US marines hunt gazelles with rocks
US marines in Iraq are hunting gazelles with rocks and pistols - to avoid having to eat ready-made US army meals.
The soldiers at a base outside Tikrit say they are enjoying eating the unusual meat from Saddam Hussein's personal hunting preserve.
Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 are venturing into the woods to hunt the animals before hauling them back as a welcome substitute for the pre-packaged Meals Ready to Eat rations.
"It was delicious. I don't know if it's because we have been eating MREs for two months, but everyone has enjoyed it a lot," said army cook Cpl Joshua Wicksell, 26.
Each of the squadron's platoons has been limited to killing one gazelle a day to make sure the herd is not depleted.
The soldiers have been allowed to use 9mm pistols to hunt after initially being forbidden to use firearms for fear that gunshots in the woods might be mistaken for enemy fire.
"We hunted them with rocks (at first), as Stone Age as that sounds," Wicksell said. "We gutted them and skinned them and pretty much carried them over our shoulders barbarian-style."
The preparation is almost as primitive: a fire pit dug in the ground, covered by a radiator grill from one of the marines' trucks.
Cpl Wicksell tenderises the meat with a fork and rubs in salt, pepper, sugar and seasonings scavenged from MREs.
US marines in Iraq are hunting gazelles with rocks and pistols - to avoid having to eat ready-made US army meals.
The soldiers at a base outside Tikrit say they are enjoying eating the unusual meat from Saddam Hussein's personal hunting preserve.
Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 are venturing into the woods to hunt the animals before hauling them back as a welcome substitute for the pre-packaged Meals Ready to Eat rations.
"It was delicious. I don't know if it's because we have been eating MREs for two months, but everyone has enjoyed it a lot," said army cook Cpl Joshua Wicksell, 26.
Each of the squadron's platoons has been limited to killing one gazelle a day to make sure the herd is not depleted.
The soldiers have been allowed to use 9mm pistols to hunt after initially being forbidden to use firearms for fear that gunshots in the woods might be mistaken for enemy fire.
"We hunted them with rocks (at first), as Stone Age as that sounds," Wicksell said. "We gutted them and skinned them and pretty much carried them over our shoulders barbarian-style."
The preparation is almost as primitive: a fire pit dug in the ground, covered by a radiator grill from one of the marines' trucks.
Cpl Wicksell tenderises the meat with a fork and rubs in salt, pepper, sugar and seasonings scavenged from MREs.
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