A lot better when you carve a smile into that turd.
"US soldiers shift duties from Mideast to Haiti; They switch from combat mode to humanitarian aid" by Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff | February 16, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Although the ruined streets of Haiti are filled with millions of hungry, desperate, homeless people, the 6,200 American soldiers on the ground here are facing a climate far different from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Related: Haiti Worse Than a War Zone
Many soldiers move unarmed or with their weapons slung behind their backs, and interaction with the public seems to be marked by a mutual, cautious respect. Still....
About 50 percent of the US soldiers here are veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan, estimated Major General Daniel Allyn, deputy commander of the task force.
“They always have the right to self-defense,’’ said Allyn, a native of Berwick, Maine. “But what our soldiers are very effective at is using minimum force to deter a situation from getting worse.’’
Translation: We have the right to murder anyone we want.
Staff Sergeant Stephen Roach is an example. While driving to a food distribution point, where tens of thousands of Haitians would be gathering, Roach’s driver became entangled in the chaos that passes for routine traffic conditions here.
Ever drive around in one-way street Boston?
“I hate being a traffic cop,’’ Roach snarled at an intersection with honking gridlock. He stepped out, pointed at a truck, and barked.
“You! Stop!’’ Turning, Roach pointed at a battered car. “You! Back up!’’ And to another driver, “You! Drive forward!’’
Just like that, with no arguments, the traffic began to flow.
To Jacot, this operation also is different from Iraq because the work he does to restore power to the country seems to have a permanence, or as permanent as infrastructure can be in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Related:
"Power has been restored to about one-fifth of Port-au-Prince. But even before the earthquake only 1 in 4 Haitians had power and, on average, any given capital neighborhood had just 10 hours of power a day."
In Iraq, by contrast, insurgents routinely targeted repaired electrical lines in an effort to sabotage the fledgling, US-backed government after Saddam Hussein’s fall. Any major line in Iraq that was repaired would become a target almost immediately.
Even after the surge?
Also see: Occupation Iraq: Hell on Earth
Occupation Iraq: Violence Up, MSM Coverage Down
And we all know what is happening in Afghanistan right now.
That sense of making a concrete difference also was evident in the face of Captain Marques Bruce, 29, a two-tour Iraq veteran from the 82d Airborne Division who recently flew to Port-au-Prince from Fort Bragg, N.C.
“I look forward to going to a place where I won’t be shot at, where the people want you there and don’t look at you as an occupier,’’ Bruce said. “I really do believe in helping people. That’s why I joined the Army.’’
Oh, he bought the bulls*** hook, line, and sinker, huh?
Is that what invasions based on lies and mass-murdering missile strikes are doing?
"Helping people?"
Bruce, a West Point graduate from Philadelphia, served in Diyalah, Kirkuk, and Tikrit during dangerous times in Iraq. His unit, the Second Brigade of the 82d Airborne, had been scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan later this year as part of President Obama’s troop escalation.
Now, because the 82d Airborne keeps one brigade on alert at all times for a quick-response global mission, Bruce finds himself in Haiti. He and his comrades do not know how long they will remain here.
I've heard 10 to 15 years!
The humanitarian nature of this mission is evident in Allyn’s daily itinerary....
Late last month, Allyn met with Rear Admiral Ted Branch aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, the first element of the US armed forces to arrive here.
See: Where is the Help For Haiti?
Ordered to Haiti hours after the Jan. 12 quake, the carrier had just begun sailing from Newport News, Va., to San Diego following four years in dock for maintenance and upgrades.
Wow, the TIMING sure was STRANGE, huh?
Suddenly, with new orders, the Carl Vinson picked up 19 helicopters in Florida and continued to Port-au-Prince at 30 knots.
Below decks over lunch recently, Petty Officer Third Class Luis Gray, 23, of Easthampton, Mass., talked of the satisfaction of the mission. “We’re getting help to people who need it,’’ Gray said....
The carrier treated 60 patients in the first days after the earthquake, with its medical staff working nonstop for more than 40 hours to treat a wide range of injuries, from open fractures to head injuries to lacerations.
Related: Slow Saturday Special: AmeriKan Military Providing Comfort to Haitians
Still, despite the good will shown by many Haitians, the soldiers realize the road from ruin to rebuilding can detour into violence any time.
Bruce said he will not let his guard down, no matter how benign the daily mission appears.
“Security will always be my primary goal,’’ Bruce said. “I owe that to my soldiers and to the people of Haiti.’’
Yeah, just don't "accidentally" kill anybody, 'kay?
