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Nice
Shootin' Tex
A
35 year-old Marine reservist from Texas scored the
longest sniper kill of the war to date. From his
position on a rooftop in Ramadi, the Marine
directed his spotting scope across the Euphrates
River and located a terrorist loading a 120mm
mortar round into a tube. He dispatched the
terrorist with a single shot. Before the
terrorist's accomplice could react, he had joined
his partner on a journey to meet their maker.
The
range of the two shots? Over 1,000
yards.
The
sniper is Herbert B. Hancock from Bryan, TX. You
can read a more detailed story here
You
can say that reservists aren't as well-trained and
as effective as active duty troops. Just don't say
it within 1,050 yards.
Qatar,
a country study
I
had my first opportunity to get off-base a couple
days ago. It was just a brief foray, in the company
of a couple Aussie officers I know. We were out
after dark so I didn't get to see any of the
surrounding landscape, and we're not allowed in the
bazaars after dark. The Aussies, of whose speech I
was able to understand only every third word or so,
were interested only in the upscale places. They
looked at Brietling watches and coats by Armani
&endash; hardly the rug merchant tents I usually
like to visit. Regardless, it was a change of
scenery, and I was able to compile the following
facts (some of which I have not yet been able to
confirm completely) about our host
nation:
Geography
Qatar
is a 43X96 mile polyp-shaped peninsula in the
Arabian Gulf. Its lowest elevation is sea level;
its highest, the Grand Pinnacle, is 20 feet above
sea level at its lofty summit.
Most
country studies compare a nation's acreage to that
of Rhode Island, if it's small, or Texas, if it's
large. I describe size in terms of the Zoe scale.
It would take my unsupervised two-year-old daughter
a week to destroy a nation of Qatar's
size.
Climatology
While,
contrary to urban legend, Qatar isn't the
birthplace of the world's most popular musical
instrument, Qataris can at least point to their
climate with pride. It manages to combine both the
blistering heat of the Arabian deserts and the
oppressive humidity of the tropics. Not many
nations have that to their credit.
History
Qatar
was founded by nomadic tribes accustomed to
wandering after their flocks in the desert. Having
never seen a large, permanent body of water, tribes
settled along the coast, waiting for the water to
dry so they could resume their peregrinations. They
are still waiting, although by now their flocks
have long since departed.
Agriculture/Flora
and Fauna
Five
or six date palms grow along the coast. Vast herds
of dust bunnies roam freely, darkening the plains
like pale, hornless bison.
Demographics
Population:
350 National citizens, 7 million foreign contract
workers to run their shops, sweep their streets,
and raise their children
National
Pastime
Counting
oil fortunes, Scowling at foreigners, refusing to
yield in traffic circles
Economics
Everyone's
filthy rich
We're
seeing lots of new faces around here. It's turnover
time, and relief forces are coming into the
theater. Last night at dinner there were several
tables of people in completely civilian clothes
without even the beginnings of a protective dust
layer on their skin. They were so new I expected
them to be wearing shrink wrap. We like seeing
newbies everywhere. Not only do they remind us that
we'll be replaced soon, but they're also pretty
entertaining. Today I was taking the bus to work
and it paused in the transient part of our
compound. A female captain climbed aboard and said,
"Is this the bus to the chow hall?" It was an
unexpected question, because from any point in the
compound you could hit the chow hall with a rock.
Without batting an eye, the bus driver replied, "no
ma'am, this is the bus to the laundromat."
The
captain disembarked, and is probably still looking
for the chow hall bus.
It
was a little cooler here today. A thick layer of
clouds slid across the sun while I was running.
It's the first time in recent memory that I haven't
needed sun screen. While the heat abated though,
the wind remained constant. I ran against a
constant 15 mph headwind for 3 miles. The dusty,
relentless wind reminded me of west Texas. I
started looking for tumbleweeds. In my imagination,
I populated the wasteland around me with mesquites
and prickly pears, and it looked a lot better. You
know a place is desolate when it's improved by such
an addition.
Tomorrow
I'm hoping to avoid the office and catch a flight
instead. My flights these days are so few and far
between that I'm in danger of forgetting what I do
on the jet. Luckily, I'll have someone looking over
my shoulder again, keeping me from getting anyone
killed. It works out well for the guy I'm flying
with too, because it's going to be a long sortie.
It's nice to have somebody to talk to during the
long ones.
Steven
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