Frag Out! Magazine

the General tells us later on. "We want to make sure, there are no bad apples among them." We are pretty sure the CIA and other agencies are also interested in who's fighting there. One can possibly expect a nice chat with officials upon returning home. But not all of the volunteers want to go back. Some would like to stay in Kurdistan. Gear up! The people get ready to head out. The volunteers seem to have brought their own PCs, uniforms and chest rigs with them. Here they don't get much: they don't get paid, just board and lodging. This means Kurdish food and a mat to sleep on. Being asked what they need, one of the Americans says: "MREs please!" The Peshmerga don't have the money for suitable rations, most of the time it's rice. Meat is a rare commodity. Overall one doesn't get the impression that they are living the high life: weapons and ammo are often acquired locally. And the medics of the team are looking for any decent medical kit, ranging from tourniquets to the full load out for paramedics, as described in the Ranger Handbook. The convoy is on the move, pick-ups modified as armored technicals make their way from the base through several small villages. One checkpoint follows another. During the day, things are relaxed. Soldiers walking around in sandals and not a whole lot of fortification. We arrive at the front lines: a small outpost on a hill heaped up by bulldozers, to get a better vantage point. A bunker made of cavity brick, concrete "U"s turned upside down and a masoned tower, which serves as an observation post and quarters, give it almost a castle like charm. Sandbags lay on top of the walls. A pick- up with a mounted "Dushka", old Soviet DShK 12.7 mm heavy machine gun is right behind the cover, next to it a grenade launcher. The whole front is made up of such small outposts or houses surrounded by an earth wall. "Can you see the black flag over there?" It's hard to spot in the bright sunlight. At about the halfway mark the Kurdish flag waves in the wind. The village behind it is controlled by ISIS, that's how people refer to them when talking English. But this afternoon, the Islamic State remains silent. According to a volunteer – with multiple tours in the sandbox – the enemy is tactically capable. One time they pursued ISIS as the Jihadists fell back and walked right into an ambush, which they barely escaped. Daesh also has night vision and thermal devices, we are told. We ask, how they are www.fragoutmag.com

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