Sunrise Over Fallujah

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Kuwait (Chapter 2)

2. To support the democratization of Iraq (Chapter 2)

3. Travelling and saving money before he eventually opens a blues club (Chapter 2)

4. The flex team (Chapter 3)

5. Jonesy, Kennedy, Birdy, and Captain Coles (Chapter 3)

6. The architecture in Arab countries (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Birdy is in the US Army headed to Iraq. He writes to his uncle, a Vietnam War veteran, that he wanted to join the army because of 9/11. He also notes that this is the first time he has defied his father’s wishes, and that he already has some doubts. (Chapter 1)

2. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the military plan that the USUS Army is involved in. Phase 1 is an assessment of the area, which was started after the Gulf War in 1991 and is now complete. Phase 2 is warfare, which has not started yet. Phase 3 will involve the forceful removal of the Saddam Hussein regime and weapons of mass destruction. Phase 4, which is Birdy’s unit, is democratization. (Chapter 2)

3. The Hoodlums are the Special Operatives who go on secret missions. Marla notices that they leave during the night and go into Iraq. This is undercover, since technically the US Army has not yet entered Iraq. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. In the ghetto (Chapter 4)

2. “Anybody who has on a different uniform” (Chapter 4)

3. Try to predict the mind of the enemy (Chapter 4)

4. Who one is allowed to shoot (Chapter 4)

5. During the sandstorm (Chapter 5)

6. Those who oppose the USUS Army will be shot and killed, while those who support the US will receive help in creating a new country. (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. It is important to have the right equipment in order to prevent injuries or death. Captain Coles reminds the group that everyone is responsible for each other, and they should say something if someone is not wearing the appropriate equipment. (Chapter 4)

2. According to Captain Coles, the Civil Affairs Unit will test the theories of the PYSOP to see their reactions. Their unit is important because by bringing democracy to Iraq they will be considered heroes. (Chapter 4)

3. American news stations focus on covering positive interpretations of the US invasion of Iraq, such as Iraqis cheering, bombs falling on Baghdad without civilian casualties, and US soldiers speaking with confidence about their involvement. Birdy and his companions have a variety of thoughts on the news coverage; while some agree with it, others, like Captain Coles, are more skeptical of the positive slant. (Chapter 5)

4. During a house raid, Birdy and his squad find a large weapon in one of the Iraqi civilians’ homes. Although the family insists that this was a weapon left behind from the war with Iran, the squad determines that the weapon was recently fired. Suddenly a sniper fires at the squad, and in that moment the young boy from the family is shot while trying to run away. The boy’s grandmother is overcome with grief, and Birdy walks away from the scene trying to hide his emotions. (Chapter 5)

5. Birdy notes the confusion between those who were the enemy and those that the USUS Army should be protecting, especially since, up to this point, they have only encountered civilians instead of an opposing military force. He is particularly confused since the Iraqis that he has met have been kind and supportive, such as helping his squad remove their Humvee from the mud. (Chapter 6)

Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. That the Iraqis who were helping at their barracks were like slaves (Chapter 7)

2. Money (Chapter 7)

3. By using a Red Crescent vehicle for attack (Chapter 7)

4. A gang (Chapter 8)

5. Improvised explosive device (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. The US military prefers working with the Shiites. Ultimately, this is a way to differentiate “good” from “bad” Muslims that the USUS Army might encounter in Iraq. (Chapters 1-7)

2. In An Nasiriyah, they meet the Italian army. Birdy notes that they are friendly, as well as more casual than the USUS Army: none of the soldiers wear body armor, they use smaller vehicles, and they do not use squad guns. (Chapter 7)

3. Maire was originally told that there were sick farm animals in the village that needed assistance; however, upon arrival the squads learn that really there are injured Iraqi civilians. Maire wants to pull out, but Miller makes the decision to stay and help the wounded, even if it was a trap or they help people who attacked USUS Army members. In the end, Maire stays with his men while Miller assists the wounded children. (Chapter 7)

4. Harris says that because there is oil in Iraq, the country should not worry about their future. This implies that there is economic interest by the international community in Iraq, as well as possibly why the “enemy” is not so clear. (Chapter 8)

5. They are invited to an Islamic Shiite mosque. Birdy says it is one of the most beautiful places that he has been to. On the way back from the mosque, a Humvee of US Marines in front of their squad is blown up by an IED. (Chapter 9)

6. Birdy tells his dad that although things are good for the Iraqi people, there are less jobs, as well as uncertainty for Sunni Muslims. He also says that the Civil Affairs Unit will now have a bigger role in the democratization process. (Chapter 9)

Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. To “treat [Iraqi] lives as if they are as precious” as American lives (Chapter 10)

2. A football/soccer game (Chapter 10)

3. A booth set up by the Intelligence Unit to collect information from Iraqis anonymously (Chapter 11)

4. In kitchen flour (Chapter 11)

5. If Birdy has a girlfriend (Chapter 12)

6. Abu Ghraib (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Ríos receives a stuffed (taxidermied) monkey, which turns out to be a mistaken eBay purchase. Marla decides to name it Yossarian after the protagonist in Catch-22, and the squad brings it in their car. (Chapter 10)

2. Lawler explains that their Unit is on the lookout for IEDs at a possible factory in the Old City. Due to the constant nature of war in the country (e.g., Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the Gulf War in the 1990s, etc.), there is a high chance that throughout Iraq there are large amounts of materials that can easily be reassembled into weapons. (Chapter 11)

3. Birdy, his squad, and Major Sessions go to different morgues to search for a child who was missing after staying out past curfew. They are responding to the request of a mother so their Unit can show “humanity.” The team eventually finds the boy in a prison. (Chapter 12)

Chapters 13-16

Reading Check

1. Because they had a temporary new assignment, Jerry Egri, who used to play soccer in Poland (Chapter 13)

2. Because they are non-Muslims/“infidels” (Chapter 13)

3. Because he is afraid of being killed himself (Chapter 14)

4. A power vacuum (Chapter 15)

5. Jonesy (Chapter 16)

6. Ramstein, Germany for medical treatment (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. On a stop outside of a city, a bus blows up, injuring a few cameramen, and ultimately killing Pendleton. Birdy is distraught, thinking of Pendleton’s family in the United States. He now just wants the war to be over. (Chapter 13)

2. Stories are beginning to circulate of Iraqis losing their homes to other Iraqis who had inexplicably become wealthy. There are also rumors circulating of stealing and “death squads.” He notes that none of the stories that he hears are related to either democracy or freedom. (Chapter 14)

3. Iraqis are calm and relaxed, usually sitting at a cafe or smoking hookah. Although they are sometimes emotional in conversation, they usually go back to their business. He thinks that they know “how to live their lives.” (Chapter 15)

4. The sheikh says that the war which the United States originally came into Iraq to fight (i.e., the war to dispose of Saddam Hussein’s regime) had finished. Now, there is a “new” war between the US’s desired form of government in Iraq and opposing forces who were creating a “shadow government.” (Chapter 15)

5. They are supporting the negotiations to receive a kidnapped child. The USUS Army were actually the ones holding the children as ransom in order to control the negotiations and trace the detonators that the tribe leader possesses. Birdy and his squad are nervous about the situation. (Chapter 15)