I've posted some of these before. I have 3 more. This is a local young man emailing his mother. He is in Mosul, Iraq, and he is on a Stryker team. I've read that one of the huge flaws in the Strykers is that they have no air conditioning!! :scared :scared
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
4/16/05
Dear Mom and Dad,
> > Been a pretty interesting day for me. We're on force protection
> > again, that couple days I told you about where we guard the perimeter of
> the
> > FOB and work the gate and all that fun stuff. Well, this time I had
guard
> > duty in our detainee holding facility, a little makeshift prison we have
> to
> > hold the scum we scoop up off the streets. When we assumed duty we only
> had
> > one prisoner so we knew it was going to be an easy shift. Before my
shift
> > the only time I had been in there was to drop off the folks we had
picked
> > up, I'd never spent a great deal of time in there. I was surprised to
> find
> > just how well these people are treated. Obviously we have a pretty
jaded
> > view of the guys that are in there as there's a good chance they have
been
> > responsible for some of the assaults on us or our other units. So they
> > require us to keep our distance from them. However we are required to
> give
> > them 3 meals a day, water, and let them go outside to use the restroom
> when
> > they need to. If they need medical attention we call up to battallion,
> and
> > the medic is down there in no time. They sleep on foam pads and have
> > blankets to cover up with. If you ask me they are living pretty good.
> They
> > are sleeping on the same pads as we are, so since we kind of resent that
> > fact we make sure to keep them awake as much as possible.
> > Since we just had one prisoner we were pretty laid back with him,
and
> > let him have a cigarette when we escorted him to the bathroom. This guy
> was
> > pretty educated, spoke excellent English and like everybody who ends up
in
> > there, he was innocent. The funny thing is, after hearing his story and
> > seeing the conviction in his eyes when he told it, I couldn't help but
> > believe him. I've seen firsthand what some of these people are brought
in
> > for, so its easy to see how a perfectly innocent man could be arrested.
> In
> > his case he was brought in because his father had too many AK-47
magazines
> > in his house. Not a real threat, but the people are limited to one
rifle
> > per home, 50 rounds of ammo in two magazines. So you've got this guy, a
> > shop owner downtown, he opens the doors for the soldiers as they come
in,
> > offers them drinks and food, things I've seen a hundred times. But
> > somewhere in the corner there are a few empty magazines, and that is
> grounds
> > to bring him in. Doesn't sound like much of a reason, but you have to
> > understand that they were searching that area because there was probably
a
> > known threat there, so anything like that was to be considered grounds
for
> > detaining someone.
> > Anyway, this poor guy is pretty relaxed, he realizes we mean him no
> > harm and he is really thankful for that. But as he starts to realize
that
> > he may not be released any time soon, he starts sobbing and crying,
> talking
> > about his son and his wife, how they are worried about him and he is
> worried
> > for them too. You have to understand that by this point we've all come
to
> > the conclusion that this guy is harmless. He's really westernized, we
> even
> > had conversations about american movie stars and hip hop artists and
stuff
> > like that- not your typical jihadist. We talked to this guy for a long
> > time, getting all kinds of interesting perspectives on things, questions
> > I've been wanting to know about the anti-American/anti-western sentiment
> > that you get from the middle east. I've found that there is a lot of
> > hypocracy in their stance against our ideals, and he really just
> reinforced
> > all that. See the way he explained it to me, the muslims dislike us for
> > obvious reasons-our culture represents pretty much everything that Islam
> > preaches against. Yet you can see on the streets here how your
> traditional
> > muslims are becoming old-fashioned and outdated. Obviously not in the
> time
> > that we have been here, but you can see the older women still wearing
> masks
> > and never leaving the houses while younger women walk around with their
> > faces exposed and pants on. Its pretty easy to realize that the culture
> is
> > steering away from traditional islamic customs and becoming more
> "American".
> > Kids wear Nike shirts and I've even seen Minnesota Vikings and
> > Philadelphia Eagles shirts. I wonder if they even know what that means?
