thedrifter
08-05-08, 02:23 PM
Letters Home: The 'month of the mustache'
By By Capt. Ted Vickers,
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq — As the months go on here in Fallujah, the days and weeks seem to blend together. If it was not for the calendar I truly wouldn’t have any idea what day it was. Although the days are somewhat different, patrolling Fallujah one day, Ramadi the next, working in the office one day, meetings another — the same people, the same cities, the same food at the chow hall, it becomes a bit monotonous. Recently, some of the Marines of Regimental Combat Team 1 found an easy, culturally rewarding and fun way to combat the day in and day out routine of combat operations.
The “month of the mustache,” as it is now dubbed, is a common tradition for Marine units deployed. For the most part, Marines do not have facial hair; according to the regulations we can have a mustache, but the rules and regulations on it are so stringent that we typically refrain from growing one. However, in Iraq growing a mustache has become a fun and somewhat easy pastime for some of us.
It all started when a Marine in the command sent our Fragmentation Order (FragO) to all the company grade officers in the regiment. A FragO is change or amendment to a previous operational order; it is used in combat operations quite frequently and is a common thing here in Iraq. However, this one was much different. The title “the month of the mustache” said it all. It encouraged all Marines within the regiment to grow a mustache as something fun and different to do. Immediately I along with my Marines saw the fun in this endeavor and decided to partake in the mustache growing month.
Not only did we find that the month of the mustache was a hit with the Marines, but it was also a hit with the local Iraqis. Marines from RCT-1 frequently interact with the local population by providing security, training and help with essential services; you name it, we are there. Thus, we interact with every type of person in Iraqi society from farmers to teachers, doctors and policemen. In Iraq, it seems no matter where you stand in society by the time you hit your 20s you grow a mustache. It’s extremely rare to find an Iraqi who is older than 25 without a mustache. Furthermore, while it is mostly jokingly referenced, the size and thickness of an Iraqi man’s mustache is comparable to how much “wasta,” or power/influence, they have. The larger and thicker the mustache the more “wasta” you have. Since we have been growing them, they have been generating numerous comments from the local Iraqis. “You have much wasta,” referring to my mustache. Or they just point to it and say “wasta” — even the kids seem to like it.
After a few weeks of the “month of the mustache” it became clear who could grow one and whose baby face prevented all but the occasional hair from gracing their upper lip. In my shop, most of us had no problem, corporals McGinnis and Mann seemed to possess the unique ability to sprout a mustache within 24 hours, mine steadily became a thick feature on my lip and my chief SSgt Higgins began to grow more hair on his lip than on his head. Then there was the baby faced kid. For Cpl. Lienemann, try as he might, having blonde hair and looking like he is about 16, growing a mustache became a futile effort. All around the RCT you see Marines growing or, like in the case of Cpl. Lienemann, desperately attempting to grow, mustaches. In the Marine Corps, unlike the Army, we do not wear any devices on our uniform to distinguish what unit you are with. However, with the advent of the month of the mustache, people around Camp Fallujah know who is with RCT-1 by the scruffy hair on our upper lips.
The growing of the mustaches has evolved into a pseudo competition on who can grow the biggest mustache within the month. The month of the mustache seems to have taken on a life of its own; Marines are constantly speculating on whom they think has the most “wasta,” who will have the grand champion ’stache by the end of the month. It may sound trivial but the introduction of the month of the mustache has been a new welcome distraction to continuous combat operations.
As the temperatures rise and the days of August tick off the calendar it’s the simple things like the month of the mustache that keep us in a positive frame of mind. In combat, complacency kills, and sometimes it is hard not to get complacent, especially now that our area of operation has increasingly become more peaceful. However, even the oddest things that put a twist on a routine day can break the monotonous cycle, mitigating ever slightly the complacency that can creep in after months of combat operations. Nevertheless, I would be lying if I did not say I was slightly looking forward to the end of the month of the mustache — I have been compared to Burt Reynolds one to many times.
Captain Esteban “Ted” Vickers is a Marine currently serving with Regimental Combat Team 1 in Fallujah, Iraq. He is a 1994 graduate of Fruita Monument High School and is a Fruita resident.
