Marine Corps Moms: Reports from Husaybah and Al Qaim

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December 10, 2004

Reports from Husaybah and Al Qaim

USMC parents and spouses live for news broadcasts where they might - just might - catch a glimpse of their Marine. Some locations are so remote that it just doesn't happen - I have my Google News alerts set for Husaybah and days or weeks go by without a word. It's not that the region is quiet - far from it. But, there are no reporters to chronicle the battle for truth, justice and democracy. However, FOX News reporter Steve Harrigan is my new favorite reporter after filing this slice-of-life report from Husaybah today.

Four of us in a room here, but Marines know how to get along in small spaces. When we came in, the Chief Warrant Officer sat on the floor in a corner and went to sleep sitting up while we got our equipment ready.
"Real eggs today," an officer said to us on our way in to chow.

"I heard they got real eggs today," a corporal said to us on our way out.

I hadn't noticed. I was just a visitor to this world. I had the eggs and a cold biscuit, but passed on the Cheerios because all they had was strawberry, chocolate, or banana flavored milk.

Then I left the table, stood outside, and had a cup of coffee in a paper cup with three non-dairy powdered creamers and two packets of sugar, that were wet from the morning dew and stuck in clumps. I moved so the sun hit me. Another perfect blue morning. I added another sugar, stirred it with a plastic knife and looked out at the camp. Nothing was moving in the mud. Somewhere it was Sunday morning.

Chow gets worse the closer you get to the fighting. The first thing to go is ice cream, then salads, then vegetables. Then you go to A-rats. Then MRE's.

In Homer's "Iliad" the best fighters get the choicest cuts of meat. In the military it's the reverse, the conditions are hardest for those who have the hardest fighting.

Real eggs. Something we take for granted here, but the men of 1/7 Baker Company have been eating MREs for months. Thanks to some very generous donations to Operation Santa, we were able to mail microwaves and electric griddles, with enough pancake mix and syrup for a holiday pancake feed for all Marines and Corpsmen at Camp Gannon.

Harrigan continues:

Sometimes I hear stuff I've never heard before. Sgt. Cress is in charge of keeping me safe so he's always with me. We started to walk towards the live shot position last night, then I broke off from him.

"Piss call?" he said.

"Yeah."

It was a piss call, a new phrase for me, and a trip to the "piss tube." They are three-foot white tubes at about a 45 degree angle in to the ground that you urinate into. I encountered my first tube in Fallujah, and like most men, enjoyed having a target. The tubes here are covered with a mesh screen, which creates minor splashing, hence the process is not so satisfying.

Ordinary things in a war zone are more deliberate. To take a dump here you have to put on your flak jacket and helmet, go outstide and walk a few hundred yards to a wooden stall and sit on boards over a hole. It is not something you do casually.

Marines who have endured Iraqi summers report that head calls result in an experience much like getting their butts sandblasted. Now that temperatures are dropping below freezing, I'm wondering how they'll describe the conditions upon their return.

Proud 1/7 Marine Mom, LouAnn Stark was able to see her son via a video link also from the FOX site - just click on the Video tab and select Barbed-Wire Border Turns to Sand. Sorry, no clickable link.

Harrigan also visited Al Qaim - 12 miles and a lifetime away from Husaybah where he interviewed Corporal Terry Orndoff, also with 1/7. Click on the video link titled Al Qaim: Benefits Outweigh Risks to watch.

Posted by Deb at December 10, 2004 01:38 AM

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In Homer's "Iliad" the best fighters get the choicest cuts of meat. In the military it's the reverse, the conditions are hardest for those who have the hardest fighting. Steve Harrigan, quoted by Deb Conrad. Read the whole thing.... [Read More]

Tracked on December 14, 2004 11:52 AM

Comments

'Real Eggs, huh?' Impressive! Pray tell, what are the malnurished children in Iraq eating? It seems that the only ones that enjoy full bellies are the dogs in Fallujah! Grown men, husbands,fathers: why?

Posted by: Mattson at December 12, 2004 03:35 PM