> We
> > talked in great length about the situation now and what we are trying to
> > accomplish here. Speaking on behalf of the people he knew and not
> > neccesarily himself, Mohammed (which was his name by the way) explained
> that
> > the people here want democracy and want a new culture. They are
screaming
> > for big buildings, factories and industry, jobs, bridges, schools...all
> the
> > things that we have in America. Only, they don't want Americans here to
> get
> > all that. So when I asked him where they would be if Americans weren't
> here
> > to help them right now, he really couldn't answer me. He just shook his
> > head as if to say...nowhere. So I went on to ask him what he thought
our
> > relationship, as countries and cultures, would be if we could grant them
> > democracy and a chance at freedom, then we leave and let them do
whatever
> > they wish. Obviously he was hopeful that we could bridge some of the
gaps
> > between us, but I don't think either of us saw much of a chance of that
> > happening any time soon. But I've just gotta say that it was really
> > interesting to have a talk with an educated and open minded Iraqi for
> once,
> > one who could understand our position so well while explaining his in
> simple
> > terms. It was a really interesting day.
> > Just so you know, Mohammed was just released. I've never seen a
> grown
> > man so giddy. But he was shaking hands with us, even tried to give us
> hugs.
> > I'm pretty pleased with the way he left. There's one Iraqi out there
> now
> > with a better understanding of us and what we're trying to do here. I
> just
> > hope that he can spread some positive word on our behalf when he gets
> home.
> > I feel pretty certain he will, in the short time we knew him we got a
lot
> > out of each other. Its kind of ironic, but he was probably the nicest
> Iraqi
> > I've met yet, and I met him in a prison.
> > I leave for pass in two days. I may be going to FOB Marez sometime
> > tomorrow, just to wait for my flight. I am so excited, its going to be
> nice
> > to get away. Dad, I know its been awhile since I've written you, so
just
> to
> > catch you up to speed I'm going on a 4 day pass to a peninsula down
south.
> > There are occasional attacks down there, but I'll be out of the combat
> zone,
> > and that's the main thing. From what I hear the threat level is really
> low,
> > so I'll be able to relax for a few days.
> > Well, I am going to run now. Since Mohammed got released, we don't
> > have any more prisoners. Know what that means? I'm getting over like a
> fat
> > cat because while everybody else is pulling guard in the towers, I'm
gonna
> > be laid up in my room doing absolutely nothing! That is, as long as I
can
> > lay low and not let anybody know about it. We'll see how long that
lasts.
> > I hope you all are doing great. Love you both so much. Talk to you
> > later....> >
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
4/16/05
Dear Mom and Dad,
> > Been a pretty interesting day for me. We're on force protection
> > again, that couple days I told you about where we guard the perimeter of
> the
> > FOB and work the gate and all that fun stuff. Well, this time I had
guard
> > duty in our detainee holding facility, a little makeshift prison we have
> to
> > hold the scum we scoop up off the streets. When we assumed duty we only
> had
> > one prisoner so we knew it was going to be an easy shift. Before my
shift
> > the only time I had been in there was to drop off the folks we had
picked
> > up, I'd never spent a great deal of time in there. I was surprised to
> find
> > just how well these people are treated. Obviously we have a pretty
jaded
> > view of the guys that are in there as there's a good chance they have
been
> > responsible for some of the assaults on us or our other units. So they
> > require us to keep our distance from them. However we are required to
> give
> > them 3 meals a day, water, and let them go outside to use the restroom
> when
> > they need to. If they need medical attention we call up to battallion,
> and
> > the medic is down there in no time. They sleep on foam pads and have
> > blankets to cover up with. If you ask me they are living pretty good.
> They
> > are sleeping on the same pads as we are, so since we kind of resent that
> > fact we make sure to keep them awake as much as possible.
> > Since we just had one prisoner we were pretty laid back with him,
and
> > let him have a cigarette when we escorted him to the bathroom. This guy
> was
> > pretty educated, spoke excellent English and like everybody who ends up
in
> > there, he was innocent. The funny thing is, after hearing his story and
> > seeing the conviction in his eyes when he told it, I couldn't help but
> > believe him. I've seen firsthand what some of these people are brought
in
> > for, so its easy to see how a perfectly innocent man could be arrested.
> In
> > his case he was brought in because his father had too many AK-47
magazines
> > in his house. Not a real threat, but the people are limited to one
rifle
> > per home, 50 rounds of ammo in two magazines. So you've got this guy, a
> > shop owner downtown, he opens the doors for the soldiers as they come
in,
> > offers them drinks and food, things I've seen a hundred times. But
> > somewhere in the corner there are a few empty magazines, and that is
> grounds
> > to bring him in. Doesn't sound like much of a reason, but you have to
> > understand that they were searching that area because there was probably
a
> > known threat there, so anything like that was to be considered grounds
for
> > detaining someone.
