The routine of war
Though our troops are halfway around the planet, in a war zone, it is customary for soldiers to settle in and make a home out of wherever they are. Familiar activities can be a comfort, a reminder of home and family far away. I thought I'd list a few of the familiar things that routinely take place in Iraq in military environs.
From the Oct 14 issue of Eagle and Crescent:
Fallujah Church Service Schedule
PROTESTANT WORSHIP SERVICES
Sunday:
Protestant Worship 9 a.m. CLB-8 theater
Protestant Communion 9:15 a.m. Base Chapel
Contemporary Worship 10:30 a.m. Base Chapel
Gospel Service 1 p.m. Base Chapel
Latter Day Saints (Mormon) 8:30 a.m. Camp Workhorse
Latter Day Saints (Mormon) 6:30 p.m. Camp Workhorse
CATHOLIC MASS / CONFESSIONS
Catholic Confession Sun. 7:15 a.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Sun. 8 a.m Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Mon. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Tues. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Wed. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Thurs. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Fri. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Confession Sat. 5:15 p.m. Base Chapel
From the Oct 4 issue of the Camp Victory newspaper:
Victory MWR Events October 4 - 10
Today: Spades at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Ping Pong at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Tae-Kwon-Do from 6 - 7 p.m.; Fencing from 7:30 - 9 p.m.; Flag Football Coaches Meeting at Bldg. 51 at 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Dominoes at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Spades at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Aerobics from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.; Boxing from 8 - 9 p.m.;
Thursday: Country Night at 7 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Nine ball at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Tae-Kwon-Do from 6 - 7 p.m. Ping pong tournament at 6 p.m.; Volleyball coaches meeting at 12:30 p.m. in Bldg. 51.
Friday: Jeepers Creepers Movie Marathon at 5 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Slasa Lessons at 8 p.m., Latin Night at 9 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Aerobics from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.; Fencing from 7:30 - 9 p.m.; Flag football tournament.
Saturday: Hip Hop Night 8:30 p.m. at Bldg. 124; College football at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Tae-Kwon-Do from 6 - 7 p.m.; Boxing from 8 - 9 p.m.; Flag football tournament.
Sunday: NFL football at 9 p.m. at Bldg. 124; NFL football at 9 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Fencing from 7:30 - 9 p.m.; Flag football/Volleyball tournament.
Monday: Chess at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Dominoes at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Aerobics from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Boxing from 8 - 9 p.m.
From the Oct 16 Anaconda Times:
Sustainer Reel Time Theater
(schedule is subject to change)
October 16
3 p.m. Deuce Bigalow: European
6 p.m. Into the Blue
9 p.m. The Great Raid
October 17
3 p.m. Into the Blue
6 p.m. Deuce Bigalow: European
9 p.m. Dukes of Hazard
October 18
3 p.m. The Great Raid
6 p.m. Must Love Dogs
9 p.m. Into the Blue
October 19
3 p.m. Dukes of Hazard
6 p.m. Into the Blue
9 p.m. Deuce Bigalow: European
From the Oct 15 Taji Times:
Weightlifting competition
More than 40 contestants entered the Camp Taji Ironman and Ironwoman Bench Press Competition Oct. 2, held at Moral, Welfare and Recreation’s Base Warrior’s Gym, here.
This was the last weight lifting event hosted by the 87th Corps Support Battalion during this deployment, said Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Pegues, the command sergeant major for the 87th CSB, Division Support Brigade.
From the Oct 14 issue of Eagle and Crescent:
Fallujah Church Service Schedule
PROTESTANT WORSHIP SERVICES
Sunday:
Protestant Worship 9 a.m. CLB-8 theater
Protestant Communion 9:15 a.m. Base Chapel
Contemporary Worship 10:30 a.m. Base Chapel
Gospel Service 1 p.m. Base Chapel
Latter Day Saints (Mormon) 8:30 a.m. Camp Workhorse
Latter Day Saints (Mormon) 6:30 p.m. Camp Workhorse
CATHOLIC MASS / CONFESSIONS
Catholic Confession Sun. 7:15 a.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Sun. 8 a.m Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Mon. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Tues. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Wed. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Thurs. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Mass Fri. 6 p.m. Base Chapel
Catholic Confession Sat. 5:15 p.m. Base Chapel
From the Oct 4 issue of the Camp Victory newspaper:
Victory MWR Events October 4 - 10
Today: Spades at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Ping Pong at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Tae-Kwon-Do from 6 - 7 p.m.; Fencing from 7:30 - 9 p.m.; Flag Football Coaches Meeting at Bldg. 51 at 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Dominoes at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Spades at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Aerobics from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.; Boxing from 8 - 9 p.m.;
Thursday: Country Night at 7 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Nine ball at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Tae-Kwon-Do from 6 - 7 p.m. Ping pong tournament at 6 p.m.; Volleyball coaches meeting at 12:30 p.m. in Bldg. 51.
Friday: Jeepers Creepers Movie Marathon at 5 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Slasa Lessons at 8 p.m., Latin Night at 9 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Aerobics from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.; Fencing from 7:30 - 9 p.m.; Flag football tournament.
Saturday: Hip Hop Night 8:30 p.m. at Bldg. 124; College football at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Tae-Kwon-Do from 6 - 7 p.m.; Boxing from 8 - 9 p.m.; Flag football tournament.
Sunday: NFL football at 9 p.m. at Bldg. 124; NFL football at 9 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Fencing from 7:30 - 9 p.m.; Flag football/Volleyball tournament.
