A couple of our guys at QAIM, Iraq
Observing Iraq
QAIM, Iraq
US Dept. of Defense
American Forces Press Service
AFPS reporter Jim Garamone ( no photo available) has traveled in the U.S. Central Command theater since April, covering various aspects of the mission and the men and women who make it happen. He is a photographer and journalist.
Here are a few of those vignettes:
Boom, Boom! Out Go the Lights
Early one morning at Camp Hit came the unmistakable sound of a mortar launching. A door opened and a woman yelled, “Is that incoming or outgoing?”
Before anyone could answer came a huge “boom” that rocked the mud buildings. “Oh, that’s definitely incoming,” she said, and shut the door.
No one was injured in the attack.
Be Like Mike
Anbar province is the center of anti-coalition sentiment. Or is it?
The Iraqis in Anbar profess to not like Americans, but they are trying mighty hard to look like them. As you pass the men in the streets, they look with flint-hard stares — underneath their New York Yankees or Chicago Bulls caps.
American companies find excellent billboards on Iraqi T-shirts, and Nike and Reebok shoes are “tres chic” here.
The Iraqis even emulate the servicemembers who are enforcing security around their cities. The latest fad among young men is to get “high and tight” haircuts like the soldiers and Marines who patrol in the area.
Silence is Scary
A line of servicemembers coming out of an Internet café is a moment of dread in Iraq.
“I hate to see that,” said an officer as soldiers filed out of the facility at an Anbar province forward operating base.
He didn’t like it because commanders shut down the Internet and phone lines without notice if they take casualties. Military officials do not want families to find out of the death or wounding of a loved one via e-mail or a satellite phone call. “Most soldiers wouldn’t do that, but who wants to take the chance?” said a coalition official.
In this case, the café wasn’t closed for a casualty, but a power surge that crashed the system. It may have been the only time losing all data was greeted with a sigh of relief.
Sometimes the troops are their own worse enemy. Calling or emailing home when the find out something can cause problems, especially before it’s officially released. Troops talking pictures and posting them on the internet have caused serious problems. The Navy Seal’s wife who posted pictures sent to her by her husband of prisoners that had been roughed up. Abu Ghraib is a good example. How many Americans are alive because of the information gathered from prisoners just by college “frat boy” shenanigans?
The initial start of Desert Storm was almost postponed because a B-52 Crew Chief phoned his wife earlier in the day, telling her to watch the news because something BIG was taking place that night. She got on the phone, calling everyone she knew, bragging about the information she was privy to. I don’t know the outcome but I do know the Crew Chief was immediately sent back stateside and wasn’t seen around base any more.
Bob I agree with you. One has to be extremely careful. You mentioned some very good examples of what can happen. Thank you for commenting on this.