Posted on 04/07/2005 6:04:02 AM PDT by freeplancer
Hey fellow Freepers, I just wanted to post a brief report regarding the small base I am currently at and the great individuals that operate in and around this place.
The troops' morale is really great and I am with tons of the stop-loss crowd, so I speak the truth. The very few dissenters are actually disgruntled people that originally thought of the military as a different form of welfare, so therefore, they are shunned by the many.
Before coming here, I wanted to eliminate my biases regarding the MSM's reporting of the Iraqis not liking us. So far, the Iraqi civilians I have run into are very sincere in their greetings and dealings with us, however, you can see something in their eyes that begs to know that we are here for the duration. I work closely with an Arabic-speaking individual and she claims that many Iraqi people try to confirm any rumors that we might be relocating to a different base of operations or anything that might hint at us not staying here for a while. We try to be as comforting as possible and it is appreciated.
I have many other tidbits, but time is short. As a side note, when Michael Jackson news comes on Fox News in the chow hall, every one laughs really loud. It is so funny that we go to eat and glue our eyes to the TV just hoping for a MJ mention. Precious. Sorry for not doing a spell check and I probably missed a few paragraphs.
An all too common observation that people who serve in Iraq share with me. Thanks for your service!
To freeplancer -- Give your colleagues a hearty "Well Done" for all of us here state-side. I sometimes do not know how to let the troops know how much I support you and am thankful for your and your families' sacrifices. Please pass this on. I watch in awe and wonder as you have transformed that hell-hole of a place into a country full of hope and new life. Well done.
Thank you very much for your service.
Thank you greatly freeplancer for this uplifing post! I pray that you and those in your unit stay safe. You are all greatly appreciated back home in the U.S....no matter what the MSM would try to have us all believe. Sending out a great big hug to y'all over there!!
Thanks for posting what is really happening!
Good to hear from you. Thanks for taking the time to let us know what's happening.
You and your fellow soldiers are the best! To say you are appreciated is an understatement's understatement.
The very few dissenters are actually disgruntled people that originally thought of the military as a different form of welfare
Realities a bi*ch ain't it!
The driver yelled Were gonna die!, and turned into the fire. The co-driver kicked out the remains of the windshield and leaned out with his SAW, firing at the muzzle flashes.
Score:
Americans 6 wounded.
Iraqis 26 dead.
I LOVE IT!
Thanks for your service!
If you have a way of sharing messages with your crew, I hope you can share today's Peggy Noonan column . Perception versus reality in Communist Poland 25 years ago. I'm not posting it to bring God or the Pope into this conversation, but to show that millions of people participated in an event that the controlled media did not show to the public.
It reminds me of the act of faith in freedom that the Iraqi voters showed on Jan 30.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/
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So it [the Mass at Blonie field] was a redeclaration of the Polish spirit, which is a free spirit. And those who were there went home a different people, a people who saw themselves differently, not as victims of history but as strugglers for Christ.
Another crucial thing happened, after the mass was over. Everyone who was there went home and turned on the news that night to see the pictures of the incredible crowd and the incredible pope. But state-controlled TV did not show the crowds. They did a brief report that showed a shot of the pope standing and speaking for a second or two. State television did not acknowledge or admit what a phenomenon John Paul's visit was, or what it had unleashed.
The people who had been at the mass could compare the reality they had witnessed with their own eyes with the propaganda their media reported. They could see the discrepancy. This left the people of Poland able to say at once and together, definitively, with no room for argument: It's all lies. Everything this government says is a lie. Everything it is is a lie.
Whatever legitimacy the government could pretend to, it began to lose. One by one the people of Poland said to themselves, or for themselves within themselves: It is over.
And when 10 million Poles said that to themselves, it was over in Poland. And when it was over in Poland, it was over in Eastern Europe. And when it was over in Eastern Europe, it was over in the Soviet Union. And when it was over in the Soviet Union, well, it was over.
If the score had be reversed, it would have been all over the news.
Don't Worry,
Some of us out here in cubicle land live to hear of good, up-beat, first hand accounts of your experiences in Iraq.
God be with you and thank you very much for your service.
"IT IS ALL GOOD". We hope to hear from you again and again on FreeRepublic. We love to hear from our military in Iraq. Please know that here in America you are honored and loved and we are eternally grateful!
Thanks for the ping!
No doubt.
The sad part is that we're just as starved for real news about you folks there as you are about what's going on in the States. The AP produced a gaggle of Pulitzer Prize photos day before yesterday and to look at them you'd think we're being run out of town on a rail. Your reports are a breath of truth! Watch yer six, my friend, and thanks for your service.
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