Barnes Blog
Staff Sgt. Brian Ross, one of the American soldiers assigned to the military training team, says the Huwija soldiers know what is going on in their town.
"They know everything," he says. "But they [the Iraqi Army soldiers] don't deliver a lot of information because they don't want it getting back that they were the source."
Still, Sgt. 1st Class Pete Chambers, a Charlie Company soldier overseeing the jundi during the Hor al-Sufor search, says it is important to get the Iraqi soldiers from Huwija to clean up their own town.
"A bunch of Kurds would clean house, but that would create animosity," Chambers says. "If we can get these guys to clean up their own backyard, then we will be making progress."
FOB food reviews
At Forward Operating Base Warrior outside Kirkuk, the living is pretty good. The Green Beans coffee stand is open 24 hours a day and serves a fantastic latte. The Burger King is not so great, serving hamburgers reminiscent of the public school lunches of central Maine. But the Warrior fobbits say the Taco Bell due to open this week should make up for the Burger King's problems.
The living is not so easy on Forward Operating Base McHenry, located near the Arab town of Huwija. There is an Internet tent, but many feel cut off from the news.
"I just learned this week that there were two vacancies on the Supreme Court," said one soldier. "I never see the news."
More problematic: the rocket attacks. The base has been shelled by insurgents about 20 times in the past week, according to soldiers who live here. On Wednesday, two white phosphorous rounds hit the base sending a plume of white smoke into the air and burning some lumber. Luckily no one was hurt.
Uniforms—from camo to combat
On their second deployment to Iraq, the soldiers of the 101st Airborne gave up their DCUs, or desert camouflage uniforms, for the new ACUs, or Army combat uniforms. The new uniform is light green and khaki blended together in a digitized pattern rather than the traditional camouflage swirl. Soldiers wearing the ACUs in the Pentagon don't look like they would blend well into the desert environment given how green the uniforms look. But in practice, the colors of the uniform work well in Iraq, making the 101st soldiers difficult to pick out, especially when they are walking down a dusty gray street.
But the new uniform is not without its problems. Soldiers have complained that the wash-and-wear fabric tears easily and does not stand up to the tough desert conditions. More embarrassing are the Velcro problems. When soldiers stand shoulder to shoulder at a review, their patches can become caught on the Velcro–in Army parlance, "hook and pile"–of the Joe on either side.
And in Iraq, soldiers have also found that when they enter a tent, the Velcro closure will often snag their shoulder patch.
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