You can always laugh when you reflect on what you have endured, but at the time all things move slowly and painfully. We are back out of Hellmend as I call it , after a week embed in conditions that make Iraq look like a summer camp for spoilt children. Without a doubt the hardest assignment I have done to date, I have six pages of notes thoughts and incidents to write up and will do so, no doubt on the plane next week when we leave. We leave on a second embed tomorrow out to the East with the Army who I hope have the sense to be more comfort orientated, than the Marines.
The thought I leave you with is that the recollection piece will be called the "The Sleeping Bag War" , because I could literally wake up in the night sit up in my sleeping bag and film the frontline of fighting between the Marines and the Taliban, put the night camera back down next to me and try to get back to sleep on the ground in my sleeping bag. We were that close.
Picture of me coming into Camp Bastion, after driving across the "Desert of Death"
3 comments:
Still don't let that camera out of your reach or sight, do you Mr. James. What a job you have. Would like to know how you would answer Mr. Lewis question now..."How much longer are you going to do this, Mal?" Have a feeling the trip East won't be any better than the trip South. Have you heard the expression..."Go West old man, go West"? You all did an amazing job. Thank you and the footage of the war at the foot of you sleeping bag were some of the best we've seen. Be thinking of all of you. Good photo of you but the grin looked a little forced man. You got to work on that.
A couple of your many fans who really do appreciate you. Bet a cup of tea would go real good about now.
Mal, we are missing you here in the holy land. I think I did see your footage of Marines patrolling through the poppy fields the other day! Stay safe my friend!
Rich
Mal - Haven't you served long enough? Every time you get out of there I sigh a sigh of relief and then you go back in. Maybe it's time to call it day?
ps - I hope your kid doesn't read this. To scary.
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