Craig Rullman has filed his first dispatch from his billet in Germany, where he is embedded with his old Marine unit, engaged in training soldiers from Georgia for deployment to Afghanistan.
Check it out here.
Georgia is, of course, a frontier land, and always has been — a bridge between Europe and Asia, now a small, independent republic looking the Russian Bear right in the eye.
The pressure is palpable, and the Georgians mean to impress. Georgia wants into NATO – there are Russian tanks and mobile artillery 30 kilometers from their capital of Tblisi — and after the U.S. they are the largest contributor of troops to the effort in Afghanistan. Fish says they have been fighting off the designs of foreign empires for thousands of years. Now, he says, they want to be left alone…
The Marines love working with the Georgians. They are gritty, professional, highly motivated, and smart. They don’t drink water and they smoke constantly. They learn fast. They are fighters. Still, some cultural differences remain. Marines never break training for meals; for them, “chow is continuous.” The Georgians insist on it. Meals might last an hour or more in the middle of peak training time.
Fascinating stuff. And nice work if you can get it. Rullman assures me that he is, indeed, having a fantastic time. More to come.
Matthew says
These things are always interesting to read. The major news networks are only interested in whatever is the story of the day. A lot of serious things are going on in the world that don’t make the news.
JimC says
WAY more than we know. You’d think with 24 hours of news to fill that cable channels would be providing us with a wide range of in-depth reporting , but noooooo. It’s easier and way cheaper to just fill the time with talking head panels of gasbags pontificating about the sordid presidential campaign. Or maybe there’s a riot to cover for a few days.
Matthew says
Well, every election year all you hear about is the election. Though this election year is about two or three years long. Also it seems like a really unfunny episode of South Park.
SOFREP is a good place to learn about the war on terror. There are other places online that provide a wider range of topics.
JimC says
Yep — SOFREP is aces.
Paul McNamee says
My brother-in-law was career Navy. He is also an extremely formidable chess player. I don’t recall the specifics but at one point he spent time in Georgia, on the Navy’s ticket, learning / playing chess with Georgian chess masters.
JimC says
You have so many cool bits of family background. Always appreciate you sharing them.
lane batot says
My maternal side of the family is Georgian–I used to spend most of my summers growing up there-near Rome, no less. That’s North and West of Atlanta(I avoid Atlanta like the plague!). Yeah. people are often interested in my summers outside Rome, until I tell them “Rome, Georgia”(ahem)……And those Marines ARE savages! No doubt the European Georgians know well the concept of “second breakfast”(that we were JUST discussing a coupla posts back!)…..
JimC says
Yes, second breakfast is clearly a priority.
lane batot says
….Right up there with Third Supper!
deuce says
Great article from Craig.
BTW, one of the best (from what I hear) English language novels set in Georgia is RUSUDAN from Harold Lamb. It’s the final book in his “Durandal trilogy”. Howard Andrew Jones keeps working to get it published after an 80yr gap. Donald M. Grant Publishing has been sitting on the rights for 30yrs and is being mulish. Maybe we should start an email campaign.
JimC says
I’m in.