PhotoDude.com

Mon. Jun 06, 2005

Georgia's 48th in Iraq

At a time when the media is flayed for this and that, especially when it comes to Iraq, I thought I’d point out some coverage that I’ve found interesting (though it does require registration, or BugMeNot). Georgia National Guard’s 48th Brigade has recently arrived in Iraq, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution has so far done a creditable job in telling the story. And it’s a story of our neighbors.

With nearly 4,400 men and women, the brigade represents the largest overseas deployment of the Georgia Guard since World War II. While many of the soldiers belong to units from other states that were attached to the 48th to fill out its personnel needs, more than 2,500 of them are Georgians. They are a cross section of the state in camouflage.

Until the Guard activated them in January, they were police officers, firefighters, prison guards, ministers, teachers, journalists, farmers, factory workers, salesclerks, secretaries, students. They’re fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, even grandparents. Though most are in their 20s and 30s, more than 600 are over 40 and a few intrepid souls are pushing 60.

The soldiers come from 145 of Georgia’s 159 counties.

AJC: “One Town’s War”

The AJC has sent a reporter and a photographer, embedded with the 48th, and “AJC reporter Dave Hirschman and photographer Curtis Compton will be filing reports and photos from Iraq and Kuwait through late July.” They’ve set up a blog, and it’s filled with interesting detail, like this from May 30:

Curiously, when the convoy first came under fire, one of the guys in my Hummer started singing a Boy George tune from the 1980s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”

The driver was doing his best Mr. Scott impression from Star Trek: “I’m giving it all she’s got captain! Should I activate the lithium crystals?” His Scottish accent was a little off, though, and I kept thinking how much he sounded like Fat Bastard from the Austin Powers movies.

I don’t think these insurgents have any idea what they’re up against.

The theory of smaller Cokes in interesting, too. Unfortunately, they didn’t set up an actual photoblog for Curtis Compton, but you’ll find his images linked daily in the right column of this page. It has been both explosive and revealing.

The 48th was first thrown into a risky and unplanned assignment for which they had little training … training Iraqi units … and participated in Operation Lightning. They’re in the thick of it. And so are these AJC reporters.