thedrifter
12-01-05, 06:19 PM
As They Stand Up
By Callimachus
Veteran and blogger Bill Roggio is reporting from Iraq, in an area near the Syrian border where the U.S. Marines are handing over control of daily operations to Iraqi forces. His assessment is one you get from a lot of sources on the ground in Iraq. They’re making progress. But it’s painfully slow. Tipping points are something you recognize after you’ve passed them. Who knows how close we are?
The Marines of 1st Platoon of Lima Company have varied opinions of the Iraqi soldiers, which range from unimpressed to pleasantly surprised at their courage and fighting abilities. Several explained how Iraqi troops saved their hides during Operation Steel Curtain, when the Iraqis identified a home the Marines were going to enter as being rigged with IEDs. When Explosive Ordnance Disposal arrived on scene and detonated the device, the entire house was destroyed in the blast. “Most of our squad would have been killed in that house. They saved my and my friends’ lives that day” said Lance Corporal Mendoza.
The Marines have worked with several groups of Iraqi troops, they’ll tell you there are good soldiers and bad soldiers, and some units are better than others. This is the story of all armies. The words of respect, coming from these Marines who have set high standards for performance, gives hope for the future of the Iraqi Army.
Courtesy of Mrs. Greyhawk, whose daily roundups are an important source of points of view you’re probably not getting much of if you’re getting it all from the newspapers and the TV news. By which I mean not “good news” (it’s not all good here, far from it), but unfiltered real experiences of real people involved in the actual process of whatever it is we’re doing.
Ellie
By Callimachus
Veteran and blogger Bill Roggio is reporting from Iraq, in an area near the Syrian border where the U.S. Marines are handing over control of daily operations to Iraqi forces. His assessment is one you get from a lot of sources on the ground in Iraq. They’re making progress. But it’s painfully slow. Tipping points are something you recognize after you’ve passed them. Who knows how close we are?
The Marines of 1st Platoon of Lima Company have varied opinions of the Iraqi soldiers, which range from unimpressed to pleasantly surprised at their courage and fighting abilities. Several explained how Iraqi troops saved their hides during Operation Steel Curtain, when the Iraqis identified a home the Marines were going to enter as being rigged with IEDs. When Explosive Ordnance Disposal arrived on scene and detonated the device, the entire house was destroyed in the blast. “Most of our squad would have been killed in that house. They saved my and my friends’ lives that day” said Lance Corporal Mendoza.
The Marines have worked with several groups of Iraqi troops, they’ll tell you there are good soldiers and bad soldiers, and some units are better than others. This is the story of all armies. The words of respect, coming from these Marines who have set high standards for performance, gives hope for the future of the Iraqi Army.
Courtesy of Mrs. Greyhawk, whose daily roundups are an important source of points of view you’re probably not getting much of if you’re getting it all from the newspapers and the TV news. By which I mean not “good news” (it’s not all good here, far from it), but unfiltered real experiences of real people involved in the actual process of whatever it is we’re doing.
Ellie