Troops in Iraq Fight Fear, Boredom

05/30/2007

Associated Press | May 30, 2007


WASHINGTON - Life for U.S. troops in Iraq can be boring and commanders can sometimes seem petty.

Morale for each Army Soldier and Marine in the war depends foremost on how much combat they have seen. But it also is about the trivial and mundane - a lack of privacy or a resented rule that dictates the color of T-shirts they must wear.

It's about the triumphs, too.

"It's up and down," said Spc. Christopher Hagen, assigned to Baqouba in the increasingly violent Diyala province north of Baghdad.

When troops score a success against militants, "morale goes through the roof," said Hagen. "But when you hear one of your friends gets hurt, it drops to an all-time low."

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