U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Torres-Cortes tries to use his language translation card to speak with an Afghan villager while on patrol in Wadawu valley during Operation Silver Creek in Nuristan province, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2009. Torres-Cortes is assigned to the 4th Infantry Division’s Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matthew C. MoellerFrom Yahoo News/AP:
KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – More than 100 soldiers in the brigade studied Arabic for 10 months. Their officers boned up on Iraq by reading dozens of books.
Then, five months ago, the 5,000 troops of the U.S. Army's 5th Stryker Brigade were told they were headed to Afghanistan instead.
The Obama administration's decision to switch America's main battlefront from Iraq to Afghanistan is more than a geographic shift. While there are similarities between the two Muslim nations, there are also major differences in language, culture and topography.
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My Comment: An interesting article .... the preparation, understanding the language and culture, the education .... the U.S. Army has certainly changed over the years.