6 MARCH:
The 10th Mountain Division is an Infantry division based primarily out of Ft. Drum, New York. They were initially trained to fight in mountainous and arctic conditions, and were the only unit specially trained for the rigors of that style of combat. So of course someone thought it would be a grand idea to send them to Iraq.

Okay, I admit– the 10th Mountain Division nowadays is pretty much a normal Infantry division, and they wear a “Mountain” shoulder tab mostly out of historical legacy. But still, when I found out that these were the guys coming to relieve us, I looked around and said, “Why?” So this comic, too, is an almost 100% remake of one I did in-theater back in 2005.

Maybe now we should declare most of our Divisions to be “Desert” Divisions?

By the way, some people may have noticed that I have started to add the word “Hooah” into some of my comics lately. Expect to see it more often. “Hooah” is a funny word, not even entirely a word but more of a sound, a motivational thing that can mean pretty much anything depending on the circumstances. It can mean “Okay, Let’s go!” or “Yeah” or “Hmmm, okay” or “I don’t really know exactly what you’re trying to say to me but you outrank me and I’m not going to get into it right now”. Usually it is just some sort of acknowledgement that someone has spoken and you more-or-less go along with what is said. The US Marines have a similar expression, “Ooo-Rah”, which appears to be used in a similar fashion.

Where did the “Hooah” come from? There are many different tales about its origin. One is that it was an Native American word, specifically from tribes in Florida, that said something like a “Huu-ah” like grunt in acknowledgement (probably something like “I have no idea what you’re trying to say to me but I’m sure this treaty will work out much like the last one”). No one really knows where this came from, and I have been reluctant to use it too much because to me it’s one of those things you kind of have to be there to really get the… nuance. But I’ll use it here because it helps bring a bit of flavor to the setting, and, well.. it’s an Army thing to do.

I’m curious if the Air Force and Navy have similar expressions, or if services from other countries have these sorts of things too.