The HSU Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 14, Ed. 1, Tuesday, April 19, 2005 Page: 4 of 12
twelve pages : illus. ; page 15 x 12 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
VBLjm ivim
Military Matters: Mortars Offer Comedic Relief During Heavy Combat
Brandon McClellan
Columnist
I do not pretend to think that my
war experience is even comparable
to that of my forefathers and my
relatives who went to war before
me. To be honest I would say that
there were people during and after
my time in Iraq who could proba-
bly give you a better idea of the
horrors of combat. Now having
said that based on my experience
war is not always scary.
Sometimesthere is humor.
My first few months were spent
in the town of Ar Ramadi the
provincial capital of the Al Anbar
Province in western Iraq. Most of
my time was spent living in one of
Saddam Hussein's former palace
compounds. It was a fairly well
protected compound with sturdy
buildings which proved to be use-
ful. After my arrival in Ramadi in
late April of 2003 it became obvi-
ous that there were people who had
less than friendly intentions toward
the U.S. military.
About June of that year the local
insurgentadguyshoodlums what
ever you wish to call them decided
to start attacking us with mortars
weapons similar to cannons but
smaller lighter and more mobile.
A tube is set up at an angle a. round
is dropped down the tube and upon
reaching the
bottom a pin
hits the fuse
and launches
the round
towards a
tar-
get. Being
o n t h e
receiving
end of the
mortars
well it makes you a bit jumpy.
One night my buddies and I were
sitting outside our building. We
would spend the evenings outside
trying to get some relief from the
heat smoking and joking. During
the course of our conversation
some of us noticed a bright flash
about a hundred meters away from
our location. Within two seconds a
loud explosion came from the
direction of the flash which sent us the entrance. However as I lunged
scattering toward the safety of our through the doorway I caught my
building. foot on the cinder block. One of
When we first moved into our my comrades was right behind me
building we had attached some and assisted me through the door. I
camouflage netting to the front to completed my dramatic entrance by
provide crashing to the ground and upend-
shade. The ing my buddy's cot.
netting was When my buddy was able to
supported by contain his laughter he was kind
poles. The enough to ask if I was all right. My
ends were pride suffered the greatest wound
held up by of all but I was able to provide my
tether lines comrades with a bit of amusement.
Fortunately during the times we
were attacked with mortars and
other weapons no one was ever
seriously hurt. There is nothing fun
about someone trying to kill you
but even in the dark times you can
attached to
stakes in the
ground. In
my haste to
run to safety
I tripped over one of the tether
lines. Fortunately I regained my find reasons to laugh
balance and continued running.
I stopped long enough to open
the door so I could get inside. The
door was not really a door but more
of a hatch. The bottom of it was
about two feet off the ground and
one had to duck to go through it. In
front of the door was a cinder block
meant to help people get through
Did You Know...? Stale Potato Chips Delirium and Mismatched Socks
Brooke Thompson
Staff Writer
I don't know what I expected
from my freshman year but it defi-
nitely didn't involve aerobics
moves to get my jeans on all of
which I told myself shrunk in the
dryer or living off a diet of stale
potato chips day-old pizza and
never-ending cups of cold coffee. I
also did not expect to discover that
the number of hours you sleep in a
night are directly connected to the
number of walls you walk into the
next day. Proving to my roommate
that I am a professional at ignoring
my alarm clock is another thing
that was not included in my list of
goals. I had no idea that in college
luxury is defined as Charmin toilet
paper and being able to take a
shower barefoot or that it could be
so tempting to pull the fire alarm.
My plans for this past year also did
not involve learning that even
though a fork is technically "dirty"
the handle can still be used as a
knife or a way to eat peanut butter
out of the jar. An attempt to write
eight page research papers in one
night is suicidal and delirium can
cause things like dumping a plate
of syrup and Eggos in the middle of
your bed seem hilarious.
However I do feel that I've
learned some valuable things this
year. For example I know that
keeping a package of baby carrots
nearby will make you feel better
about enormous amounts of fre-
quently consumed chocolate.
Dishes are over-rated because no
matter what Mom says it is per-
fectly acceptable to drink milk
straight out of the carton. The
phrase "matching socks" no longer
holds any meaning whatsoever; in
fact wearing socks at all is a feat of
greatness. A coffee pot can double
as a way to boil Ramen noodles
Tuesday is $0.99 banana day at
United and between Febreeze and
your roommate's closet laundry
can be put off for disturbingly long
periods of time. Getting a full eight
hours of sleep is a bigger event than
man landing on the moon and at
3:30 a.m. it's possible to fall asleep
anywhere-even on the dorm beds.
Finally if the pancakes in the cafe-
teria crunch it helps to think of
them as waffles.
Whatever I might have expected
coming into college what I found
besides the two dark circles under
my eyes is "peace that passes all
understanding" is peace in spite of
the stressful schedule and messy
dorm room. The joy of the Lord is
stronger than any bad day or all-
nighter. Because of this peace and
joy I have survived dirty socks
cold coffee and the general strange-
ness involved in the college
lifestyle.
APRIL 192005
THE BRAND 4
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View five places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The HSU Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 14, Ed. 1, Tuesday, April 19, 2005, newspaper, April 19, 2005; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth104710/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.