War stories: Mosul to Fallujah, morale and marshmallow fluff 
By Mary Katharine Ham

"A Christmas tree decorated with bullets. A sergeant said that a soldier had used a grenade for a Christmas ball, but apparently that was a little over the top even for Anbar Province, and so the grenade was removed from the list of acceptable Christmas decorations." Photo and cutline by Michael Yon.

More on morale from INDC in Fallujah:

Marines responsible for security fight boredom and tension with work (convoys, patrols, administration, cleaning), internet, TV, care packages and dumb challenges, the latter a young male tradition that transcends time and place. Between the furor of battles, I'm fairly certain that young Roman Legionnaires challenged each other to Marshmallow Fluff eating contests (or their equivalent) in the snowy forests of Germania.

Much more at the link.

And, finally, an interview with one of the "exceptions" to the all-military-are-dumb-and-disadvantaged rule. There seem to be a lot of exceptions, don't there?

Read the whole thing, and do follow all of the links. Thank you, Lord.

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Patterico has a good related post here and another here.

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INDC in Iraq: Vigilante justice in Fallujah
Allahpundit

I can understand why someone would enlist in the Iraqi army and I can sort of understand why someone would become an insurgent, but I can’t understand why anyone would become an Iraqi policeman. They’re prime targets, they live among the people who want to kill them, and they don’t bring all that much firepower to the fight. They’re on de facto suicide missions.

INDC Bill spoke to one IP named Mohammed about the battle for the city and the Iraqi police’s role in it. Two quotes, then you’re on your own. One:

He then told me that a secret war is going on in Fallujah. That citizens, fed up with the insurgency, are tracking down insurgents and killing them. These vigilantes then blame the killing on other insurgent groups, to try and get the splintered mass of terrorists to start killing each other.

And two:

Mohammed: “I think we need the Americans. If they go out right now it’s gonna be a disaster. And believe me, even if they get out of Fallujah, Washington itself will be a target.” ...

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Patterico seems satisfied the IM chats here and here are legit. Me? Not so much, but they'll do.

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Mary Katharine Ham: Policing Fallujah