voices

a chance to travel

Submitted by antarchi on June 12, 2008 - 22:14.

in

Why did you join the army?
Get away from my home town. See the world. I've always wanted to travel. I enjoy travelling.
All my brothers have got trades - plumbers, electricians and things like that. And you come back, and people say 'how was your week at work?' And they say 'Oh I've done this and done that'. And they say 'Well he's done a 6 month tour of Afghan'. And you can hold your head up high and say that. A lot of people respect you for that.

Private Kieran Connolly (20)

the apartment was full of people

Submitted by antarchi on March 26, 2008 - 01:31.

in

There was a tall apartment complex, the only spot from where people could see over our perimeter... The place was full of kids and families. On rare occasions, a fighter would get atop the building and shoot at our passing vehicles. They never really hit anybody. We just knew to be careful when we were over by that part of the wall, and nobody did shit about it until one day a lieutenant colonel was driving down and they shot at his vehicle and he got scared. So he jumped through a bunch of hoops and cut through some red tape and got a C-130 to come out the next night and all but levelled the place. Earlier that evening when I was returning from a patrol the apartment had been packed full of people.”

antarchi's quotes

they're just hajis

Submitted by antarchi on March 26, 2008 - 00:59.

in

The word “haji” is used to dehumanize people not just of Iraq and Afghanistan, but anyone there who is not us. We bought haji DVDs at the haji shops from the hajis that worked there. The KBR employees that did our laundry that were from Pakistan became hajis. The KBR employees who worked inside of our chow halls became hajis. Everyone that was not a US force became a haji, not a person, not a name, but a haji. I used to have conversations with members of my unit, and I would ask them why they use that term, especially members of my unit who are people of color. It used to shock me that they would. And their answers were very similar, almost always, and that was, “They’re just hajis. Who cares?”

antarchi's quotes

my brain blocked out the shots

Submitted by antarchi on March 25, 2008 - 01:53.

in

During the April offensive of 2004 in which attacks erupted all over Anbar province, my unit was involved in a two-day firefight. Shortly after the firefight was underway, the same commander who had given us the mission issued an order that everyone wearing a black dishdasha and a red headscarf was automatically displaying hostile intent and a hostile action and was to be shot. An hour or two later, he gave another order, this time that everyone on the streets was considered an enemy combatant. I can remember one instance after the order was given that afternoon when we came around a corner, and an unarmed Iraqi man stepped out of a doorway.

— Former Marine Sergeant Jason Lemieux

, an Iraq War Veteran, speaking at Winter Soldier

Testimony at Winter Soldier

just mess them up

Submitted by antarchi on March 25, 2008 - 01:49.

in

At the end of the day, like nothing had happened, and we had mounted up into our trucks. And right when we were about to take off, a bunch of people, Iraqi people, rushed to the fuel pumps to try to take some fuel. And our squad leader called it in. And the response was—over the radio was “What do you think we want you to do? You know, go F them up!”—obviously in more colorful, you know, language, but—so we jumped off the trucks and charged at the Iraqis, and we really beat the hell out of them and with rifles, fists, feet, everything else that we had available. You know, so once they had either fled or were broken and bleeding, you know, unconscious on the ground, we mounted back up in our trucks and left.

— Jason Washburn

a corporal in the United States Marine Corps, at the Winter Hearing

making them look like insurgents

Submitted by antarchi on March 25, 2008 - 01:41.

in

Something else we were actually encouraged to do, almost with a wink and a nudge, was to carry drop weapons or, by my third tour, drop shovels. What that basically is, is we would carry these weapons or shovels with us, because in case we accidentally did shoot a civilian, we could just toss the weapon on the body and make them look like they were an insurgent. Or, you know, like my friend here were saying, we were told by my third tour that if they were carrying a shovel or—you know, and a heavy bag, if they were digging anywhere, especially near roads, that we could shoot them. And so, we actually carried these tools and weapons in our vehicles in case we accidentally shot an innocent civilian, and we could just toss it on them and be like, “Well, he was digging.