Happy 4th of July from everyone out here aboard Camp Leatherneck. Today is the day we celebrate our independence from England and our various rights that our forefathers identified in those early days of the republic. In commemoration, we security Marines raided the Royal Marine's barracks and threw all of their tea into the Helmund River. Ok, not really. That would have easily turned into a gun fight. But the Indian chow-hall workers (TCNs*) did decorate for independence day. I occasionally make fun of the Indians because there are a lot of things that are lost in translation between our cultures. Sometimes they try to imitate American culture, but they just fail horribly. In reality though I will say that there is one thing that is not lost on them. The idea of America as the land of opportunity and liberty is not lost on these people, even in these hard times. I don't think I've ever seen people love a land that they have never seen so much. Indeed, many of them will return to India after there 1 or 2 year contract and use the money they earned here to immediately begin the process of immigrating to the U.S.. I think that's something for everyone to think about.
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| Moore and Doc Barber of 3rd Squad in the chow-hall with 4th of July decor. |
* Third Country Nationals: Civilian workers shipped in from countries other than the principal coalition nations.
