 |
Army News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports ...Posted on Jul. 9, 2008 at 3:14 AM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link
2008/07/military_coffey_070508w/
news/2008/07/military_coffey_070508w
Pfc. puts life in shambles by taking war spoils
By Billy Cox - Special to the Times
Posted : Monday Jul 7, 2008 18:57:43 EDT
SARASOTA, Fla. — After nearly three weeks of desert combat and enough death to jangle his brain for a lifetime, Pfc. Earl Coffey arrived in Baghdad in April 2003 thinking he had discovered an oasis.It was Palace Row, one of the most exclusive tracts of real estate in Iraq, and not even major bomb damage could dim the luster of a tyrant’s decadence. Coffey was among the first U.S. troops to secure Saddam Hussein’s inner sanctum, the postwar “Green Zone” now hosting diplomats and government authorities. Its allure was intoxicating.Coffey recalled his awe at seeing gold-rimmed toilet seats, 30-foot wide chandeliers, and Swarovski crystal collections. Over the next few days, he sampled one revelation after another: the Dom Perignon champagne, the Monte Cris...
Originally from: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_coffey_070508w/ Iraqi soldiers and Sons of Iraq secure market in Tarmiyah as ...Posted on Jul. 9, 2008 at 3:14 AM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link
Nathan Webster is an independent journalist who embedded with the US Army in Tarmiyah in Salahadin province, Iraq. Nathan is providing reports from Tarmiyah for The Long War Journal. In 2007, when al Qaeda controlled this area 25 miles north of Baghdad, this same field was used for executions by beheading as shariah law was enforced. American soldiers from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, actually enjoy their rotations at this checkpoint in downtown Tarmiyah. This is like our R&R,” one soldier said. Manning guard positions, generally on a four-hours-on, eight-off rotation, it’s a chance for them to catch up on lots of sleep. The Americans do not man traffic-control positions. The Americans do conduct nightly patrols down the market street, still lit after curfew, or along the dark north and south streets, where sounds from the marshes of the Tigris River are a noisy backdrop. The Americans at Joint Security Station Tarmiyah are alr...
Originally from: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/07/iraqi_soldiers_and_s.php |