.AP Blog: Candy Protocol in Iraqi Towns
AP Correspondent Robert H. Reid covers Iraq events from Baghdad. AP Correspondent Rebecca Santana is embedded with the First Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. Antonio Castaneda is embedded with the U.S. Marines, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Regiment.
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Saturday, Aug. 19, 10:41 p.m. local
CAMP ADDER
Driving through the town of Al Batha in a Humvee is a little like driving through American suburbia with an ice cream truck: Kids come running from every direction. The main reason is that some soldier, some time ago threw those kids candy or toys from the turret of a Humvee, and now every time an American military vehicle rolls by, the kids think there's a treat in it for them. They run alongside the Humvees - often precariously close to the vehicle - asking for everything from candy to my prescription glasses.
Their aggressiveness can make them a little less endearing than your average 5-year-old. The American troops have rules about when and where they can give out gifts, and throwing them from a moving vehicle is strictly forbidden. The soldiers seem to follow this rule pretty closely; no one wants to be the person to run over a grade-schooler. If they do hand out treats or toys during a visit to a town, it's always done at the end of the visit. If you hand out candy at the beginning of the visit, none of the kids is going to believe you don't have anything left, and they'll be so insistent it's almost impossible to conduct business.
One of the final rules is that if you're handing out candy or toys, make sure there's enough for everyone. These kids aren't sharing. It's easy to see why the children are so desperate for handouts. Most of them appear to be exceedingly poor, running through the sewage-filled streets with no shoes on and wearing old, tattered clothes. Employment in this area is about 40 percent, so their parents obviously can't buy them many special gifts.
- Rebecca Santana
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Thursday, Aug. 17, 2:30 a.m. local
CAMP LIBERTY
Everyone else saw the flash. I just heard the boom.
We were traveling in a convoy carrying supplies north to Baghdad when a convoy behind us tried to overtake us on the other side of the road. One of their vehicles hit some type of bomb, what the military calls an improvised explosive device, the insurgents' weapon of choice. They are often laid by the side of the road in hopes of hitting a passing convoy or American military vehicle.
No one was hurt during this explosion, but pieces of the IED hit one of the trucks carrying supplies - just missing the driver's foot and head - and gave the vehicle a flat tire.
We circled around back to check on the situation and make sure the driver was okay. Then the drivers - mostly foreign nationals from countries such as Saudi Arabia or India with a few American drivers dispersed through the length of the convoy - fixed the flat tire. There's no AAA out here, and we're a long way from a Jiffy Lube. As we waited on the road, a number of convoys rolled past us, moving north and south delivering supplies around the country. They don't stop for bathroom breaks or to get food or to fix much more than a flat tire. If a truck has a serious breakdown or is completely disabled by an IED, the driver jumps in another vehicle, and the truck is left there.
Once the flat was fixed, we headed out once again. I must admit the IED scared the living daylights out of me, but it's the least of what the guys I was traveling with have seen. After we left the scene of the IED strike, the guys in my Humvee and I bet on when and if we would hit another one. My bet was that we'd make it to Baghdad International Airport without any more explosions, and I won.
My prize is a free trip back down south on the same route, and a cup of coffee.
- Rebecca Santana
---
Friday, Aug. 11, 7:55 p.m. local
HADITHA
Everyone hates doing laundry. Especially when someone's firing a heavy machine gun at you.
This afternoon I decided to wash some clothes. The Marines had somehow acquired four primitive washing machines that, despite being a far cry from the Maytag beast in your home, still managed to get the job done. It was a quiet, good afternoon to get a required chore out of the way.
As I rinsed off my clothes with a hose, I could hear speakers at a nearby mosque broadcast an impassioned sermon during Friday prayers. Though dryers weren't available, I could count on the 110 degree heat to dry off my clothes in just over an hour. It should have been a quick, simple process.
But later, as I took down t-shirts and socks from a clothes line, I was startled when a flurry of bullets hit the complex. The sharp metallic sound of bullets impacting against the building rang in my ears. For a moment, I thought the bullets were striking a lookout post just above me.
