GKE

English 101

In-class Essay

You must choose one of the two questions below, and write an essay of approximately 500 words. Each question asks you to think about the book as a whole, and to create an essay that reflects that, using examples from the book to prove your thesis. Remember that you can use any notes you have, but that those notes must be your own, and must have been made while reading the book. You are not allowed to use the book or use pages photo-copied from the book. Also, your notes must be your own. I will check your notes before we start the class.

You have approx. 80 minutes to finish your essay. 

1. “Above all, they will kill a lot of people. A few of those deaths the men will no doubt think about and perhaps regret for the rest of their lives.” (p. 8)

!st Recon was among the first Marines to invade Iraq when war was declared. They went through villages and cities, sometimes encountering armed resistance, sometimes being stared at by the people whose lives they disrupted. They gave candy to children and sometimes killed children. The Rules of Engagement (ROE) supposedly determined when and how Marines and others were allowed to shoot. Nevertheless, the treatment of civilians and even enemy soldiers was on everyone’s mind. Each Marine, though part of a fighting force, was also an individual, as were the people they killed; the corpses and the wounded; the suffering, the hunger, and the thirst; the damage they inflicted on people and things - all these things were on their minds. Write an essay describing how the Marines dealt with the Iraqi people, as a group and as individuals. 

2. These Marines are flag-wavers; they don’t necessarily believe in the politics of the war. What they believed in more than anything is their fighting skills and their ability to kill anyone before they get killed. They were together 24 hours a day, day after day, sometimes in MOPP suits and generally crammed into Humvees so tightly they could hardly stretch. Who were these Marines, how did they get there, and what did they meant to each other? Write about them as they rolled toward Baghdad, united in the superiority of their fighting skills, their trust in each other, and their belief that the officers didn’t know what they were doing.

GK test

English

Gen Kill Test

October 8, 2018

1.    After a failed CIA mission to use a group of Iraqi fighters to liberate a town called Ash Shatrah, the Marines launch a successful assault and liberate the town. What is the result of the liberation of Ash Shatrah, which Evan Wright says “will play itself out again and again in other towns across Iraq” (227)?

a.    The streets are finally safe for women and children.

b.    Local Republican Guard units surrender to the Americans.

c.    Hordes of looters roam the streets.

d.    Soldiers pass out humanitarian rations to Iraqi children. 

2.    The morning after a dramatic firefight at a bridge, the men of First Recon make an interesting discovery about the men they fought the previous night.  What do they discover about these men?

a.    They are all carry Syrian passports.

b.    They are all carrying large sums of cash.

c.    They look like farmers.

d.    They are all teenage boys.

3.         In Chapter 17, Marines observe lights suspected to be a convoy of Iraqi military vehicles, and an air strike is called in to destroy it. Colbert, however, correctly identifies the light as

a.    A flock of birds

b.    Another Marine unit

c.    A powerful Russian anti-aircraft gun nicknamed Zeus

d.    A village

4.         The reporter has a conversation with an Iraqi farmer. He is surprised to learn that they have something in common. What do the reporter and the Iraqi farmer have in common?

1.    They are the same age. 

2.    They are both unmarried.

3.    They are both afraid of guns.

4.    They are both writers.

5.         In Chapter 14, it is revealed that Encino Man does not know the meaning of an important military term. What is the term?

a.    Grooming standard

b.    Ranger grave

c.    Danger close

d.    Herringbone

6.         What happens in chapters 15 & 16 that upsets Colbert, Gunny Wynn and Doc Bryan?

a.    Trombley shoots a boy

b.    The British beat First Recon to the airfield

c.    The translator Meesh demands a bribe

d.    Captain America bayonets a camel

7. One morning while camped by the side of the road, the reporter wakes to find Espera in a rage. What is Espera so angry about?

a.    The lack of information about their mission

b.    The change in the rules of engagement

c.    The trash the Marines have left along the highway

d.    The civilian casualties the Marines have caused

8. What physical reaction to the stress of combat does the reporter experience?

a.    Disconnection from his sense of sight

b.    Disconnection from his sense of hearing

c.    Loss of control of his bladder

d.    Memory loss

9Why, according to Lt. Fick, is there more tension between enlisted men and officers in First Recon?

a.    Because the unit doesn’t respect the chain of command

b.    Because the unit is plagued by racism and class divisions

c.    Because the unit objects to its assigned mission

d.    Because the unit fosters initiative and individual thinking

10. Shortly after the Marines begin invading Iraq, former Iraqi soldiers begin surrendering to them. What do the Marines do with the surrendered Iraqis?

e.    They give them medical attention and transport them to a safe area

f.     They give them water and send them back where they came from

g.    They disarm them and take them as prisoners of war

h.    They give them Charms candy and grant them political asylum

i.      

11. At one point, while patrolling the edge of a highway on foot, Colbert and Garza come under attack. Who attacks them?

a.    Air Force 5-15s

b.    Marines in Alpha Company

c.    A group of foreign jihadists

d.    An Iraqi tank

12. Before leaving on their mission to move north through hostile territory to Baqubah, Wright observes several of the men in Colbert’s platoon do something he finds slightly odd. What do they do? 

a.    They shake hands and say good-bye to each other.

b.    They salute Captain America.

c.    They bury a pack of Charms candy.

     d. They take turns punching each other in the arm.

