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There's always a possiblity that grass roots "support the troops" campaigns can be twisted by agenda-driven reporters into stories of failure on the part of the US military.
The most disgusting example of this I've ever seen comes from Bob Kerr, a columnist for The Providence Journal.
The Iraq war has been the war fought on the cheap _ not enough body armor, not enough armor on vehicles, not enough night vision equipment.His column, ditributed nationwide by Scripps Howard News Service, details the horrors of US Marines begging for food from the Iraqi citizens. Unfortunately, Kerr chose to cite an actual Marine as the source of the story.It has been the war in which packages from back home have had to fill some crucial needs.
Now, we have chow call at the Greenwood Credit Union in Warwick, R.I. It's the latest in home-front intervention. It's partially in response to the unthinkable image of U.S. Marines approaching Iraqi citizens and asking for food because they do not have enough.
And that Marine has responded.
ALANBAR PROVINCE, IRAQ--REGARDING Bob Kerr’s May 2 column, “U.S. Marines Go Hungry,” the article was about me and my Marine unit, deployed to Iraq. Several statements need to be cleared up, because they were taken out of context and are inaccurate.There's more at both links. Cpl Andoscia debunks every claim Kerr made, then concludes on this particularly important note to the American people:Kerr refers to “chow call at the Greenwood Credit Union, in Warwick (R.I.),” which was set up “in response to the unthinkable image of U.S. Marines’ approaching Iraqi citizens and asking for food because they do not have enough.”
We have more than enough food. We receive two hot meals a day, which our cooks prepare for us, and a Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) for lunch. In addition, the cooks keep a never-ending supply of Power Bars, fruit, cake and Gatorade in the chow hall that we built, to which we have 24/7 access.
The column states: “ ‘I got a letter,’ says Karen (Boucher-Andoscia, the mother of Nicholas R. Andoscia). ‘And he had called me before that. He said, ‘Send lots of tuna.’ ”
I did, in fact, ask for tuna — but not because of an alleged lack of food here. Tuna is a good snack between meals, and a taste of home. Many Marines write home to their loved ones and ask them to send a box or two a month filled with snacks. This is not because they are going hungry; it’s because they may be in the mood for a certain treat at times.
I hope that they realize that Marines appreciate every care package sent over, which greatly feeds our morale. We are over here because we choose to be; our mission comes first, and everything else comes second. That having been said, we are well-fed, well-trained, well-equipped and, thanks to the American people, well-supported.Kerr responds that he "heard from Marines from all over the country who took issue with the column and assured me that Andoscia would be contacted about it. Apparently he was."
Gutless slimer.
