News from Iraq 2
A couple more excerpts from emails from Iraq. These are actually a couple of weeks old but I thought they were still quite relevent.
Iraqi soldiers are goofy and friendly and kind of innocent. They are not US-quality troops, but they are better than any 3rd world Army I have seen. They are amazed at my Arabic, both because I speak some and because they can recognize it as Arabic but can't understand it. One of them asked me, "you are be Egyptian?" I explained to him that I do not be Egyptian, but that most of my Arabic teachers be Egyptians. Then, confused that an NCO would have language skills, he asked, "You are normal soldier?" I explained to him no, I am an abnormal soldier. I told him that I was with "reconaissance forces," and that seemed to satisfy him.
As stated before my friend is a MSG who is there to train the Iraqi Army. His time is interesting to say the least. His comments on his arrival at the training base,
A mortar round hit 50 meters from where we were standing as we were getting out of the HMMWV at work this morning. Another round landed near the gate we had just driven through. And an IED at the outer gate failed to detonate later in the day. Apparently they heard I was coming... It's nice to be considered important.
Despite all the hollering and politicing, the Soldiers get on with doing their jobs.....
Iraqi soldiers are goofy and friendly and kind of innocent. They are not US-quality troops, but they are better than any 3rd world Army I have seen. They are amazed at my Arabic, both because I speak some and because they can recognize it as Arabic but can't understand it. One of them asked me, "you are be Egyptian?" I explained to him that I do not be Egyptian, but that most of my Arabic teachers be Egyptians. Then, confused that an NCO would have language skills, he asked, "You are normal soldier?" I explained to him no, I am an abnormal soldier. I told him that I was with "reconaissance forces," and that seemed to satisfy him.
As stated before my friend is a MSG who is there to train the Iraqi Army. His time is interesting to say the least. His comments on his arrival at the training base,
A mortar round hit 50 meters from where we were standing as we were getting out of the HMMWV at work this morning. Another round landed near the gate we had just driven through. And an IED at the outer gate failed to detonate later in the day. Apparently they heard I was coming... It's nice to be considered important.
Despite all the hollering and politicing, the Soldiers get on with doing their jobs.....
posted by exMI | 12:22
7 Comments:
I love broken English. I sometimes wonder if my Spanish sounds like that to Mexicans.
LOL!
Brave guys out there in Iraq.
no, I am an abnormal soldier
Cut it out! Cut it out! What the hell's the matter with you? Stupid!
We're all very different people. We're not Watusi, we're not Spartans. We're Americans, with a capital A, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every out every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're underdogs, we're mutts! Here's proof: his nose is cold.
But there's no animal that's more faithful, that's more loyal, more loveable than the mutt. Who saw "Old Yeller?" Who cried when Old Yeller got shot at the end? Nobody cried when Old Yeller got shot? I cried my eyes out.
So we're all dog faces, we're all very, very different, but there is one thing that we all have in common: we were all stupid enough to enlist in the Army. We're mutants! There's something wrong with us; there's something very, very wrong with us, something seriously wrong with us.
We're soldiers, American soldiers! We've been kicking ass for 200 years; we're 10-and-1. Now we don't have to worry about whether or not we practiced. We don't have to worry about whether Captain Diller wants to have us hung. All we have to do-oo is to be the great American fighting sol-jer that is inside each one of us.
Now do what I do, and say what I say. And make me proud...
-- John Winger, "Stripes"
Um okay anonymous.....
(??)
You're "40+"; surely you remember Bill Murray in Stripes. The "I'm an abnormal soldier" line you quoted reminded me of the "we're mutants" bit. I meant no offense.
And of course, it's one of the more stirring and inspirational military speeches in cinema history -- if not quite as good as this one:
WESTMORELAND
O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!
KING HENRY V
What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
...
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Oh I recognized the quote. I was just wondering as to it's relevence. Now I see the association.
The Henry V speech is one of the best ever written.
Thanks for posting the letter.
It's nice to see a side that
the news doesn't cover.
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