ED> Вот это дело! И что там про "19 лет" пишут? [»]
Попробую перевести.
1. The average age of a casualty in Vietnam was 20 years old. The average age of a casualty in Iraq is nearly 27. The youngest American soldier killed in Iraq was 18; the oldest was 55.
Средний возвраст раненного/убитого во Вьетнаме был 20 лет. Средний возвраст раненного/убитого в Ираке около 27. Самый молодой солдат, погибший в Ираке - 18, самый старый — 55.
2. Keep in mind that the average age of the American soldier in Iraq is 27 and that demographically, Iraq's population, as of January 1, 2004 breaks down as:
Нужно помнить, что средний возвраст американского солдата в Ираке — 27...
3. The hospital has received, on average, about 300 wounded soldiers a month, many of them missing legs and arms, others horribly burned and some having lost their eyesight or suffering from serious brain injuries. The average age of the wounded is 23. For far too many, life has been changed irreparably.
В госпиталь поступало в среднемм 300 раненных солдат в месяц, у многих не было ног и рук, другие были страшно обожжены, а некоторые потеряли зрение или со значительными трамвами головы. Средний возвраст раннего 23 года. Слишком много жизней было изменено без возможности возврата к предыдущему образу жизни.
4. National Guard and Reserve troops will comprise about 43 percent of the force in Iraq later this year, defense officials have told Congress. That compares with a 39 percent share currently and 25 percent last year.
...
The average age in the Army National Guard is 32, and 46 percent have active-duty experience, according to the National Guard Bureau. For Idaho's 116th, the average age of the brigade is 29.65. Half are between 20 and 29, and a third of the brigade is between 30 and 39.
Национальная Гвардия и Резерв составят до 43% от всех сил в Ираке — в этом году, так заявили предствители министерства обороны конгрессу. Это в сравнении с 39% сейчас и 25% в прошлом году.
...
Средний возвраст военнослужащего в Национальной Гвардии (армейской) — 32, 46% из состава имеют опыт активной службы. Статистика для 116 бригады из Айдахо — средний возвраст 29.65, половина между 20 и 29, треть — между 30 и 39.
5. Tribute to the American Soldier
Посвящается американскому солдату
The war in Iraq is of course controversial but our young
men who are fighting there need our prayers and support.
This was received from my first cousin, David, who is stationed
in Baghdad
-Perry Marshall
Война в Ираке противоречива, но наши молодые ребята, сражающиеся там нуждаются в нашей заботе и помощи. Я получил этот тектс от моего кузина, Дэвида, который находиться сейчас в Багдаде.
Перри Маршал.
The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.
Средний возвраст военнослужащего — 19 (прим. переводчика — вообще, а не в Ираке). Он коротко стриженый, мускулистый подросток, который в нормальных обстаятельствах не будет рассматриваться как взрослый человек — наполовину еще мальчишка, наполовину мужчина. Еще не совсесем молоко обсохло, не достаточно взрослый, чтобы купить бутылку пива, но достаточно взрослый, чтобы умереть за свою страну (по приказу своей страны). Не задумывался о работе и скорее наведет лоск на свою машину, чем помоет отцовскую. Но и никогда не был безработным.
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm howitzers, mortars, grenades, RPGs, IEDs and rocket fires. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
Совсем недавно со школьной скамьи. Скорее всего средний ученик, увлекавшийся спортом, имеющий 10 летнюю старую машину и постоянную подружку, которая или ушла от него, когда он пошел в армию, или поклялась его дождаться с войны, идущей на расстоянии в пол мира. Он слушает рокнрол или хип-хоп или рэп или джаз или свинг и рев 155 миллиметровых орудий, минометов, взрывы гранат и ракет. Он потерял в весе 4-8 кило с тех пор как покинул дом, потому что он начинает сражаться задолго до рассвета, а заканчивает намного позже, чем закат.
He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.
