Howdy markabe-ga,
Here is the story, as reported by James Lacey, that appeared in
the May 19, 2003, issue of the National Review and elsewhere.
This excerpt is from the National Review Online web site.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-lacey052303.asp
"Bravery inspires men, but brains and quick thinking win wars.
In one particularly tense moment, a company of U.S. soldiers
was preparing to guard the Mosque of Ali ? one of the most
sacred Muslim sites ? when agitators in what had been a
friendly crowd started shouting that they were going to storm
the mosque. In an instant, the Iraqis began to chant and a riot
seemed imminent. A couple of nervous soldiers slid their weapons
into fire mode, and I thought we were only moments away from a
slaughter. These soldiers had just fought an all-night battle.
They were exhausted, tense, and prepared to crush any riot with
violence of their own. But they were also professionals, and so,
when their battalion commander, Chris Hughes, ordered them to
take a knee, point their weapons to the ground, and start smiling,
that is exactly what they did. Calm returned. By placing his men
in the most non-threatening posture possible, Hughes had sapped
the crowd of its aggression. Quick thinking and iron discipline
had reversed an ugly situation and averted disaster."
Here is the CNN.com page that touches on the incident. It has a
picture of Lt. Col. Chris Hughes giving the command.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/heroes/chrishughes.html
"Lt. Col. Chris Hughes, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 327th
Infantry Regiment, showed restraint and intelligence.
He yelled to his troops: 'Smile, relax.' Then he commanded his
soldiers to take a knee and point their weapons to the ground.
Some Iraqis backed off and sat down. But many more continued to
yell and block the road."
Jim Lacey, again, with his slightly different write-up for Time
Magazine. This excerpt is from the Time Online Edition.
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030414/wlacey.html
Grabbing a microphone he calmly announced over a loudspeaker,
'Second Battalion soldiers, take a knee and point your weapons
at the ground.' Seconds later every one of the men was on a
knee, and not a single weapon was pointing at the crowd. Then
he gave the smile order.
It worked. Hughes kept his men like that for about five minutes
and then returned to the microphone. 'Soldiers of the 2nd
Battalion, we are going to stand up and then walk slowly back
to base. You will not point any guns at the crowd, and you will
smile at everyone.' A minute later the Smilin' Second was walking
away from the mosque, and the Iraqis began intermingling with
them, patting them on the back and giving them thumbs-up signs
again."
If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.
Search Strategy:
Google search on: Iraqi riot smile soldiers
://www.google.com/search?q=Iraqi+riot+smile+soldiers
Google search on: "Chris Hughes" riot mosque
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Chris+Hughes%22+riot+mosque
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