Angels In Iraq

I've been easing into blogging, doing more reading than writing right now. This post, however, should be spread at least as quickly as any scam-ridden chain e-mail. Here is an excerpt from an email sent to Hugh Hewitt by a soldier in Iraq, LtCol Jacques "Jackal" Naviaux II:

Every day starts to seem the same here. However, today was not like the others. Today was different. Today was real.

Our mission today was to extract Army soldiers from the field. They had been conducting operations to quell insurgent activities in their area of operations. Our Operations department had briefed us that the soldiers had been out patrolling for over two weeks. I knew the soldiers would be tired, dirty, and more than likely a little ripe! I also knew the soldiers would be very appreciative on getting a helicopter ride back to their base camp as they could get a well deserved hot meal and a shower. As a Marine, I like to give the Army a hard time. The Army seems to enjoy giving it right back at me. This is just good-natured professional rivalry. Every service likes to think they are the toughest, smartest, and best-looking troops in the world. I was looking forward to making a few pointed remarks to my fellow warriors over the intercom system and listening to their replies. However, I never got the chance.

Our mission was changed while in route. The extract was cancelled. Instead, we were to land at their base camp and pick up five Angels. An Angel is the brevity code we use to describe the deceased. Instead of picking up hungry and tired soldiers, we now were going to be flying out the same soldiers who were just recently sharing a laugh with their friends.

Read the whole thing, please.