can be found over on the Clark website (from Armymom). I have copied it for curious readers in the extended section.
Armymom posted this this afternoon after talking to David:
Our son called us this morning. He sounded good and said that a couple of people in his unit have sufferred minor injuries, but no serious casualties or deaths in the past week. He said that he will e-mail some detailed "war stories" to us later this week. It amazes me how mature & politically aware this 18 year old has become - most kids his age are worrying about dating and where to sneak in to drink, here are the things he asked/told us:
(!) He wanted to know what the media was reporting about Iraq - we told him that they said Fallujah & Najaf were out of control, and that there are skirmishes in Baghdad, but the Bush folks claim that these are a small minority of Iraqis, that the Iraqis want us there & are grateful, that we are giving them freedom. David said Fallujah & Najaf were bad, that Baghdad was getting bad, and that convoys in Baghdad and also between the three cities are attacked constantly. He said the Iraqi kids that used to beg for food now throw rocks - he said a kid hit him in the head with a rock the other day, so he and his squad threw rocks back at the kids.
(2) He said June 30 handover won't happen, or if it does, it will be fake. He said that the Iraqi governing council people are cowards who have no control over the country and the people don't like most of them. He said that none of them have been out trying to get people to stop the insurrections or kidnappings because they are afraid. He wonders why we are fighting for their country when there are all kinds of healthy Iraqi men who won't defend their own country or "freedom."
(3) He said morale was good in his unit, that everyone was getting lots of support and packages from home, and that their commanders and senior NCO's were real good about taking time to talk with the troops, especially after they return from being "in the mix" (I'm sure he gave mom the edited version of the phrase). He said that his unit is tightly knit, and they see their mission as ebing taking care of each other, not anything about Iraq.
(4) He said Marines are crzay as Hell, driving around in HUMVEES with no doors, o armor, and body bag bait standing up at the mounted gun. He said that Bremer's edict about not wanting 1st Cav to use their tanks & Bradleys in Baghdad is no longer in effect - and there would probably be insurrection in the ranks if they tries to get them back in Hummers.
(5) He was very curious about the political stuff going on, and remarked, that he'd love to see Bush come to Iraq and drive around in a HUMVEE, dodging grenades, IED's, AK's, kids throwing rocks, etc. He also wanted to know what people at home were thinking about the war, and I told him what I knew of latest surveys. He said it was good that people were worried about them - they worry that no one will know what they are going through and that the politicians will cover stuff up to cover their own butts. He said that the 1st Cav was supposed to replace the 1st Armored Division, and that the support units (personnel, finance, etc) from the 1st Armored Div are getting to go home as planned this month, but all of the armor, infantry, etc have been extended for at least 120 days, and they are P'ed off. Our son says he feels bad for those guys, but is glad that they are staying to help out. He says that Bush is losing support in the military because he looks "clueless." He also says that the soldiers are saying there needs to be a draft because most of them keep getting deployed because the army is so short-handed and they are sick of it.