Friday, August 18, 2006
No Easy Day
We stepped off on patrol at about noon today. I have no idea how hot it was, but I'd have to guess that it was at least 120 degrees out when we started. Most of us had assumed it would be a fairly easy patrol, despite the heat.
The Iraqis took us down this path, where the branches formed sort of an archway over our heads. Not really a good tactical decision, but it made for a cool picture.
We had almost reached our objective when several of the Iraqis succumbed to heat exhaustion. It's kind of ironic, since they carry a fraction of the weight that we carry, but the US military started teaching adequate hydration years ago. The Iraqi military hasn't caught up on that aspect of training and operations just yet.
Marine officers are taught that we are responsible for ensuring our Marines drink enough water. Some guys go so far as to supervise their Marines while they force down a quart or two of water before a physically strenuous evolution. I've heard some older veterans talk about our lack of "water discipline", but it pays off on days like today when an American Marine carrying 70-80 pounds of gear can walk longer than an Iraqi jundi carrying only 30-40 pounds of equipment.
After moving the afflicted jundi to a shady canal and trying to let the Iraqis rest for a while, we finally picked back up and started moving again.
We stopped at a nearby house and the civilians very kindly brought us a bucket of cold water and a dish for the jundi to drink from. By this point everyone in the patrol was completely out of water.
Fortunately it was only a few hundred meters to the closest observation tower, where we holed up and rested until a vehicle patrol could pick us up and return us to the OK Corral. Fortunately there should only be a few more patrols on days like this before it's time to head home. ¶ Friday, August 18, 2006
We stepped off on patrol at about noon today. I have no idea how hot it was, but I'd have to guess that it was at least 120 degrees out when we started. Most of us had assumed it would be a fairly easy patrol, despite the heat.
The Iraqis took us down this path, where the branches formed sort of an archway over our heads. Not really a good tactical decision, but it made for a cool picture.
We had almost reached our objective when several of the Iraqis succumbed to heat exhaustion. It's kind of ironic, since they carry a fraction of the weight that we carry, but the US military started teaching adequate hydration years ago. The Iraqi military hasn't caught up on that aspect of training and operations just yet.
Marine officers are taught that we are responsible for ensuring our Marines drink enough water. Some guys go so far as to supervise their Marines while they force down a quart or two of water before a physically strenuous evolution. I've heard some older veterans talk about our lack of "water discipline", but it pays off on days like today when an American Marine carrying 70-80 pounds of gear can walk longer than an Iraqi jundi carrying only 30-40 pounds of equipment.
After moving the afflicted jundi to a shady canal and trying to let the Iraqis rest for a while, we finally picked back up and started moving again.
We stopped at a nearby house and the civilians very kindly brought us a bucket of cold water and a dish for the jundi to drink from. By this point everyone in the patrol was completely out of water.
Fortunately it was only a few hundred meters to the closest observation tower, where we holed up and rested until a vehicle patrol could pick us up and return us to the OK Corral. Fortunately there should only be a few more patrols on days like this before it's time to head home. ¶ Friday, August 18, 2006