Ellie
By By Capt. Ted Vickers,
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq — As the months go on here in Fallujah, the days and weeks seem to blend together. If it was not for the calendar I truly wouldn’t have any idea what day it was. Although the days are somewhat different, patrolling Fallujah one day, Ramadi the next, working in the office one day, meetings another — the same people, the same cities, the same food at the chow hall, it becomes a bit monotonous. Recently, some of the Marines of Regimental Combat Team 1 found an easy, culturally rewarding and fun way to combat the day in and day out routine of combat operations.
The “month of the mustache,” as it is now dubbed, is a common tradition for Marine units deployed. For the most part, Marines do not have facial hair; according to the regulations we can have a mustache, but the rules and regulations on it are so stringent that we typically refrain from growing one. However, in Iraq growing a mustache has become a fun and somewhat easy pastime for some of us.
It all started when a Marine in the command sent our Fragmentation Order (FragO) to all the company grade officers in the regiment. A FragO is change or amendment to a previous operational order; it is used in combat operations quite frequently and is a common thing here in Iraq. However, this one was much different. The title “the month of the mustache” said it all. It encouraged all Marines within the regiment to grow a mustache as something fun and different to do. Immediately I along with my Marines saw the fun in this endeavor and decided to partake in the mustache growing month.
Not only did we find that the month of the mustache was a hit with the Marines, but it was also a hit with the local Iraqis. Marines from RCT-1 frequently interact with the local population by providing security, training and help with essential services; you name it, we are there. Thus, we interact with every type of person in Iraqi society from farmers to teachers, doctors and policemen. In Iraq, it seems no matter where you stand in society by the time you hit your 20s you grow a mustache. It’s extremely rare to find an Iraqi who is older than 25 without a mustache. Furthermore, while it is mostly jokingly referenced, the size and thickness of an Iraqi man’s mustache is comparable to how much “wasta,” or power/influence, they have. The larger and thicker the mustache the more “wasta” you have. Since we have been growing them, they have been generating numerous comments from the local Iraqis. “You have much wasta,” referring to my mustache. Or they just point to it and say “wasta” — even the kids seem to like it.
After a few weeks of the “month of the mustache” it became clear who could grow one and whose baby face prevented all but the occasional hair from gracing their upper lip. In my shop, most of us had no problem, corporals McGinnis and Mann seemed to possess the unique ability to sprout a mustache within 24 hours, mine steadily became a thick feature on my lip and my chief SSgt Higgins began to grow more hair on his lip than on his head. Then there was the baby faced kid. For Cpl. Lienemann, try as he might, having blonde hair and looking like he is about 16, growing a mustache became a futile effort. All around the RCT you see Marines growing or, like in the case of Cpl. Lienemann, desperately attempting to grow, mustaches. In the Marine Corps, unlike the Army, we do not wear any devices on our uniform to distinguish what unit you are with. However, with the advent of the month of the mustache, people around Camp Fallujah know who is with RCT-1 by the scruffy hair on our upper lips.
The growing of the mustaches has evolved into a pseudo competition on who can grow the biggest mustache within the month. The month of the mustache seems to have taken on a life of its own; Marines are constantly speculating on whom they think has the most “wasta,” who will have the grand champion ’stache by the end of the month. It may sound trivial but the introduction of the month of the mustache has been a new welcome distraction to continuous combat operations.
As the temperatures rise and the days of August tick off the calendar it’s the simple things like the month of the mustache that keep us in a positive frame of mind. In combat, complacency kills, and sometimes it is hard not to get complacent, especially now that our area of operation has increasingly become more peaceful. However, even the oddest things that put a twist on a routine day can break the monotonous cycle, mitigating ever slightly the complacency that can creep in after months of combat operations. Nevertheless, I would be lying if I did not say I was slightly looking forward to the end of the month of the mustache — I have been compared to Burt Reynolds one to many times.
Captain Esteban “Ted” Vickers is a Marine currently serving with Regimental Combat Team 1 in Fallujah, Iraq. He is a 1994 graduate of Fruita Monument High School and is a Fruita resident.
Ellie