Troops sweat it out in high-threat zone

看板Hewitt作者LleyHewitt (無言.....)時間21年前 (2003/07/09 09:30)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

留言0則, 0人參與討論串1/1

Troops sweat it out in high-threat zone By JOHN ANDERSEN 09jul03 THE first thing Townsville soldiers protecting Australia's diplomatic mission in Iraq want to do when they get home is get Stranded. Floating on a glassy sea while a thick steak sizzles on a Strand barbecue is the big-time, clear-as-crystal, plasma-screen fantasy the boys in Baghdad are having. They're living in a building in a secret location, eating US and Australian combat rations day in, day out, and sweating it in temperatures of 53C. It was 3am Baghdad time and 40C when Major Mick Birtles from Bravo Company 2RAR spoke to the Bulletin at 8.30am local time yesterday. Major Birtles said the 70 soldiers charged with looking after the diplomats were operating in a high-threat zone. Given the rising number of American dead in what is developing into a guerilla war in Baghdad (three US soldiers have died over the past two days), Major Birtles was remarkably understated about dangers Australian troops are exposed to in the city. "Things here are still fairly dangerous," he said. He said that when it came to staying alive it was the training and skill of the Australian troops that went in their favour. "Things are dangerous here but we are putting our training to use," he said. He said soldiers in light armoured vehicles called Aslavs from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Darwin escorted the diplomats as they did the rounds of the city. He said Aussie ingenuity had helped make living in the war-blasted city a little easier. Whereas there were no flushing toilets or showers in the building when they first set up base, it now had both. He said foam ice coolers had been bought and ice was delivered on a daily basis. He said that in the section of city where they had set up base the Iraqi people lived comfortably. "They are western-ised. They have most of the things that we would take for granted in Townsville," he said. He said the Iraqis had no trouble distinguishing between Australians and Americans. "They are happy people. They are glad to see us here and they are huge fans of Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt. They love their sport and as soon as they see our flag they ask about Lleyton," he said. Major Birtles said morale was high and that the troops expected to be in Baghdad for at least another two months. "We're looking forward to a Sunday Strand barbecue," he said. =============================================================== 不知道該說什麼..... 就~小希魅力無遠弗屆~~~ -- ◢██◣◢██◣◢◣◢◣◢██◣ ◢██◣◢██◣ ██ █ ▉ ▉▉ ▉ ▉█▅▅█ ▉ ▉█ █ ██ ◥██◤◥██◤▉ ▉ ▉◥▅▅▅ ◥██◤█ █ ▆ LLEYTON HEWITT NEVER GIVES UP! -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw) ◆ From: 61.217.181.117