AJC.com > Iraq coverage > Blog > Archives > 2005 > June > 04
Saturday, June 4, 2005
One town goes to war: Hitting home in Dublin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Across Georgia, citizen soldiers of the National Guard have marched off to Iraq. In the coming months, the AJC will tell the stories of those left behind in Dublin, home to the 48th Brigade. FIRST ARTICLE
Zap! Bing! Electronic gadgets much in demand
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Forward Operating Base St. Michael, Iraq — The “Baby Wipe Phase” of the war in Iraq is over.
U.S. soldiers now have broad access to running water, hot showers and personal hygiene that they lacked during and shortly after the 2003 invasion when they camped in the desert for weeks and months at a time.
They don’t need Gatorade or soft drinks, either. The Army buys that stuff in quantities that would fill Olympic-size swimming pools.
The ongoing conflict has now entered what could be called the “Circuit City Phase.”
Soldiers covet expensive electronic gadgets. Satellite phones, international cell phones, Blackberries, DVD players, PlayStations, GameBoys — those are the things they feel would most improve their lives here.
“When you’re on duty, you’re on duty and you have to be totally focused,” said Sgt. 1st Class Omar Patterson, 39, of Calhoun, attached to the 108th Armor Regiment in Mahmudiyah. “But when you’re off, you need to do something completely different.”
The post exchange here, a military version of a general store, is about to get a pallet-sized load of PlayStation 2s — and soldiers are already lining up to buy them. Two sergeants from the 108th offered to pay for theirs in advance. When the store clerk pointed out he hadn’t told them how much the gadgets would cost, the soldiers said it didn’t matter.
“Price is irrelevant,” said Sgt. Timothy Hass, a Cobb County motorcycle cop. “We’ve just got to get those PlayStations as soon as they come in.”
