Moral Compass

At one of the stops from Kuwait to KV our company met with the regimental commander who talked to us about why we were in Iraq.
 1. Help the Iraqi people
 2. Kill anyone who try's to stop us from doing #1
 3. Do #1 and  #2 without harming a single  innocent Iraqi
 4. Do # 1 #2 and #3 without loosing your moral compass 

 

 After leaving the six men on the street picking up their things off the road

Oct 14th  

We went to talk to the INGs (Iraqi National Guard) they had said that it was them that had fired the shots as they were shooting at a car that was not stopping at their check point.  They were lying.  There was no empty shell casings and they could not even give a description of the car.

The ING were difficult to work with but we wanted them to be able to police their own country.  As well as telling us not to loose our moral compass the Colonel told us what it might be like to be ING.  He asked for somebody to name a city in the U.S. and a Marine shouted Memphis.  The Colonel began to tell a story.

Say that you have lived in Memphis your whole life and you decide that you are going to do your part so you apply to the Memphis police department.  The next Sunday you go to the church you have gone to your entire life and as you walk in there is a piece of paper with your name on it, posted so that everyone can read and it says " If you work for the P.D. we will kill you" so you take it down and show it to your priest and he says that he cannot help. That you are on your own. You take the note to the P.D. and even the FBI and they all say the same thing, they can't help you are on your own.  You still want to be a cop and interview for the job.  The next Sunday the note says " if you work for the P.D. we will kill your family." You take the note down and show it to the same people and they all say the same thing. There is nothing they can do, you are on your own.  This makes you want to be a cop even more, this is what is wrong with your city.  You get the job and begin training at the police academy.  That Sunday there is no note.  When you get home from church you find the head of your 12 year old son on the door step.

This happened to an Iraqi.  Out of the first class of 40 Iraqis that were trained by coalition forces only 12 finished and when it came time to work only 4 showed up.