DeeKnow’s Grotto

Kevin Sites is a freelance solo journalist currently on assignment for NBC News in Iraq, in his personal website he talks about going on patrol in heavily armed American river boats on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers...

When I see them in the river -- the 40-foot, olive-green boats -- all I can think of is Apocalypse Now. When, I wondered, would Captain Willard climb aboard and motor up the Mekong Delta on his way to terminate Colonel Kurtz's command with "extreme prejudice."

The surroundings even smacked of the cinematic version of Vietnam, muddy river banks broken up with patches of stiff, thin reeds, fisherman in small wooden boats plumbing the opaque green waters for tonight's meal.

The boats are known by the Marines as RAC's (Riverine Assault Craft), twin 330 horsepower cruisers with a 50 caliber machine gun on the bow, a Mark 19 grenade launcher on the stern and two M249 SAWs (squad assault weapons) mounted midship. One of the marines he's with tells him about kids throwing rocks at the boats from the banks. Apparently they're not that popular ;-)

4:25:54 PM