[Vision2020] Getting His Ass Out of Iraq

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the January 10, 2011 edition of the Army Times.

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Getting his ass out of Iraq

He likes eating cigarettes and some claim he is worth $30,000. But to a
retired colonel, “Smoke” the don­key is priceless.

John Folsom is on a mis­sion to get him out of Iraq and to the U.S. The
two first met in 2008 at Camp Taqaddum, outside Fallu­jah. Folsom was camp
com­mandant and serving with 1st Marine Logistics Group. He had seen
several donkeys wandering the base. One day, a Marine under Folsom’s
command decided to catch one.

The troops immediately took a liking to him. They tended to wounds on his
legs, dubbed him the group’s mascot and named him for his tendency to
snatch up cigarettes.

The Army’s top veterinari­an in Iraq flew from Bagh­dad to give Smoke a
head-to­hoof physical, and the don­key got a clean bill of health. When
the unit pulled out of Taqaddum, it had to aban­don Smoke. Left in the
care of an Army major, the don­key was handed off to a local sheik.
Folsom, head of Wounded Warriors Family Support, a nonprofit
organi­zation, has been fighting since October to relocate Smoke and bring
him to the U.S. to work with the fami­lies of wounded warriors.

Folsom tracked down the Iraqi sheik. Recognizing the sentimental value of
Smoke, the sheik demanded an out­rageous price — $30,000.

Folsom called his bluff, and the sheik offered to turn the donkey over
free of charge after he learned that might make him look good in the eyes
of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Now the challenge is to get the donkey shipped to the U.S. Folsom is
working through the “Operation Baghdad Pups” program, run by the Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International.

As of press time, Folsom had heard that Smoke was set to be en route by
Dec. 30, but he remained skeptical.

“I’ve given up on a time­line. 
 I’ve heard that three or four times,” he
said.

— James K. Sanborn

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“Smoke” the donkey is stuck in Iraq, but a Marine colonel is trying to get
him to the U.S.

http://www.socialslave.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Smoke-The-Marine-Donkey.jpg

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown