美国国家公共电台 NPR 16 Years Since The First Deployment, U.S. Soldiers Prepare To Go Again

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Next month marks the 16th anniversary of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. And thousands of troops are preparing to deploy¹, including part of the Army's 25th Infantry² Division based in Alaska. For many of these soldiers, it's their first combat deployment³. Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes reports on how they're preparing for their mission overseas.

ZACHARIAH HUGHES, BYLINE⁴: Five soldiers are locked inside the cab of an armored assault vehicle that's suspended within big metal hoops⁵. And then they're flipped⁶ upside down like some kind of military carnival⁷ ride.

STAFF SARGEANT DUSTIN OGDEN: The paratroopers inside are conducting rollover training to prepare themselves for the upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.

HUGHES: Staff Sergeant⁸ Dustin Ogden says the point of the exercise is learning how to evacuate⁹ a vehicle if it flips¹⁰, whether that's from rough terrain¹¹ or a roadside explosive.

OGDEN: So in the event that it does happen while deployed¹², they can react appropriately.

HUGHES: The 4th Brigade Combat Team 25th Infantry Division is sending about 2,100 troops for a nine-month deployment mostly in eastern parts of Afghanistan. But unlike the last time the 4-25 deployed to the country in 2011, their primary mission isn't direct combat. Instead, they're advising Afghan security forces and assisting in their training, which, according to Sergeant First Class Aaron Cawthon, means teaching a lot of the basics.

SERGEANT FIRST CLASS AARON CAWTHON: You know, how we fire our weapons systems, how we put together our weapons systems. How do we conduct our patrols - things of that sort. So that way they can take the lead and protect their country.

HUGHES: Cawthon's from San Antonio, Texas. He enlisted¹³ not long after 9/11, and his first deployment was the invasion of Iraq. This will be his fifth. But each previous stint¹⁴ focused more on direct engagement. Still, Cawthon isn't treating it any differently. He's taking the same steps to prepare his family. His packing list and mental expectations are like almost every other time he's deployed.

CAWTHON: It's just a different mission. We're still going to be over there in a combat zone.

HUGHES: Cawthon is in charge of about two dozen other soldiers, and many of them have never deployed before. They have what are called slick sleeves, fuzzy patches of green Velcro on their right shoulder where the insignia patch for a combat-deployed unit will eventually go. Originally from Nevada, Corporal Hank Thompson has been in the Army just a year and a half. And his sleeve is slick. When he learned the unit would be sending personnel to Afghanistan, Thompson hoped he'd be tapped.

CORPORAL HANK THOMPSON: I was pretty jovial¹⁵. Typically when you - at least in my experience when you go to be especially an infantryman, it's more of a rite¹⁶ of passage. Like, you know, we didn't join to sit on the sideline.

HUGHES: Thompson's job is as a radio telephone operator. But he has no idea whether that'll be the kind of task he's helping¹⁷ with day to day. But it doesn't matter. He just wants to go.

THOMPSON: It's one of those things that you're kind of secretly hoping for and then you're secretly hoping that you do see some action because, you know, you want to become an Army soldier, to take part in the fight versus¹⁸ sitting in garrison¹⁹ or doing the training rotations²⁰ over and over and over again.

HUGHES: In this he's hardly alone. Sergeant Nicholas Murray did a combat deployment once before in Afghanistan's turbulent Helmand Province, patrolling villages with special forces to beat back the Taliban. Though the Army's role is different this time around, Murray is still excited to be going back.

SERGEANT NICHOLAS MURRAY: When they told us we were going, I couldn't - I can't wait to get over there and actually do my job.

HUGHES: Murray says that job is straightforward²¹.

MURRAY: To close with and destroy the enemy.

HUGHES: This time he'll be teaching his Afghan counterparts how to close with and destroy the enemy. Even though this isn't strictly²² a combat mission, the prospect²³ of engagement still looms²⁴ large.

MURRAY: It's kind of hard to explain, actually. I guess as infantrymen it's an adrenaline rush, I guess you could say, that some people grow attached to.

HUGHES: One fixture²⁵ of deployments is separation from family. Twenty-seven-year-old Murray is a father of three. He and his wife are expecting a fourth child to be born sometime in the months ahead. For NPR News, I'm Zachariah Hughes at Joint²⁶ Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

6 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

7 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

8 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

9 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

10 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

11 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

12 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

13 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

15 jovial   

adj.快乐的，好交际的

参考例句：

• He seemed jovial,but his eyes avoided ours.他显得很高兴，但他的眼光却避开了我们的眼光。
• Grandma was plump and jovial.祖母身材圆胖，整天乐呵呵的。

16 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

19 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

20 rotations   

旋转( rotation的名词复数 )； 转动； 轮流； 轮换

参考例句：

• Farmers traditionally used long-term rotations of hay, pasture, and corn. 农民以往长期实行干草、牧草和玉米轮作。
• The crankshaft makes three rotations for each rotation of the rotor. 转子每转一周，曲轴转3周。

21 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

22 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

23 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

24 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

26 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。