G
gilliam
Guest
Life with Iraqi forces and U.S. Marines at Battle Position Beirut
By Bill Roggio
HUSAYBAH, IRAQ: A new batch of Iraqi troops rotated into service at Battle Position Beirut as the last group was heading out on leave. The Iraqi soldiers are an extremely friendly bunch and very interested in getting to know you. Several of the soldiers spoke English, and served as translators for the groups who came by to say hello. All were extremely interested in the satellite connection and accessing the Internet from such a remote location. Looks of wonder appeared on their faces as they repeated “Internet? Internet!” To be fair, many of the Marines expressed amazement as well.
We exchanged stories and discussed our families. They noticed the picture of my daughter on the open Instant Messenger window, and asked for more. I shared photographs of my family, which brought forth smiles and hearty claps on the back. Many of the soldiers are married and have children, and expressed that they missed their families as well. This is a universal bond all soldiers share.
Their backgrounds varied. The men were from age 18 to 43, and came from all corners of the country. Mohammed is from Najaf, Ahmed is from Mosul, Hussein is from Hit. They came from Basra, Baghdad, Haditha, and small towns across Iraqi which I was unfamiliar. They are Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
Read the Rest
By Bill Roggio
HUSAYBAH, IRAQ: A new batch of Iraqi troops rotated into service at Battle Position Beirut as the last group was heading out on leave. The Iraqi soldiers are an extremely friendly bunch and very interested in getting to know you. Several of the soldiers spoke English, and served as translators for the groups who came by to say hello. All were extremely interested in the satellite connection and accessing the Internet from such a remote location. Looks of wonder appeared on their faces as they repeated “Internet? Internet!” To be fair, many of the Marines expressed amazement as well.
We exchanged stories and discussed our families. They noticed the picture of my daughter on the open Instant Messenger window, and asked for more. I shared photographs of my family, which brought forth smiles and hearty claps on the back. Many of the soldiers are married and have children, and expressed that they missed their families as well. This is a universal bond all soldiers share.
Their backgrounds varied. The men were from age 18 to 43, and came from all corners of the country. Mohammed is from Najaf, Ahmed is from Mosul, Hussein is from Hit. They came from Basra, Baghdad, Haditha, and small towns across Iraqi which I was unfamiliar. They are Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
Read the Rest