I immediately knelt down, clean undershorts in hand. Marines saw four insurgents down the street shooting at the base, including one firing a PKC, a powerful Russian machine gun. Another insurgent tried but failed to fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the base.
I had a problem. The path back inside the base was exposed to the street. To get back behind safe walls I was going to have to get through a clearing where the gunmen could possibly see me. Bullets continued hitting the base.
Seconds later I heard a closer rumble of gunfire - a Marine shooting back - so I ran through the clearing. For some reason I was still carrying my clean clothes. Ahead of me I saw a Marine running indoors from the washing machines.
Inside, excited Marines were rapidly organizing a response. One Marine quickly drew down an attack plan with a marker. After several months in the city, the Marines from Company I, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Regiment were quite familiar with city streets. Safely inside, I ate an English muffin and watched the Marines react.
These things happen in Iraq. I doubt many of the Marines in the building - most of whom had served a tour in Afghanistan - hadn't been shot at one time or another. Journalists weren't exempt either: About 10 minutes after I first visited Haditha last May I was greeted with hail of bullets and mortars.
The vast majority of the time U.S. troops only catch fleeting glimpses of insurgents. But this time was different. The Marines bounded out the door with an idea of where the gunmen fled. About a half hour later I saw the company's executive officer, 1st Lt. Justin Bellman of Newark, Delaware, with a broad grin.
"We got three of them," proudly announced Bellman, an energetic Marine and Citadel graduate. The men had been found and captured in a nearby palm grove with their weapons. The detainees were just arriving into the base for questioning. The Marines who chased after the gunmen were covered in sweat.
About an hour later, I retrieved some leftover socks and a towel I still had hanging on the clothes line. This time I walked back into the base a little faster.
- Antonio Castaneda
---
Wednesday, Aug. 9, 11:41 p.m. local
HADITHA
My hand probed until I found something close to what I was looking for: the M&M brownies in a care package sent from America. I was particularly hungry, and the sweets were a welcome sight - until I noticed a slip of paper inside the same box. The paper read, "You won't be home for Christmas ... but you'll be in our hearts." It was August - at least 8 months after the holidays.
The vast majority of U.S. troops eat quite well while in Iraq. Though the food can get repetitivek, and sometimes fresh fruits are missing, most troops do not complain about well-stocked dining halls. Earlier this week one Marine even admitted to me that he eats better in Iraq than he does back in California.
Sometimes the options are surprising for their quality and variety. In the last month I've had eggplant parmigiana, fried shrimp, and I even saw eggnog being served in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Indian contract workers who work on many U.S. bases are also known to make a decent plate of curry on occasion.
But there are dire exceptions. In remote outposts in western Iraq, U.S. Marines usually eat endless rounds of prepackaged food known as MREs, Meals Ready to Eat, or T-RATS, tray rations. Troops can manage on these for a while, but after 3-4 months such heavily processed food loses the little appeal it originally had. I've met Marines that have lost 25 pounds on a 7-month deployment.
There are sources of relief, though. Many troops receive care packages sent by family and friends back home; military support groups also send out loads of packaged food. Sometimes the packages can spark jealous exchanges. Today I heard a Marine complain about someone who had somehow acquired blueberry pancake mix. Last month in Ramadi, I heard Marines gripe about a Navy medic who had roast beef stored in a private refrigerator.
In some outposts, I've noticed troops get by on large silver pouches of tuna fish. Everyone in the military loves tuna - especially when they're confronted with the option of diving into an MRE that's designed to last 10 years. I happily ate tuna fish sandwiches for a week straight in a Marine base in Ramadi. It was delicious, as you can imagine, but few will catch me eating tuna back in the U.S.
This afternoon, on the way back to this commandeered elementary school that serves as home to dozens of Marines, grunts discussed the evening's dining options. Most hoped they wouldn't be served pork ribs, a common entree that had become too common. The meal ended up being "country chicken" and stuffing. The stuffing ran out when I was in line, giving me the chance to watch a young Marine display his culinary method. He cursed until he found a silver package of bread crumbs that he poured into a green tray. Then he poured steaming cups of water on top and stirred. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, especially with hot sauce.
