August 9, 2005
Iraq Offensive Out of Gas
Embedded with the 1138th Armored Brigade, somewhere near the Syrian Border.
(IRAQ) – Somewhere near the Syrian border (the military prohibits revealing detailed, geographical information over the Internet), this latest in a serious of retaliatory offensive strikes against the terrorist incursion of Western Iraq has run out of gas.
The soldiers on the ground, who have taken to calling this most recent assault “Operation 34°32’18.85″N, 41° 9’0.78″E ” remain cheerful, however, and optimistic that the situation will turn around.
“We’re in high spirits,” says Major N. Cunvienants, of the Army’s 1138th Armored Brigade. “This job is gonna get done sooner or later. Looks like later now. How later remains to be seen. I could make a guess, but that would be a classified guess, and I couldn’t share it with you.”
Logistical difficulties have plagued the military’s occupation of Iraq since the early days of the war, when enthusiastic commanders could be overheard telling their troops to “Forget about the water. Bring more bullets.” This advice proved imprudent as it became clear that supply trucks were unable to travel as quickly as retreating Iraqi soldiers.
The Army’s 1138th, however, has had a particularly difficult time of it. Often advancing far beyond the scope of the American public’s ability to care.
“Yeah, we tend to go off the map a lot,” says Major Cunvienants. “I mean some days even I wonder what the hell I’m doing out here. Then I see this gun in my hand and this map with these arrows and I remember that I’ve got a mission to do, and I aim to do it.”
When asked exactly what this mission might entail, the commander of the Army’s Western-most battle unit was unable to speculate on the record, saying only that “It will make the world a better place.”
Meanwhile, the vehicles under his command are not moving and his men, seeing no one at whom to shoot at present, doodle in the sand or listen to their iPods. Officials at the Pentagon claim that logistical support of the 1138th is “Definitely on our radar,” and cheerfully point out the brigade’s remarkable death toll to date, which currently stands at just under four thousand terrorists killed or left for dead.