U.S. Army corporal's report from Iraq
I found the following post while surfing through one of my favorite internet haunts, Wildwest Sports. (It is a West Coast college football recruiting site, dominated by Trojan fans such as myself. My nickname is "Paris of Troy" -- give me a holla. By the way, what a comeback!)
It was written by a fellow Trojan fan, "SC4ME," whom I've met and can vouch for. It describes a conversation he had with a U.S. Army corporal who was returning home for some RnR before heading back to Tikrit, Iraq.
The corporal had many interesting things to report about the situation on the ground and on the morale of fellow troops there -- so many, in fact, that it was too difficult to select specific sections to emphasize. I have simply copied the message, and I urge you to read until the end. (n.b. There are numerous spelling errors. I haven't bothered to correct or mark them.)
Just sat next to a corporal in the US Army on my flight back from Fla. Very interesting conversation. In short, a quote that put it in perspective is, "they are kicking our @$$". Why? Well, this soldier was trained as a light-wheel mechanic (for humvees, etc). But that job has been taken by civilian contractors and the mechanics are now having to provide armed security for the convoys. They are not trained for this job and are not receiving any new training. To add insult to injury, the contractors get paid $10k a month and the infantry get $24k a year. They have their job taken away then have to provide security to these same civilians who are unarmed, have no sense of security, and make the job much more hazzardous due to being stupid (no training).
The moral is very low, especially due to the non-retirement policy. This corporal was supposed to be out of the Army on Feb 2, 2004. But instead the tour is extended a year, and that is not written in stone. But there are more reasons, including their friends being killed and a constant rotation of officers that have no combat training. These officers have to ask the corporals and privates if a strategy is correct. And the Abu Gareb/Iraqi torture issue is continuing with the 'brass' leading the way and the 'little guys' being held accountable if word gets out.
I saw pictures on their computer of Army trucks with messages in the window that read, "Two weeks a year my @$$" - it was National Guard in those trucks. (Arn't the National Guard supposed to protect our nation at home??)
The most telling was when I asked about how the Iraqis are responding. The stories all revolved around a vastly increased hatred for anything related to the USA. The Iraqis get money from the US for any injury or death in a family. So they just attack US forces, get killed or injured, and then put in claims for the money. Also, most construction is reserved to US bases and support, not Iraqi infrastructure as we are lead to believe. Not only that, but then they paint 'USA' on all these new buildings. As this corporal said, "just imagine how we would react to a new building across from the White House and a huge 'IRAQ' is painted on it".
This person did not hold it against the Iraqis. In fact, they said that they would do the same thing if the positions were reversed. They said that all the Iraqis are doing is fighting for their country against the occupation, something they agreed with.
Now, don't jump on me. I am just relating what was told to me one-on-one from someone who was on their way home for a 14 day R&R before heading back to Takrit. They also said that they were sending a letter to the San Jose newspapers detailing their view of the war, however names will be withheld due to severe concerns on retribution from the Army. (So much for freedom of speach, but then that is what people are holding against Kerry, so no surprises).
Oh, the other thing is that they all laugh at Bush when he gives them recorded pep talks. This corporal claimed to not be well educated, but "even I know that Bush has no idea how to talk and he always uses big words he cant even say". It appears that this is how our military repects their leader in chief.
As a disclaimer, this is from a single soldier. And I am sure others have different opinions. I did see another soldier in the airport talking to an older guy with a Bush/Cheney button on. The soldier was telling the guy that if he had any idea what was going on over there, he would not support Bush.
I was surprised about how many military people were traveling, all in the tan cammis. Oh, I forgot. They are getting new equiptment. But it is so heavy and cumbersome that when a truck hits a pothole or has to hit the brakes, everyone falls to the floor and can't get back up. The Humvees have armor (steel plates) bolted to the doors and now weigh so much that one person can not open it from the inside. If a truck gets hit, they can't escape it due to super heavy doors and personal equiptment that weighs over 100 lbs.
I was very surprised by this discussion. I did very little talking and the corporal was very quiet spoken and polite. I did get an impression that they felt powerless to cause any change in the situation.
Just wanted to pass on some info from someone that was there and will be again.
I'd like to know why soldiers like this corporal aren't (with a few exceptions) being interviewed by mainstream journalists and having their stories told. There are a handful of stories worth pursuing in this post alone.
While American journalists in Iraq are filing the best stories they can, despite hiding out in the Baghdad hotels behind concrete walls and barbed wire, why aren't there more reporters stateside working the returning soldier beat? Even if the general stories mentioned above have already been reported (e.g. problems with contractors, low morale among troops), they only become concrete in the public's mind when told from a personal point of view.
I remember meeting dozens of soldiers while flying through Baltimore-Washington International Airport. If I were a journalist, I'd spend a day or two talking to the returning soldiers and write up their impressions.
11:56:40 PM 
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