Troops in Ramadi learn to live with danger

[Barrett808]

Troops in Ramadi learn to live with danger
By ANTONIO CASTANEDA, Associated Press Writer

RAMADI, Iraq - The hole in the ceiling is just a way to let out steam for the soldiers showering inside a damaged trailer in Ramadi, one of Iraq's most dangerous cities.

But each knows how that hole was created. A mortar round came through the trailer roof a few weeks ago and could have killed everyone inside had it detonated. Most mortars are not so benign, and there are many here.

The Iraq war for most troops is fleeting; brief ambushes or sudden, powerful roadside bombings. But in this troubled city, the capital of deadly Anbar province, the conflict is nearly constant. Gunbattles in the streets are common and mortars rain down on the bases every week.

On the eastern edge of town at Camp Corregidor, a base named after a famous World War II battle in the Philippines, U.S. soldiers regularly hunker down during "indirect fire" attacks or what they generally call "incoming" — military vernacular for inbound rockets or mortars.

The attacks happen at least three times a week, soldiers say, and usually end with explosions that miss their target. Sometimes the mortars hit nearby neighborhoods, maiming and killing civilians.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060630/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_ramadi_lh1

[genie_weenie]

1. Yep, just like when I was there

at Camp Blue Diamond (when MNF-W) was then under the Command of I MEF.