Monday: Chess at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 124; Dominoes at 8 p.m. at Bldg. 51; At the Gym: Aerobics from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Boxing from 8 - 9 p.m.
From the Oct 16 Anaconda Times:
Sustainer Reel Time Theater
(schedule is subject to change)
October 16
3 p.m. Deuce Bigalow: European
6 p.m. Into the Blue
9 p.m. The Great Raid
October 17
3 p.m. Into the Blue
6 p.m. Deuce Bigalow: European
9 p.m. Dukes of Hazard
October 18
3 p.m. The Great Raid
6 p.m. Must Love Dogs
9 p.m. Into the Blue
October 19
3 p.m. Dukes of Hazard
6 p.m. Into the Blue
9 p.m. Deuce Bigalow: European
From the Oct 15 Taji Times:
Weightlifting competition
More than 40 contestants entered the Camp Taji Ironman and Ironwoman Bench Press Competition Oct. 2, held at Moral, Welfare and Recreation’s Base Warrior’s Gym, here.
This was the last weight lifting event hosted by the 87th Corps Support Battalion during this deployment, said Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Pegues, the command sergeant major for the 87th CSB, Division Support Brigade.
3 Comments:
At Tue Oct 18, 09:37:00 PM, Night Writer said…
So, do you think the Shiites and Sunnis will ever get to the point where they can share the same camp and coordinate worship schedules the way the Protestants, Catholics and Mormons do?
At Wed Oct 19, 09:43:00 AM, Jeff said…
There sure is an object lesson or two there, isn't it. (A reason I picked that particular one.)
My mom remarked last night how telling it was that there were church services in (or near, I suppose) Fallujah.
At Sat Oct 22, 05:48:00 AM, Anonymous said…
Perhaps folk in the states wouldnt know it by reading the MSM but there is actually quite a long history of religious tolerance between the denominations of shia, sunni, christian. It is common for mixed marraiges to occur and villages to have mixed shia/sunni populations who get along. Much of this latest sectarian violence is as much an outgrowth of the invasion which blew the lid off of other tensions simmering between the surface. Those squables are/were symptomatic of other issues(tribal conflicts usually over land, power, influence etc the age old human conflict issues), not so much religious in nature.
(as a related aside, there HAVE been outbursts of violence between the factions in the muslim countries throughout history, ie read up on Ottoman empire, Pakistan, Persia, India etc)
Much of the sunni/shia issues were settled centuries ago. Yes they do come out during social strife for example Lebanons civil war 1970s-1980s, or some of the violent sectarian outbursts in Pakistan going on to this day-(much of that connected to all the fanatical wahabis groups that took root there during the Afghan war of the 1980s),and yes, here in this latest Iraq war.
Although its hard to generalize when addressing what is more an individuals attitudes and personality-since that is what many of these day to day social interactions involve-(I wonder if I am making sense here?), in general, if you (as an Iraqi) are prejudiced towards another religion or faction you would be in the minority in this country. Most people dont really get too worked up about it.
Now, the issues come to head over other power struggles(mentioned above) when your faction (which also happens to be majority sunni or shia or whatever) opposes another faction(s)/tribes/clan, etc.
This is a point I have continually tried to emphasize that many in US govt and certainly MSM miss!, namely, when talking about these factions, it is more accurate to talk specific TRIBES or Clans or what have you. Ah, theres the rub. A clueless american journalist is hardly wont to discern the complex details of a tribal society and all their myriad factions, issues, history etc etc etc! - much less report about it in detail!
So they cut a massive corner and just throw it all into a nice, neat heap and call it good. There is: only 3 monolithic entities in Iraq, Sunni, Shia, and Kurd.
No, no, no, I always shake my head in dumbfound amazement, way off base, not true, etc. By the way, there are many other groups including ancient christian communities, jews, assyrians who still speak aramaic, turkish derived groups, etc
That you find all these murder/killings happening in groups of one or the other, alot of it is tit for tat killings, good old revenge, is more a matter of historical happenstance; ie tribe A has been sunni since 872AD and tribe B has been shia since 1075AD. They are not fighting because of that issue, per se, usually, they squable, fight or kill because of (usually, see below for caveat) other issues.
(If the main issue was really supposedly about religion; ie the so-called case or main reason all this insurgency or groups are fighting, then why hasnt the average american figured out a glaring contridiction: majority of Kurds are sunni so why should they be at odds with the other "Sunni"?! arent they/shouldnt they be "brothers" then?
(rarely does the media distinguish between the various ethnicities since most probably could not grasp Anthropology 101 in college)
Well, there you have it, a perfect example of a journalist confusing the issue by labeling one group by ethnicity and the other two by religion, when what that ends of doing is comparing apples to oranges.
Well, to that, I say, Duh!, that is the first step to realize these issues are much more complex than usually presented. No wonder the average american is confused)
And finally, to throw another twist into the machinery; there really ARE religious wackos who are intolerant and are inspired by ancient differences of theology and they fight and kill under those banners. Most of those groups are non-Iraqis, ie alQuado wacko types.
Its very similar to all the wars the Europeans used to have between protestants and catholics with each calling the other blasphemous apostic heretics who were wrong wrong wrong! and should all be killed.(Now where in the (mostly) gentle teachings of Jesus did they turn to such murderous violence...I will not pretend to know)
There are individuals or fringe groups who are still fighting the wars of a thousand years ago. Most other Muslims have moved on, as we say, and live in peace with most others. Just like most Euro/Americans have moved on and we dont fight about what denomination our neighbor belongs to)
We have the same things in america, wacko religious fringe groups who preach exclusion and violence towards whatever group meets their definition or ire.
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