Он не может писать без ошибок — вообще написание букв это мука, но он может разобрать винтовку за 30 секунд и собрать ее обратно даже быстрее в полной темноте. Он может назвать по памяти номеклатуру боеприпасов для пулемета или гранотомета и эффективно использовать их, если на то будет нужда. Он роет окопы и траншеи, может весьма профессионально оказать первую помощь. Он может маршировать(идти) до тех пор, пока не поступит приказ остановиться и стоятьдо тех пор, пока не будет приказа идти.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
Он бесприкословно и быстро выполняет приказы, но он не бездушен и не без самоуважения. Он самодостаточен. У него два типа усталости — он смывает одну и пересиливает другую. Он держит фляжку полной, а ноги сухими. Иногда он может забыть почистить зубы, но никогда свою винтовку. Он может приготовить поесть, постирать свою одежду и обработать свои раны. Если у вас жажда, то поделится водой, если вы голодны, то своей едой. Он даже поделится боеприпасами в середине боя, если у вас свои кончаются.
-- Не знаю, переводить ли дальше. ИМХО, понятно, что это просто посвящение, а не описание реального воина.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime.
He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their
right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Soldier that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have woman over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, remember this. A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets or pocket is all they have to remember their families by.
Prayer chain for our military... please don't break it. "Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."
Prayer: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sailors on ships, and Airmen in the air. Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine or Airman, prayer is the very best one.
God bless you all.
6. MITCH CHASE
America's
19-year-old
fighting men
A friend last week e-mailed me a short essay about the American military man.
I'd seen the essay before — during the "military phase" of the Iraq War — and I presume it's making the rounds again in honor of Veterans Day.
An appeal for prayers for servicemen, the essay describes the average American fighting man as self-sufficient, hard-working, generous and resourceful — and just 19 years of age.
I agree with the description except for the age. Although I'm sure there are many 19-year-old servicemen on duty at home and abroad, the average age of the GIs on duty in Iraq must be greater than 19, particularly with the influx of reservists and guardsmen. If war dead is any gauge, it is far greater, the average age of those killed in the current conflict being about 27.
I suspect the "19" figure in the essay came from a highly unofficial source, songwriter Paul Hardcastle, who penned a 1985 hit by that name.
The song, which I still remember for its "Ni-Ni-Ni-Nineteen" refrain, includes the words "In World War II the average age of the combat soldier was 26. . . . In Vietnam it was 19."
Because the song paints a grim picture of Vietnam veterans — claiming they suffered from high arrest rates, rampant post-traumatic stress syndrome and suicides — it's not popular with veterans groups, who also take issue with the 19 figure. They cite the Combat Area Casualty File, the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, which puts the average age of Vietnam war dead at 23.11 years.
Although apparently a myth, there no doubt there was some factual basis for the "19" figure. I'm certain that at one point during the Vietnam War 19-year-olds made up the largest age group of replacements for combat units, perhaps the source of Hardcastle's inspiration.
Nineteen-year-olds and other young people are said to make good fighters — they're generally fit and free from physical ailments, and it's said they're not overly aware of their own mortality.
By law, the youngest age for military enlistment in the armed forces is 17 — with parental permission. The maximum age is 34 in the Army and Navy, 28 in the Marines, and 27 in the Air Force and Coast Guard for people without prior military service.
Although war is generally a young man's fight, considerably older men sometimes make it to where the bullets are flying, certain general officers in particular. For instance, Lt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., whose father surrendered Fort Donelson in Tennessee to U.S. Grant in 1862, was killed in action in Okinawa in 1945 while commanding the 10th U.S. Army. He was just a month shy of his 59th birthday.
The oldest American casualty in Iraq was Sgt. Roger Dale Rowe, a Tennessee guardsmen killed by sniper fire July 9 while driving a fuel tanker truck in Iraq. He died five days before his 55th birthday.
Rowe, of Port Aqua, about 35 miles southwest of Nashville, would have found kindred spirits in the 37th Iowa Infantry of Civil War fame. The regiment, mustered into service in late 1862, had an unusual age requirement: nobody under age 45 could enlist. Its average age was reportedly 57, and one private claimed to be 80.
Known as "The Graybeards" and "Silver Grays," the regiment was enlisted by special arrangement to show that there were plenty of citizens exempt from the draft willing to go to war. The regiment saw duty in Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi — guarding railroads and prisoners mostly, but some detachments saw combat. In three years of service, only seven members were killed in action, but 364 were mustered out of service for physical disabilities.
Chalk that up to age. After all, they weren't a bunch of 19-year-olds.
Mitch Chase is a DAILY copy editor. His e-mail address is mchase
decaturdaily.com.
Здесь немного о том, что и как было и есть. Если надо, то переведу.