TW in Iraq #7: MREs, Combat Gear and Porta-Johns
Posted by Lance Corporal Sean Barney, USMC Mon, 17 Apr 2006 21:56:00 GMT
(This arrived at Third Way as a letter from Sean dated 4/6/2006)
Fallujah, Iraq
We’ve been in Fallujah for about a week now. Our work rotation has kept us extremely busy. We rotate between patrolling and conducting operations, standing ready as a quick reaction force, manning observation posts throughout the city, and standing guard post at our FOB. A couple of days ago we conducted a raid on the house of a suspected, big-time weapons smuggler. The raid went off without incident and the suspected gun-runner is now in the custody of the Iraqi authorities. This morning we saw some small arms fire in front of our observation post overlooking one of the main entry points to the city. We all jumped up and reinforced those standing watch but the gunmen ran off quickly after firing a few potshots.
Our FOB is not bad.
The inside of the building is relatively secure. We have electricity and the Marines who were in the room my squad is staying in left behind a television, so were able to watch DVDs. Hot chow is served in the morning and the evening, so unless we are out on post or on a mission at those times, we only have to eat MREs once a day. The biggest nuisances are that the showers, sinks, and porta-johns are outside the building and it is only safe to go outside without full combat gear at night after curfew. Also, because of a lack of water, we are only able to shower every third day (and we don’t always have time to do it then anyhow). Otherwise, I can’t really complain.
This first week that we’ve been here, we’ve had squad leaders and officers from the active-duty company we’re relieving going out on missions with us, providing us with pointers, and showing us the lay of the land in the city. They’ve been very helpful and it has been good to talk with them. Despite having gone through some rough episodes, they all seemed in good spirits. Their experience showed in their composure and decisiveness. They were good role models to have around as we made the transition to an environment that is wholly new to most of us in my company.