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Subject: French Soldier's Blog from Afghanistan describes working with US Troops
caltrop    2/8/2009 1:19:38 PM
A cursory search did not show any discussion on this item but my apologies if this has been covered before. I'll post link below of an English translation but the writings of the French soldier differs quite a bit from what some EU posters have repeatedly posted here. h*tp://serendipity.ruwenzori.net/index.php/2008/09/21/american-troops-in-afghanistan-through-the-eyes-of-a-french-omlt-infantryman
 
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smitty237    Atypical   2/9/2009 12:18:56 AM
Interesting analysis.  Most definitely not the kind of stuff we've been hearing from other Europeans, particularly the ones on this page.  It makes me wonder of a lot of foreign troops are coming home with different attitudes about Americans than the ones they left with. 
 
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gf0012-aust       2/9/2009 3:06:59 AM
link not working for me.... 
 
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Godofgamblers       2/9/2009 3:13:00 AM

link not working for me.... 
here you go, gf, don't say i've never done anything for you:)


"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of a prestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing ?ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events?. Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day ? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company.

They have a terribly strong American accent - from our point of view the language they speak is not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever state they are from, no two accents are alike and they even admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other.

Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine - they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - we are wimps, even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans.

Here we discover America as it is often depicted : their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by promiscuity lack of privacy and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland - everything here reminds of that : the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the post parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the hearth of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of a whole people who provides them through the mail all that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location : books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. in such way that every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission. And that is a first shock to our preconceptions : the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention.

And they are impressive warriors ! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seem to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight unmoving in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark - only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered - everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump.

And combat ? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all - always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks : they switch  from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the ennemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting : they just charge ! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later - which cuts any pussyfooting short.

We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is - from what we have been given to witness, the American

 
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gf0012-aust       2/9/2009 4:35:16 AM
GoG, I am of coursevery appreciative of your effort - unfort there is a great big advert for DSE and MIL-STD 3009 compliance buggering up the view of  half the text!

 
 
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Godofgamblers       2/9/2009 5:07:57 AM
hehe can't help you there, mate.
 
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gf0012-aust       2/9/2009 5:45:11 AM

hehe can't help you there, mate.
sorted!  the trick is to hilight the text and then you can see through the image overlap

anyway, I found it interesting that the views of a frenchman who is actually on the job, is very different from the french internet warriors who used to frequent these forums and make disparaging comments about US military competency.... 
 
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Godofgamblers       2/9/2009 5:55:27 AM
In general, it has been my experience that racism/intolerance never survives contact with the enemy, if you know what i mean...
 
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The Lizard King    smiity   2/9/2009 6:30:23 AM
"It makes me wonder of a lot of foreign troops are coming home with different attitudes about Americans than the ones they left with."
 
Cover is being blown.  Top secret camouflage is being defeated.
 
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gf0012-aust       2/10/2009 3:49:13 AM

In general, it has been my experience that racism/intolerance never survives contact with the enemy, if you know what i mean...

as usual, more words of wisdom from the peacemaker....
 
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Godofgamblers       2/10/2009 6:06:54 AM
It's been my experience. Isn't yours the same? I have been to a lot of different places and I find that much of the intolerance is purely linguistic. If you confront someone with racist views in their own language, politely but firmly, I find any illwill fades away... The 'fear of the other' doesn't linger long when you speak in words he understands, in concepts he understands.
Humor goes a long way too:)
 
I hope your experience has been the same, gf.
 
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