Sunday, April 22, 2007

Respect and Commeradery


And the hits just keep on coming. A week or two ago one of our up-armored Bradley’s took a hit. Everyone walked away. The armor has proven effective. Then just in the last day or two, a fighting vehicle took an armor piercing round. Our armor again protected the driver and reduced casualties.

This is good. Along with a good all-around job, it’s good to know our teams are making a difference. We are now opening a second facility on another base. The original number of requested armored vehicles in contract has been almost doubled. We’ll be here a bit longer.

I’ve also read reports that, along with the surge in troop numbers, came a change in the manner that Iraqi troops and police are trained. Full coalition units are deploying with the Iraqis instead of just sending a few trainers or observers. The Iraqis are learning quicker and taking pride in their accomplishments.

American soldiers are reporting now that, instead of the American soldiers always pulling the wounded Iraqi soldiers to safety in a firefight, Iraqi soldiers are now rescuing American counter-parts as well. The respect and commeradery are growing.

Iraqi men deem it a great honor now to join the Iraqi forces and fight for their country. All these things seem to me to be some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. But there is of course still much to do.

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