy every day he’s back home.

“There are no sidewalks in Iraq,” Flores said. “When I got back, I thought, ‘I’ve been waiting for this for one whole year.’”

As for the military, Flores is proud of his service — he still has a year left of duty — but he remains skeptical.

“As an institution, we should be grateful that it exists, but at the same time, keep a keen eye on.”

GET TO KNOW HIM

Name: Michael Flores

Age: 22

Hometown: New York City

Career Goal: International Public Health

Voting For: Barack Obama

Most common misconception about Iraq: “A lot of Americans think the dichotomy is the U.S. vs. Iraq. That is so far from the truth. When a lot of people think of presidential candidates, they think of the candidate who will keep troops there or the one who will pull them out with the thought in my mind that it is the U.S. vs. Iraq. A lot of Americans don’t understand it is 20 times more complex than that and then some. We have to consider ethnic tensions and the troops aren’t fighting everyday Iraqis, but act more as a buffer between the ethnic tensions of local politics.”

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.