Who's New at Kalsu
Even in a place where every day is Monday, some things do change. Of course there are the cycles of light and dark, the waxing and waning of the moon, hot water and no hot water, rice and no rice… But real change is also in the air - there are some new faces here lately.
On a recent morning as I was walking back to my tent after eating breakfast, I stopped to admire the sunrise. There were dozens of puffy clouds, suffused in a salmon glow on the east, and clothed in soft grey shadow on the west. They seemed to be streaming from the sun, which was rising redly from the morning haze. All this, against a background of deepest blue, made me stop and look. As I was standing there gaping at the sky, two civilians (who I had noticed are living in the transient tent opposite mine) came up and started teasing me about not being able to find my tent. “I know I left it here somewhere – let’s see, it’s big and green…” After laughing at their joke and agreeing about the beauty of the sunrise, we made our introductions. These two men, David and Tom, work for CBS on the television news program “60 Minutes.” Tom, a producer, and David, a cameraman, are here doing a story about Colonel Johnson, the Commanding Officer of the Marine Expeditionary Unit here at FOB Kalsu. Dan Rather is coming out this weekend to do the main interview. The others in the crew (that I know of) are Manny, the sound man, and Kirk, the “fixer.” He is a print journalist whose years of military experience help smooth the way for the whole team’s interactions with the Marines.
It was of course interesting to learn that little old Kalsu would be in the media spotlight, but it was also interesting just to talk to these journalists. Both of them have been here to Iraq half a dozen times or so, and have likely seen more of the country, and more of the war and occupation, than I have. We talked a little bit about the book I had recently read, “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning,” by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist (and UU) Chris Hedges. David had read it (or at least heard of it), but Tom had not, and David agreed about the “narcotic of war” that keeps people coming back for more. Tom was not so sure, and didn’t really say why he was here for the sixth time. Perhaps he just sees it as part of his job.
In a later conversation, David told me about his experience flying in a Huey helicopter on a counter-IED patrol, which he says got a little bit exciting. The door gunner noticed some Iraqis “throwing things on the road, and the crew went into full anti-IED mode.” He didn’t elaborate much about that, other than to say the pilot was banking the helicopter up on its side, with his side down. I think he got a little more excitement than he bargained for.
Some other new faces around here belong to Army National Guard soldiers from Mississippi. They have been trickling in here over the past few weeks, and I’m seeing more and more of them in the chowhall and gym, and fewer and fewer Marines. It’s easy to tell Marines and soldiers apart: we Marines have our own “special” design of camouflage utilities, called Marine Pattern (MARPAT) “digital” desert cammies, while the soldiers wear the standard “chocolate chip” desert cammies. Even in the gym we dress differently – Marines wear “green on green” and the Army wears “gray on black.”
There are many cultural differences between the Marine Corps and the Army as well. One night while taking a shower, I was trying to explain our water conserving shower technique - known to sailors and Marines as a “Navy shower” – whereby one gets wet, turns off the water, lathers up, then turns the water back on to rinse off. Of course the soldiers don’t know about “Navy showers,” but they do know about “field showers.” Aha. It’s just a matter of finding the right terminology.
And then there’s Hoo-ah. I don’t know its origin, but it’s the Army’s all-purpose word for “yes,” “outstanding,” “I agree,” and “I’m so motivated I don’t know what to say!” During my conversation about saving water in the showers, the soldier used Hoo-ah more than any other word. At least he was being agreeable.Of course Marines are much more eloquent than that. We have our own language for many things, and much of it is borrowed from the Navy. We swab the deck, not mop the floor. We secure the hatch, not shut the door. And no Marine would ever say “hoo-ah” to indicate agreement, enthusiasm, or motivation. No, as in those other cases, we have our own terminology, whose origin is similarly obscure - Marines say “OOH-RAH.”
On a recent morning as I was walking back to my tent after eating breakfast, I stopped to admire the sunrise. There were dozens of puffy clouds, suffused in a salmon glow on the east, and clothed in soft grey shadow on the west. They seemed to be streaming from the sun, which was rising redly from the morning haze. All this, against a background of deepest blue, made me stop and look. As I was standing there gaping at the sky, two civilians (who I had noticed are living in the transient tent opposite mine) came up and started teasing me about not being able to find my tent. “I know I left it here somewhere – let’s see, it’s big and green…” After laughing at their joke and agreeing about the beauty of the sunrise, we made our introductions. These two men, David and Tom, work for CBS on the television news program “60 Minutes.” Tom, a producer, and David, a cameraman, are here doing a story about Colonel Johnson, the Commanding Officer of the Marine Expeditionary Unit here at FOB Kalsu. Dan Rather is coming out this weekend to do the main interview. The others in the crew (that I know of) are Manny, the sound man, and Kirk, the “fixer.” He is a print journalist whose years of military experience help smooth the way for the whole team’s interactions with the Marines.
It was of course interesting to learn that little old Kalsu would be in the media spotlight, but it was also interesting just to talk to these journalists. Both of them have been here to Iraq half a dozen times or so, and have likely seen more of the country, and more of the war and occupation, than I have. We talked a little bit about the book I had recently read, “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning,” by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist (and UU) Chris Hedges. David had read it (or at least heard of it), but Tom had not, and David agreed about the “narcotic of war” that keeps people coming back for more. Tom was not so sure, and didn’t really say why he was here for the sixth time. Perhaps he just sees it as part of his job.
In a later conversation, David told me about his experience flying in a Huey helicopter on a counter-IED patrol, which he says got a little bit exciting. The door gunner noticed some Iraqis “throwing things on the road, and the crew went into full anti-IED mode.” He didn’t elaborate much about that, other than to say the pilot was banking the helicopter up on its side, with his side down. I think he got a little more excitement than he bargained for.
Some other new faces around here belong to Army National Guard soldiers from Mississippi. They have been trickling in here over the past few weeks, and I’m seeing more and more of them in the chowhall and gym, and fewer and fewer Marines. It’s easy to tell Marines and soldiers apart: we Marines have our own “special” design of camouflage utilities, called Marine Pattern (MARPAT) “digital” desert cammies, while the soldiers wear the standard “chocolate chip” desert cammies. Even in the gym we dress differently – Marines wear “green on green” and the Army wears “gray on black.”
There are many cultural differences between the Marine Corps and the Army as well. One night while taking a shower, I was trying to explain our water conserving shower technique - known to sailors and Marines as a “Navy shower” – whereby one gets wet, turns off the water, lathers up, then turns the water back on to rinse off. Of course the soldiers don’t know about “Navy showers,” but they do know about “field showers.” Aha. It’s just a matter of finding the right terminology.
And then there’s Hoo-ah. I don’t know its origin, but it’s the Army’s all-purpose word for “yes,” “outstanding,” “I agree,” and “I’m so motivated I don’t know what to say!” During my conversation about saving water in the showers, the soldier used Hoo-ah more than any other word. At least he was being agreeable.Of course Marines are much more eloquent than that. We have our own language for many things, and much of it is borrowed from the Navy. We swab the deck, not mop the floor. We secure the hatch, not shut the door. And no Marine would ever say “hoo-ah” to indicate agreement, enthusiasm, or motivation. No, as in those other cases, we have our own terminology, whose origin is similarly obscure - Marines say “OOH-RAH.”
posted by Greg at 1/23/2005 11:22:00 AM
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