As for the brownies, I decided that expiration dates were overrated. I dared to eat half of one.
- Antonio Castaneda
MyWay
More at the link
---
Saturday, Aug. 19, 10:41 p.m. local
CAMP ADDER
Driving through the town of Al Batha in a Humvee is a little like driving through American suburbia with an ice cream truck: Kids come running from every direction. The main reason is that some soldier, some time ago threw those kids candy or toys from the turret of a Humvee, and now every time an American military vehicle rolls by, the kids think there's a treat in it for them. They run alongside the Humvees - often precariously close to the vehicle - asking for everything from candy to my prescription glasses.
Their aggressiveness can make them a little less endearing than your average 5-year-old. The American troops have rules about when and where they can give out gifts, and throwing them from a moving vehicle is strictly forbidden. The soldiers seem to follow this rule pretty closely; no one wants to be the person to run over a grade-schooler. If they do hand out treats or toys during a visit to a town, it's always done at the end of the visit. If you hand out candy at the beginning of the visit, none of the kids is going to believe you don't have anything left, and they'll be so insistent it's almost impossible to conduct business.
One of the final rules is that if you're handing out candy or toys, make sure there's enough for everyone. These kids aren't sharing. It's easy to see why the children are so desperate for handouts. Most of them appear to be exceedingly poor, running through the sewage-filled streets with no shoes on and wearing old, tattered clothes. Employment in this area is about 40 percent, so their parents obviously can't buy them many special gifts.
- Rebecca Santana
---
Thursday, Aug. 17, 2:30 a.m. local
CAMP LIBERTY
Everyone else saw the flash. I just heard the boom.
We were traveling in a convoy carrying supplies north to Baghdad when a convoy behind us tried to overtake us on the other side of the road. One of their vehicles hit some type of bomb, what the military calls an improvised explosive device, the insurgents' weapon of choice. They are often laid by the side of the road in hopes of hitting a passing convoy or American military vehicle.
No one was hurt during this explosion, but pieces of the IED hit one of the trucks carrying supplies - just missing the driver's foot and head - and gave the vehicle a flat tire.
We circled around back to check on the situation and make sure the driver was okay. Then the drivers - mostly foreign nationals from countries such as Saudi Arabia or India with a few American drivers dispersed through the length of the convoy - fixed the flat tire. There's no AAA out here, and we're a long way from a Jiffy Lube. As we waited on the road, a number of convoys rolled past us, moving north and south delivering supplies around the country. They don't stop for bathroom breaks or to get food or to fix much more than a flat tire. If a truck has a serious breakdown or is completely disabled by an IED, the driver jumps in another vehicle, and the truck is left there.
Once the flat was fixed, we headed out once again. I must admit the IED scared the living daylights out of me, but it's the least of what the guys I was traveling with have seen. After we left the scene of the IED strike, the guys in my Humvee and I bet on when and if we would hit another one. My bet was that we'd make it to Baghdad International Airport without any more explosions, and I won.
My prize is a free trip back down south on the same route, and a cup of coffee.
- Rebecca Santana
---
Friday, Aug. 11, 7:55 p.m. local
HADITHA
Everyone hates doing laundry. Especially when someone's firing a heavy machine gun at you.
This afternoon I decided to wash some clothes. The Marines had somehow acquired four primitive washing machines that, despite being a far cry from the Maytag beast in your home, still managed to get the job done. It was a quiet, good afternoon to get a required chore out of the way.
As I rinsed off my clothes with a hose, I could hear speakers at a nearby mosque broadcast an impassioned sermon during Friday prayers. Though dryers weren't available, I could count on the 110 degree heat to dry off my clothes in just over an hour. It should have been a quick, simple process.
But later, as I took down t-shirts and socks from a clothes line, I was startled when a flurry of bullets hit the complex. The sharp metallic sound of bullets impacting against the building rang in my ears. For a moment, I thought the bullets were striking a lookout post just above me.
I immediately knelt down, clean undershorts in hand. Marines saw four insurgents down the street shooting at the base, including one firing a PKC, a powerful Russian machine gun. Another insurgent tried but failed to fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the base.
