Music from Heaven
First Person Reporting
Music From Heaven - TF Boggs
On my first deployment to Iraq I was stationed at a prison camp in southern Iraq. The invasion had just started and prisoners were coming in bunches. One of the main needs at our camp was for Arabic speaking translators that could assist the military with the handling of the prisoners. The translators were mainly from Kuwait but some were native Kuwaitis who were living as far away as London, England. The translators that came to our camp were not simply looking for work but instead were intelligent men who held jobs as engineers, scientists, and computer programmers. I happened to live right next to the translators and after a few weeks at the base I became good friends with a large number of them.
We would often get together at night when we had all finished our work for the day. Usually they would eat together and on the nights that I didn’t join them for dinner I would at least stop by to talk and drink tea with them. They all spoke English exceptionally well and loved to speak with some fellow soldiers and I in order to hone their English. We would play darts or horseshoes and often played volleyball well into the night. I even managed to spend a few days in Kuwait City with a couple of them. I relished the time with them because they would tell me about their lives and answer any questions that I had. Instead of our relationship being purely professional I know they considered me a friend.
Read the Entire Piece at TF Boggs
From the Milblog Wire
Music From Heaven - TF BoggsOn my first deployment to Iraq I was stationed at a prison camp in southern Iraq. The invasion had just started and prisoners were coming in bunches. One of the main needs at our camp was for Arabic speaking translators that could assist the military with the handling of the prisoners. The translators were mainly from Kuwait but some were native Kuwaitis who were living as far away as London, England. The translators that came to our camp were not simply looking for work but instead were intelligent men who held jobs as engineers, scientists, and computer programmers. I happened to live right next to the translators and after a few weeks at the base I became good friends with a large number of them.
We would often get together at night when we had all finished our work for the day. Usually they would eat together and on the nights that I didn’t join them for dinner I would at least stop by to talk and drink tea with them. They all spoke English exceptionally well and loved to speak with some fellow soldiers and I in order to hone their English. We would play darts or horseshoes and often played volleyball well into the night. I even managed to spend a few days in Kuwait City with a couple of them. I relished the time with them because they would tell me about their lives and answer any questions that I had. Instead of our relationship being purely professional I know they considered me a friend.
Read the Entire Piece at TF Boggs
From the Milblog Wire
2 Comments:
When I hear the mistake "not enough troops", I usually disagree. I don't think more troops would help make more Iraqis more responsible sooner, though I could be wrong.
However, I'm certain that a huge mistake is the lack of Arabic speakers in the US military, going back to Desert Storm and not addressed by Bush I, Clinton, or Bush II.
I really don't know why more money wasn't made available to those servicemen willing to try to learn Arabic, with the "fast learners" getting more cash bonuses to take more courses and learn more, faster.
Glad you could become friends with some.
We love this site and all of the people writing for it. Great stuff. A real inspiration to all us civilians out here to learn all we can and act accordingly. Thanks to Boggs, Sargent, and ALL the others. You are our heros, protectors, and news reporters extraordinaire!! Please keep up the good work and know we are soaking your words up like a dry sponge.
Readers in Texas
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