Troop Morale - OC Register Columnist on Iraq

Posted By Blackfive

Via Seamus, here's an interesting Q&A with a columnist who's visited Iraq several times.

Columnist finds less and more in war zone
Monday, July 31, 2006

Register columnist Gordon Dillow has returned from a monthlong leave during which he made his third trip to Iraq as an embedded reporter with U.S. Marines. Local News Editor David Whiting talked to him about his experiences. Dillow will answer reader questions starting Friday.
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Q: How was the Marines' morale?

A:Despite the frustrating nature of a counter-insurgency war and increasing doubts back home, the morale was astonishingly high. A recent survey by the Stars and Stripes newspaper found that 76 percent of the U.S. troops in Iraq felt it is "very worthwhile" or "somewhat worthwhile" for the U.S. to be fighting the war, and I would submit that that number would skew even higher among the Marines I met.

Interestingly, the closer to the action the Marines were, the more time they spent "outside the wire" looking for the enemy and interacting with the Iraqi people, the better they thought of themselves and their mission. That may sound strange – the more danger they're in, the higher the morale – but it's true....

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Troop Morale - OC Register Columnist on Iraq

Via Seamus, here's an interesting Q&A with a columnist who's visited Iraq several times.

Columnist finds less and more in war zone
Monday, July 31, 2006

Register columnist Gordon Dillow has returned from a monthlong leave during which he made his third trip to Iraq as an embedded reporter with U.S. Marines. Local News Editor David Whiting talked to him about his experiences. Dillow will answer reader questions starting Friday.
<...>
Q: How was the Marines' morale?

A:Despite the frustrating nature of a counter-insurgency war and increasing doubts back home, the morale was astonishingly high. A recent survey by the Stars and Stripes newspaper found that 76 percent of the U.S. troops in Iraq felt it is "very worthwhile" or "somewhat worthwhile" for the U.S. to be fighting the war, and I would submit that that number would skew even higher among the Marines I met.

Interestingly, the closer to the action the Marines were, the more time they spent "outside the wire" looking for the enemy and interacting with the Iraqi people, the better they thought of themselves and their mission. That may sound strange – the more danger they're in, the higher the morale – but it's true....

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