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| Afghanistan |
| Relations with French troops warming after chilly start |
| 2009-11-03 |
| By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes NIJRAB, Afghanistan -- It's late March, 2003, and Maj. Jean-Christophe Berry, a French marine, is looking for a table in an American dining facility in Afghanistan. For weeks, U.S. officers had been needling him about Iraq, asking when his country would join the coalition. While the comments were generally lighthearted, Berry said his American colleagues assumed France would sign on. When the war started without France, relations turned chilly. Berry, who is now a lieutenant colonel, remembers finding a seat across from a U.S. Army captain who was well into his meal. As he settles in, the American, without saying a word, stops eating, grabs his tray and leaves the table. When it happened a second time, Berry spoke to an American officer he was on friendly terms with. In the end, a separate block of time to eat was established for U.S. military personnel opposed to breaking bread with the French. "It was tough," Berry recalls. The funny thing, he adds, laughing, is that "fries didn't originate in France. They came from Belgium." Berry was referring to attempts by some Americans to purge the word "French" from the American lexicon, particularly with respect to food. Another French officer said the rift over Iraq stung him hard, too. In France, one of his prized possessions is a picture of his mom as a little girl, held high in the arms of a U.S. soldier during World War II. "Without America, we wouldn't be a free country," said the officer, who would only speak on condition of anonymity. "To some extent, we still owe America for this. But this obligation was not reason enough to support the war." Relations between the two countries have since thawed, with the French taking on a more pivotal role in Afghanistan. Today, small teams of U.S. servicemembers live and work side by side with French forces. "They are a good fighting force," said Army Capt. Dave Disi, who has been out with the French military on dozens of missions. "I've never had any problems with them. They are very deliberate." Ironically, several Americans said when they arrived at their French base camp in Kapisa province they figured their host would serve great food but fall short on the military side. "It's just the opposite," said Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Heiser, who heads up the U.S. provisional reconstruction team in Kapisa. "The food isn't great, but to work with them is." |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #4 I think that the French Soldiers have always been great, its their government that is wishy washy slow and generally crap. |
| Posted by: Chief 2009-11-03 21:59 |
| #3 Rudeness and a lack of tact and diplomacy are just unacceptable for those who get paid so many tax dollars to 'represent.' |
| Posted by: GirlThursday 2009-11-03 20:04 |
| #2 These American officers need a refresher course in courtesy and manners. Had I been their CO, they would have each handwritten a lovely note of apology, with just a hint of perfume, and hand delivered it to the French officer. It doesn't matter if it is the devil himself or a North Korean, if an officer from another military is invited into your dining facility, you WILL be polite, or you will on permanent duty as the unit "customs and courtesies" officer until you can recite the entire Emily Post from memory. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-11-03 19:50 |
| #1 But this obligation was not reason enough to support the war. |
| Posted by: Woozle Uneter9007 2009-11-03 12:58 |