Man In The Sand
Written by Greg Victor on July 28, 2009
And now, our weekly communication with “Maverick” (not his real name, but “Top Gun” is a movie I know he likes). Maverick is still sweating it out in Kirkuk, Iraq. Let’s check in and see what’s going on in the sandbox…
Greg:
Welcome back to Parcbench. Ready for a few questions?
MAVERICK:
Sure.
Greg:
Can you describe your past 24 hours (so that we get a sense of what a typical day this week was like)?
A normal day usually is an early wake-up at 5 am… doing P.T. (“Physical Training”) from 5:30-6:30am… then morning chow. If we go on a mission, it is usually around 9am. Depending on whether there are two (missions) or not, we are out until about 5pm. Then it’s time to come back to do an A.A.R. (“After Action Review”), and then straight to dinner chow. Then we go to squad notes at night to see what the next day’s missions will be.
Greg:
What’s the chow these days?
MAVERICK:
Chow is really random but mostly re-heated meals. They’re not very appetizing.
Greg:
What food do you miss most?
MAVERICK:
Chicken alfredo, for sure.
Greg:
Do you eat the local cuisine?
MAVERICK:
Yea we eat the haji’s food… kabobs and falafels. I won’t touch anything else besides those usually.
Greg:
When you go out on a mission, what do you usually do?
MAVERICK:
Lately all we do are meet-and-greets with local shop owners. Either that or patrol NAI’s (“Known Areas of Interest”)… Those are the locations where they are launching mortars at us.
Greg:
Mind if I run through some of the today’s more obscure headlines to see if u have any responses?
MAVERICK:
Sure.
Greg:
I’ll type out the headline and you just respond however you want…
MAVERICK:
Ha-ha. Okay, you got me worried now. I’m terrible with this kinda stuff.
Greg:
What category do you want: Showbiz, Sports, World, US News, or Wacky? You get to pick.
MAVERICK:
World.
Greg:
Next time, I’m going to force “Wacky” on you.
MAVERICK:
Ha-ha, I’ll take wacky.
Greg:
Okay! Here goes: “Cop Accused of Pulling Gun While Waiting For Food.” This happened in Colorado. It was a cop at a McDonald’s who was tired of waiting at the drive-thru.
MAVERICK:
Not everyone’s a good guy. It reminds me of that Chicago cop who beat the bartender because she wouldn’t serve him anymore, after cutting him off. He should be locked up for double the time if you ask me.
Greg:
Do soldiers get any sort of training in patience over there?
MAVERICK:
Hmm… No, not really, unless you count the way we respond to a threat. But it’s not really patience-related.
Greg:
OK, here’s a world news headline: “Many Translators Unfit in any Language.” What is your opinion of the translators over there?
MAVERICK:
We use locals as our interpreters. They’re not bad. I get along with them. They do a really good job.
Greg:
Do they train with you physically, as well… in case you need them to keep up with you while out on a mission?
MAVERICK:
No, we don’t let them train with us. They don’t even carry weapons, just body armor.
Greg:
One final question: Being in Iraq, what do you miss most?
MAVERICK:
My old friends, the ones I’ve had since I was young. You know – the good ones who have stuck it out with you over the years. They seem to cheer me up the most.
Greg:
Are you making new lifelong friends in the military?
MAVERICK:
I have a couple that stay in touch but most of them eventually move away and disappear. But I guess – yes, I have made a few good lifelong friends here.
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