Major call-up of Eskimos for duty in Iraq could cause hardship at home

[leftchick]

http://cbs11tv.com/nationalwire/Eskimos-Iraq-aa/resources_news_html

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Military families across America often endure hardship when a loved one ships out. But there are not many places in the U.S. where those left behind have to chop ice out of the tundra for drinking water and make sure the freezer is well-stocked with walrus and seal meat.

The first major call-up of National Guard reservists from rural Alaska since World War II could mean sacrifice and upheaval for Eskimo villages that practice subsistence hunting and gathering in some of the most remote and unforgiving spots in the nation.

Eric Phillip's job in the small Yup'ik Eskimo village of Kongiganak in southwestern Alaska is to hunt walrus, seal, mink, otter, geese, ducks and other animals to provide food for his immediate family and other relatives. With Phillip shipping out, his wife and their two young sons will be moving to the city of Bethel, about 70 miles away.

<snip>

Similar stories are being told in Eskimo villages across the vast state, in places with names like Alakanuk, Emmonak and Manokotak, as 670 soldiers from some of the most hard-to-reach places in the nation head to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Six men headed to Iraq are from Scammon Bay, a Yup'ik Eskimo village of about 520 people in western Alaska where residents rely mostly on subsistence hunting and fishing. Families left behind will now rely more on each other, another time-honored tradition in rural Alaska. The village will take care of them.

http://cbs11tv.com/nationalwire/Eskimos-Iraq-aa/resources_news_html



Army National Guard Staff Sgt. William F. Brown leans against a bowhead whale skull under an arch made of a bow head whale jaw in Barrow, Alaska, Tuesday, June 6, 2006. Eskimos in some of Alaska's most isolated villages are being called to fight in Iraq during the first widespread call-up of National Guard reservists from rural Alaska since World War II. (AP Photo/Al Grillo, File)

[Postman]

1. Oh my God. This is real. I thought it was an ONION story...

eom

[Blue_In_AK]

13. Yes, it's very real, and very serious.

The people out in the villages live a very hard life; the families of these guardsmen will suffer greatly.

[AlamoDemoc]

2. Wow! I'm rather speachless!!!!!!

[SeattleVet]

3. You have GOT to be freaking kidding!

How long do they expect these folks to last in 120+ degree heat?

This is really from TheOnion, right?

(Maybe not....the people who make these decisions really ARE that nuts.)

[leftchick]

4. nope! Photo....

this is real. with real human beings. :(



Army National Guard Staff Sgt. William F. Brown sits a snow berm on the frozen Arctic Ocean off of Barrow, Alaska in a Tuesday, June 6, 2006 photo. Eskimos in some of Alaska's most isolated villages are being called to fight in Iraq during the first widespread call-up of National Guard reservists from rural Alaska since World War II. (AP Photo/Al Grillo, File)

[MissB]

5. Nope.

It was in the front page section of yesterday's paper. From really cold to really fucking hot. That must be brutal.

[Postman]

6. I hear they landed a no-bid gazillion dollar contract to teach Iraqis how

to build igloos.

Wouldn't that be par for the course with this crew in D.C.?

[MissB]

7. Actually, they acknowledged that igloos were a bad idea, but

they're still tossing around the idea of using sled dogs/sleds for transportation.

[diamondsndust]

10. Yeah, sand skiing is a highly ignored sport that needs attention

brought to it. It's a great way to save gas... you'll never even miss your oil! :sarcasm: We'll teach them thar eye-rackies! :rofl:

[TahitiNut]

12. Just in time to help the Iraqis with their annual ...

... walrus hunt. :eyes: (WMDs = Walrus' Meandering in the Desert)

[SeattleVet]

8. Yeah, I knew it was real, but I was hoping that I was wrong.

Unfortunately, the people who thought this up are really screwed up in the head.

[katamaran]

9. Holy crap, that would be the rudest awakening EVER n/t

[Yollam]

11. I thought Inuit/Yupik/Aleuts. HATED the term "Eskimo"...

And yet the media still use it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo

The term "Eskimo" is an exonym that is not generally used by Eskimos themselves. The term "Inuit" is sometimes used instead, but it does not properly include the Yupik.

[Blue_In_AK]

14. I believe the Aleuts consider themselves separate

from the "Eskimos" and the Indians (Athabascans, Tlingit, Haida, etc.). Alaska's "Eskimos" are mainly Yupik and Inupiat. But, whatever, this is a very bad situation for the guardsmen and their families, and very real.