> > Anyway, this poor guy is pretty relaxed, he realizes we mean him no
> > harm and he is really thankful for that. But as he starts to realize
that
> > he may not be released any time soon, he starts sobbing and crying,
> talking
> > about his son and his wife, how they are worried about him and he is
> worried
> > for them too. You have to understand that by this point we've all come
to
> > the conclusion that this guy is harmless. He's really westernized, we
> even
> > had conversations about american movie stars and hip hop artists and
stuff
> > like that- not your typical jihadist. We talked to this guy for a long
> > time, getting all kinds of interesting perspectives on things, questions
> > I've been wanting to know about the anti-American/anti-western sentiment
> > that you get from the middle east. I've found that there is a lot of
> > hypocracy in their stance against our ideals, and he really just
> reinforced
> > all that. See the way he explained it to me, the muslims dislike us for
> > obvious reasons-our culture represents pretty much everything that Islam
> > preaches against. Yet you can see on the streets here how your
> traditional
> > muslims are becoming old-fashioned and outdated. Obviously not in the
> time
> > that we have been here, but you can see the older women still wearing
> masks
> > and never leaving the houses while younger women walk around with their
> > faces exposed and pants on. Its pretty easy to realize that the culture
> is
> > steering away from traditional islamic customs and becoming more
> "American".
> > Kids wear Nike shirts and I've even seen Minnesota Vikings and
> > Philadelphia Eagles shirts. I wonder if they even know what that means?
> We
> > talked in great length about the situation now and what we are trying to
> > accomplish here. Speaking on behalf of the people he knew and not
> > neccesarily himself, Mohammed (which was his name by the way) explained
> that
> > the people here want democracy and want a new culture. They are
screaming
> > for big buildings, factories and industry, jobs, bridges, schools...all
> the
> > things that we have in America. Only, they don't want Americans here to
> get
> > all that. So when I asked him where they would be if Americans weren't
> here
> > to help them right now, he really couldn't answer me. He just shook his
> > head as if to say...nowhere. So I went on to ask him what he thought
our
> > relationship, as countries and cultures, would be if we could grant them
> > democracy and a chance at freedom, then we leave and let them do
whatever
> > they wish. Obviously he was hopeful that we could bridge some of the
gaps
> > between us, but I don't think either of us saw much of a chance of that
> > happening any time soon. But I've just gotta say that it was really
> > interesting to have a talk with an educated and open minded Iraqi for
> once,
> > one who could understand our position so well while explaining his in
> simple
> > terms. It was a really interesting day.
> > Just so you know, Mohammed was just released. I've never seen a
> grown
> > man so giddy. But he was shaking hands with us, even tried to give us
> hugs.
> > I'm pretty pleased with the way he left. There's one Iraqi out there
> now
> > with a better understanding of us and what we're trying to do here. I
> just
> > hope that he can spread some positive word on our behalf when he gets
> home.
> > I feel pretty certain he will, in the short time we knew him we got a
lot
> > out of each other. Its kind of ironic, but he was probably the nicest
> Iraqi
> > I've met yet, and I met him in a prison.
> > I leave for pass in two days. I may be going to FOB Marez sometime
> > tomorrow, just to wait for my flight. I am so excited, its going to be
> nice
> > to get away. Dad, I know its been awhile since I've written you, so
just
> to
> > catch you up to speed I'm going on a 4 day pass to a peninsula down
south.
> > There are occasional attacks down there, but I'll be out of the combat
> zone,
> > and that's the main thing. From what I hear the threat level is really
> low,
> > so I'll be able to relax for a few days.
> > Well, I am going to run now. Since Mohammed got released, we don't
> > have any more prisoners. Know what that means? I'm getting over like a
> fat
> > cat because while everybody else is pulling guard in the towers, I'm
gonna
> > be laid up in my room doing absolutely nothing! That is, as long as I
can
> > lay low and not let anybody know about it. We'll see how long that
lasts.
> > I hope you all are doing great. Love you both so much. Talk to you
> > later....> >
