My son was able to call from Iraq this morning (mid-evening his time). He said that yesterday his unit fought a heavy but fairly brief battle with the “Hajjis,” the US troops’ nickname for the insurgents (I know that Hajjis are pilgrims to Mecca, so I don’t get it, either). Stephen said his unit suffered no casualties but that they inflicted a large number on the enemy.

Well, the military warned terrorist violence would increase:

BAGHDAD — The US military predicted yesterday that more violence will engulf Iraq in the weeks ahead as the country’s splintered politicians and religious groups struggle to form a government.

Most of this violence will continue to be directed at the Iraqi government and its army and police. But US troops will still be targeted.

Stephen indicated the enemy initiated the fight on Jan. 12. The fight was mostly a small-arms battle. Ironically, he said that just before firing broke out he was reading a book called, One Bullet Away, by Marine officer Nathaniel Fick.

Publishers Weekly noted that Fick wrote of battle, “I was aware enough to be concerned that I was starting to enjoy it.” When Stephen called me today he was in high spirits, feeling a post-combat exuberation, common among unwounded troops after a fight. Stephen was exuberant because he lived through it unhurt - can’t fault him for that (I feel pretty exuberant, too!) but also because he realizes his training served him well, he didn’t wilt, kept his head, did his duty and did some good. This was not his first action, but it was the first of this severity. That his unit suffered no casualties while inflicting a goodly number on the enemy compounds the emotion.

It’s the same sort of emotion that George Washington felt after fighting in a skirmish, his first, in the French-Indian War. He wrote to his brother, Jack, ““I have heard the bullets whistle; and believe me, there is something charming in the sound.” He was later promoted for his distinguished service and a London paper published the letter in tribute. The rest of the story is told that King George III, a veteran of heavy fighting himself, read the paper and harumphed, “Well, he hasn’t heard too many bullets whistle or he wouldn’t be so charmed.”

Hence, post-combat exuberation is rarely found among troops who have seen prolonged fighting, especially day after day. There is no such thing as “getting used to combat.” After a certain intensity and duration of exposure to fighting, post-battle exuberation fades and then disappears especially if one’s own unit suffers losses.
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Joe Katzman, editor in chief of Defense Industry Daily, says that Stephen’s new career as a model has begun - but it’s modeling fractal patterns.

Update: I just noticed comments were closed for this post. Now they are open. Several readers have emailed that the term Hajji for the insurgents in Iraq comes from the old Saturday-morning adventure cartoon, Johnny Quest. Johnny’s best friend was named Hajji (I think then spelled Hadji). Well, maybe so.

Update: I don’t know why WordPress seems not to want to let comments open on this post. Trying again.

Here’s some more info about the engagement. Friendly forces consisted of one AAV section (three tracks, each with three crewmembers, of which my son is one) plus an infantry detachment of approx. platoon size. The AAV section featured three .50-caliber machine guns and three 40mm automatic grenade launchers plus, of course, the rifles of the crews. The Marine infantry had a 60mm mortar section plus two machines guns per squad (I think that’s the right number) of 5.56mm caliber. No 7.62mm guns, I think.

That’s an enormous amount of firepower for such a small operational force. My son continues to be baffled by, “What were they thinking?” when the hajjs attacked his unit. The hajjs, said Stephen, were armed only AK-series rifles, a couple of RPGs (no joke, they) and a single mortar tube which was quickly put out of action.

Stephen also confirmed this report by Roger Roy of the Orlando Sentinel, embedded with Marines in the invasion of 2003:

Marines return fire with a relish. The Marines figured anyone who messed with them had it coming.

Still true, he said (he called again last night), and upon reflection four days afterward pointed out that there was a lot more shooting going out from his unit’s position than coming in, even though the amount coming in at first was pretty high.