GoChiefs
03-03-2006, 11:44 PM
This guy is a friend of mine. I thought this was a pretty cool list.
Since it was questioned about whether or not I had perished by roadside bomb in another thread, and combined with the basic negativity about Iraq, I decided to post a few good things that I've expirienced since I've been here.
1. Our platoon was placed in charge of what was considered one of the most dangerous and violent sections of Baghdad, since our platoon put boots onto the ground in late Dec/early January attacks against our guys have dropped alomst 80% according to the British guys we work with.
2. The local Iraqis have come to like alot of us, we've become a familiar sight patrolling through virtually every neighborhood, we also get out of the humvees and frequently talk to everyone from store owners to random people on the street.
3. We hand out soccer balls, ALOT of ****ing soccer balls. The kids love the damned things and we pick some kids that look like they need them (ones who are playing with old ones that barely look like they'll last) alot of the parents seem appreciative of us helping their kids out.
4. We stopped at the equivilant of a coffee shop and the Iraqis there acted like the cast of Cheers, greeting us and offering us hits from the Hookah they had (it had black licorice stuff in it according to the three guys who smoked a bit) pictures were taken.
5. The Public Order Brigades (POB) that are predominantly Shi'ite Muslims were reported to have abused their authority with the local populace (which is comprised of Sunni, Shi'ite, and Christians). We vowed to speak with the POB and did so. We've not had large scale reports of POB acting out of turn in our area in a little while now, they know that our platoon is watching them.
6. We've assisted in helping Mosques protect themselves, supplying them with C-Wire which they use to block off the section of road in front of the Mosques so no VBIEDs are placed in front of the Mosques to damage them or hurt the people that pray there. As far as I know, the Innams (or the ones who run the Mosques in their abscence) have been very appreciative of these acts and our show that we care about their protection.
7. Due to the amount of trust our Platoon has with some of the populace we've been slowly getting intel about insurgents that we've not had before, intel that apparently, will be put to good use soon.
8. We've had massive gatherings where we've spoken to literally two hundred Iraqis at once, not once have these gatherings grown violent or anti-American in fact, it seems that many Iraqis have apparently walked away from them with the idea that SOMEONE gives a shit about what goes on in their neighborhood.
9. We bought bread from a local bakery the other day, to give you an idea of how signifigant this was, local business refused to sell to Americans for fear of insurgent reprisal when we first arrived.
10. Our platoon gives out our Company Commander's cell phone number and told that if they need assistance or wish to give us intel, to call that number. This has improved our standing with the locals and contributed towards the trust factor that we've been trying to build.
Since it was questioned about whether or not I had perished by roadside bomb in another thread, and combined with the basic negativity about Iraq, I decided to post a few good things that I've expirienced since I've been here.
1. Our platoon was placed in charge of what was considered one of the most dangerous and violent sections of Baghdad, since our platoon put boots onto the ground in late Dec/early January attacks against our guys have dropped alomst 80% according to the British guys we work with.
2. The local Iraqis have come to like alot of us, we've become a familiar sight patrolling through virtually every neighborhood, we also get out of the humvees and frequently talk to everyone from store owners to random people on the street.
3. We hand out soccer balls, ALOT of ****ing soccer balls. The kids love the damned things and we pick some kids that look like they need them (ones who are playing with old ones that barely look like they'll last) alot of the parents seem appreciative of us helping their kids out.
4. We stopped at the equivilant of a coffee shop and the Iraqis there acted like the cast of Cheers, greeting us and offering us hits from the Hookah they had (it had black licorice stuff in it according to the three guys who smoked a bit) pictures were taken.
5. The Public Order Brigades (POB) that are predominantly Shi'ite Muslims were reported to have abused their authority with the local populace (which is comprised of Sunni, Shi'ite, and Christians). We vowed to speak with the POB and did so. We've not had large scale reports of POB acting out of turn in our area in a little while now, they know that our platoon is watching them.
6. We've assisted in helping Mosques protect themselves, supplying them with C-Wire which they use to block off the section of road in front of the Mosques so no VBIEDs are placed in front of the Mosques to damage them or hurt the people that pray there. As far as I know, the Innams (or the ones who run the Mosques in their abscence) have been very appreciative of these acts and our show that we care about their protection.
7. Due to the amount of trust our Platoon has with some of the populace we've been slowly getting intel about insurgents that we've not had before, intel that apparently, will be put to good use soon.
8. We've had massive gatherings where we've spoken to literally two hundred Iraqis at once, not once have these gatherings grown violent or anti-American in fact, it seems that many Iraqis have apparently walked away from them with the idea that SOMEONE gives a shit about what goes on in their neighborhood.
9. We bought bread from a local bakery the other day, to give you an idea of how signifigant this was, local business refused to sell to Americans for fear of insurgent reprisal when we first arrived.
10. Our platoon gives out our Company Commander's cell phone number and told that if they need assistance or wish to give us intel, to call that number. This has improved our standing with the locals and contributed towards the trust factor that we've been trying to build.