13. The Secretary of Defense who wanted to make American troops smaller and more mobile is

a. Mattis

b. Rumsfeld

c. Reagan

d. Clinton

14. Who was shot in the foot during the battle on the bridge

a. Kocher

b. Pappy

c. Encino Man

d. Colbert

15. Which Marine was in a band that opened for Limp Bizket?

a. Encino Man

b. Captain America

c. Garza

d. Person

16. Key to getting the Marines to fit the fighting profile is

a. belief in a higher power

b. keeping them drugged up

c. sense of invulnerability

d. signing up only the strongest smartest guys

17. The desert base where the Marines await the war is called

a. the White House

b. Camp Mathilda

c. Camp Pendleton

d. Camp Baghdad

18. One of the officers that Marines like was a graduate of an Ivy League graduate

a. Mattis

b. Godfather

c. Fick

d. Captain America

19. The suits that Marines wear to survive gas attacks are called

a. DIGG

b. MOPP

c. KICK

d. ZIPP

20. Garza's grandmother used to beat him with a two-by-four because

a. she didn't want him to turn out bad

b. she was beaten when she was a child

c. because she loved him

d. because she hated him

21. The prettiest Marine is

a. Person

b. Kocher

c. Manimal

d. Reyes

22. Encino Man asked Doc Bryan to speak his mind, and Bryan said

a. your football career doesn't mean much over here

b. you're incompetent to lead this company

c. he wanted to go home

d. he hoped Encino Man got wounded

23. Kocher told Captain America if he fired the AK again he would

a. fuck him up

b. steal it from him

c. report him to the brass

d. get him kicked out of the Marines

24. ROE means

a. run out of energy

b. rules of engagement

c. rage outrage explosions

d. run on empty

25. Carzales hates

a. officers

b. rich people

c. Marine Corp

d. all the above

26. The company translator is named

a. Sheesh

b. Leesh

c. Teesh

d. Meesh

27. The confrontation that Graves says he'll be unable to forget is

a. when Espera shoots three Iraqis running from a truck

b. when Pappy is shot

c. when he sees a three-year-old girl with the top of her head shot off

c. when they're almost hit a night by tracer rounds

28. What is the punch line of this joke: what's the first thing you feel when you shoot a civilian

a. the recoil of your rifle

b. his wife sobbing

c. the blood in your face.

d. nothing

29. The rumor spread that a celebrity had died but the officers weren't tell the Marines to keep up their morale. The celeb was

a. Paris Hilton

b. Beyonce

c. Ariana Grande

d. J-Lo

30. The nickname of the colonel in charge of the troops was

a. Godfather

b. Thug-life

c. Bandit

d. Jefe

31. When the Marines say that something is Moto, they mean

a. chill

b. really cool

c. dangerous

d. insane

32. The guy nicknamed Captain America got it because

a. he looked like the comic book guy

b. He was hyper-aggressive in a stupid way

c. He knew everything

d. All the above

33. Friendly Fire means

a. support  from other troops when you’re in trouble

b. the campfires of the team as it gets ready to move

c. deadly mistaken attacks by your own side

d. All the above

34. Eating what candy is considered bad luck

a. M M’s

b. skillets

c. lucky charms

d. reeses pieces

35. Colbert complained about what man spazzing out on the radio?

a. Encino Man

b. Person

c. Godfather

d. Captain America

36. The purpose of 1st Reconn’s journey north to Al Gharraf was

a. The refuel and rest

b. To make to Baghdad in a hurry

c. To draw fire

d. to avoid mined highways

37. Godfather’s strategy is often

a. bold

b. defensive

c. perplexing

d. careless

38. The most serious weather condition is

a torrential rain

b. lightning 

c. dust storms

d. tornadoes

39. As the Marines interact with Iraqi people, they worry

a. that they’ll kill someone unnecessarily

b. that they’ll run into a suicide bomber

c. a child will be sent to distract the troops

d. that beneath the robes people wear, a gun might be hiding

40. When artillery is being called in close to friendly forces it's called

a. danger close

b. time to run

c. tight time

d. too damn close

41. At one point, while patrolling the edge of a highway on foot, Colbert and Garza come under attack. Who attacks them?

e.    Air Force 5-15s

f.     Marines in Alpha Company

g.    A group of foreign jihadists

h.    An Iraqi tank

42. Before leaving on their mission to move north through hostile territory to Baqubah, Wright observes several of the men in Colbert’s platoon do something he finds slightly odd. What do they do? 

d.    They shake hands and say good-bye to each other.

e.    They salute Captain America.

f.     They bury a pack of Charms candy.

g.    They take turns punching each other in the arm.

T-F

43. Most of the Marines don't think about why the country is at war, just how they're going to fight

44. Doc Bryan guilt tripped Godfather into trying to save the wounded boy

45. Encino Man's attempt to get his Marines charged up are lame

46. The chaplain doesn’t do much business

47. Captain America tries to pin the AK firing on a corporal on his team

48. Doc Bryan confront CA for using it in combat

49. Colbert is reduced to tears by the shooting of the kid and the camels

50. They thought that too many of the officers had no combat experience, and had no idea how to fight a war T or F