Posted on 02/21/2010 6:09:55 AM PST by shoptalk
They had slogged through knee-deep mud carrying 100 pounds of gear, fingers glued to the triggers of their M-4 carbines, all the while on the lookout for insurgents. Now, after five near-sleepless nights, trying to avoid hypothermia in freezing temperatures, the grunts of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment finally had a moment to relax.
As the sun set Thursday evening over the rubbled market where they set up camp, four of them sat around an overturned blue bucket and began playing cards. A few cracked open dog-eared paperbacks. Some heated their rations-in-a-bag, savoring their first warm dinner in days. Many doffed their helmets and armored vests.
Then - before the game was over, the chapters finished, the meals cooked - the war roared back at them.
The staccato crack of incoming rounds echoed across the market. In an instant, the Marines grabbed their vests and guns. The 50-caliber gunner on the roof thumped back return fire, as did several Marines with clattering, belt-fed machine guns. High-explosive mortar rounds, intended to suppress the insurgent fire, whooshed overhead.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Working in partnership with Afghan soldiers, U.S. Marines are undertaking a major operation to flush out insurgents and allow the Afghan government to reassert control over an area in southern Afghanistan called Marja.
Photo gallery (66 outstanding images) here.
This is not war the old-fashioned way with Obama’s rules of engagement.
Bad news for the bad guys....
Ping to your Teufelhunden list.
They sound like they’d be happier if the PC MREs had cigarettes like C-rats did. Sometimes that was the only good thing about C-rats.
Great photo gallery!
Thanks for the article, decent reporting. Unfortunately, I don’t trust the reporter, Rajiv Chandrasekaran. He’s a typical lib who gets himself imbedded with troops and then releases material attacking the military later on.
He wrote a very critical book called “The Green Zone” (or something similar) about Iraq. In response, it was revealed he did not travel outside the Green Zone himself, but relied on Iraqis to tell him what was going on outside the safety of his military-protected enclosure.
Nothing wrong w/ this article, just a warning that Chandrasekaran is just using the opportunity to make notes for a future “expose” on what the military did wrong in Afghanistan.
God Bless this young marine. That’s called “Warrior Spirit’’. Keep them all safe Lord. And send their enemies to Hell.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.