As you should all know by now, the Basrah Airport Station is run by the Brits. In some ways that means things are more laid back than at an American base. It is a no salute base (presumably based on the old adage that officers in a war zone don’t like being saluted since that makes them prime sniper targets) for the most part, though the Italian general and the Division CO get saluted of course. While the guards at the outside perimeter are in full battle kit, they seem on good terms with the local workers, joking with them as they pat them down on the way in or out (making sure contraband isn’t moving in either direction). The sergeants at the various posts around the base are probably more old school than Americans, gruff, older, with beer guts (some anyway), tattoos and smoking pipes. And an incomprehensible Scottish or Welsh accent, of course. I suspect deliberately so, better to annoy officers.
As an aside I actually got in a conversation the other night with three Brits about the lack of English rankers in the Army. It was like all the old historian jokes come true. They were complaining that the reason its’ called the British army, is because there aren’t any English in it (pronounced “init”, with a question tone at the end)! They were all Scots, or Welsh or from the North (Liverpool, York, Bristol), who apparently aren’t seen as proper Englishmen at all – I suppose a bit like New Yorkers pondering “fly over” country. They are people from traditional Army areas (like certain areas in the U.S.), with fewer civilian job prospects than in the south of England. Probably they are from the same stock that supplied the British Regiments with fodder during the days of Empire (when it was also a volunteer army).
And they look it too, with pale white skin, short frames and not in the best of shape – at least the Staff wallah types aren’t in shape, whereas the patrol and convoy fellows look on the mark. Not that the U.S. military has anything to brag about, really. I guess it is the fact that they are mostly pudgy white guys, certainly more so than our military – which is surprising since the U.S. military has less African-Americans’ than their percentage in society as a whole. This means that the Brits have an even smaller percentage compared to the ethnic makeup of their society. Military service in Britain must be even more stratified than in the U.S., where I sometimes think it must almost be a caste system (and I’m only partly joking). It could be that West Indians and South Asians have no tradition of military service, as they were not treated equally until the 1960s, and that service is not seen as a way to get ahead – unlike the U.S., where a military career was and is a good way for African-Americans to succeed. Anybody know the answer?
As I said before, our British cousins are generally more laid back than Americans when in uniform yet at the same time they clearly more class conscious and there is much more public deferral to authority. It works both ways too, with British officers assuming much more privileges in the little things (at least in my experience) than Americans do, perhaps it is that whole egalitarian thing we have in the States. And by little things I mean cutting to the front of lines, never making a fresh pot of coffee, etc. And the British enlisted folks have a habit of saying “sir” to everyone, particularly if they are on guard duty, no matter what I tell them. It is a bit strange to be leaving work and have the two guards in feathered green caps come to attention as you leave. I suppose it is a tradition, like U.S. Army folks saluting even when in PT gear.
But then they’ll be much more familiar in public interactions at work, with everyone using first names like Conrad, Desmond and Nicki or Billy and Jordi. There is even one fellow I only know as “Odd Job,” since he looks just like the guy with the bowler in the James Bond movie “Goldfinger.” And since they don’t wear name tags, and the ranks are not always clear on their desert uniform, you have to figure out rank and last names by careful examination of e-mail properties… (sigh)
In the heads and hallways at work – and even on buildings – they have much funnier instruction posters than we would have, I’ve enclosed one for a laugh but it needs explanation. There are certain kinds of vehicles that are used for quick insertion and extractions of people and they have some long, official name. The soldiers of course simply refer to them a “Snatch,” because in a pinch that’s what you want to have happen. Hence the enclosed poster.
Lastly, like good soldiers anywhere, they like to paint things. One of their favorites, of course, are the big cement barriers which are used to seal off roads, make pathways, etc. The Brits like to paint these with unit symbols and the operation and date numbers, such as “Telic Four” for the fourth unit rotation after April 2003. I’ve enclosed one of the better ones.
Oh, and one more thing. The favorite saying among the enlisted is “F**k all,” which is a catch all phrase to describe anything good, bad or anywhere in between.
So, four pictures: a blurry picture of me and two mates (Conrad and Billy), the snatch poster, a Telic painting and a gruff Sgt. Major at ease in the pool room (those are Italians in the background playing foosball, who else?).
More on the English and the World Cup later.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!