I had a problem. The path back inside the base was exposed to the street. To get back behind safe walls I was going to have to get through a clearing where the gunmen could possibly see me. Bullets continued hitting the base.
Seconds later I heard a closer rumble of gunfire - a Marine shooting back - so I ran through the clearing. For some reason I was still carrying my clean clothes. Ahead of me I saw a Marine running indoors from the washing machines.
Inside, excited Marines were rapidly organizing a response. One Marine quickly drew down an attack plan with a marker. After several months in the city, the Marines from Company I, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Regiment were quite familiar with city streets. Safely inside, I ate an English muffin and watched the Marines react.
These things happen in Iraq. I doubt many of the Marines in the building - most of whom had served a tour in Afghanistan - hadn't been shot at one time or another. Journalists weren't exempt either: About 10 minutes after I first visited Haditha last May I was greeted with hail of bullets and mortars.
The vast majority of the time U.S. troops only catch fleeting glimpses of insurgents. But this time was different. The Marines bounded out the door with an idea of where the gunmen fled. About a half hour later I saw the company's executive officer, 1st Lt. Justin Bellman of Newark, Delaware, with a broad grin.
"We got three of them," proudly announced Bellman, an energetic Marine and Citadel graduate. The men had been found and captured in a nearby palm grove with their weapons. The detainees were just arriving into the base for questioning. The Marines who chased after the gunmen were covered in sweat.
About an hour later, I retrieved some leftover socks and a towel I still had hanging on the clothes line. This time I walked back into the base a little faster.
- Antonio Castaneda
---
Wednesday, Aug. 9, 11:41 p.m. local
HADITHA
My hand probed until I found something close to what I was looking for: the M&M brownies in a care package sent from America. I was particularly hungry, and the sweets were a welcome sight - until I noticed a slip of paper inside the same box. The paper read, "You won't be home for Christmas ... but you'll be in our hearts." It was August - at least 8 months after the holidays.
The vast majority of U.S. troops eat quite well while in Iraq. Though the food can get repetitivek, and sometimes fresh fruits are missing, most troops do not complain about well-stocked dining halls. Earlier this week one Marine even admitted to me that he eats better in Iraq than he does back in California.
Sometimes the options are surprising for their quality and variety. In the last month I've had eggplant parmigiana, fried shrimp, and I even saw eggnog being served in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Indian contract workers who work on many U.S. bases are also known to make a decent plate of curry on occasion.
But there are dire exceptions. In remote outposts in western Iraq, U.S. Marines usually eat endless rounds of prepackaged food known as MREs, Meals Ready to Eat, or T-RATS, tray rations. Troops can manage on these for a while, but after 3-4 months such heavily processed food loses the little appeal it originally had. I've met Marines that have lost 25 pounds on a 7-month deployment.
There are sources of relief, though. Many troops receive care packages sent by family and friends back home; military support groups also send out loads of packaged food. Sometimes the packages can spark jealous exchanges. Today I heard a Marine complain about someone who had somehow acquired blueberry pancake mix. Last month in Ramadi, I heard Marines gripe about a Navy medic who had roast beef stored in a private refrigerator.
In some outposts, I've noticed troops get by on large silver pouches of tuna fish. Everyone in the military loves tuna - especially when they're confronted with the option of diving into an MRE that's designed to last 10 years. I happily ate tuna fish sandwiches for a week straight in a Marine base in Ramadi. It was delicious, as you can imagine, but few will catch me eating tuna back in the U.S.
This afternoon, on the way back to this commandeered elementary school that serves as home to dozens of Marines, grunts discussed the evening's dining options. Most hoped they wouldn't be served pork ribs, a common entree that had become too common. The meal ended up being "country chicken" and stuffing. The stuffing ran out when I was in line, giving me the chance to watch a young Marine display his culinary method. He cursed until he found a silver package of bread crumbs that he poured into a green tray. Then he poured steaming cups of water on top and stirred. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, especially with hot sauce.
As for the brownies, I decided that expiration dates were overrated. I dared to eat half of one.
- Antonio Castaneda
MyWay
More at the link
posted by madtom at 10:33 PM
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