Perspective: Unit finds Iraq and Afghanistan are worlds apart

A member of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment takes a break during a patrol in Afghanistan.

HADITHA, Iraq — Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t really that far apart on the map.

But they’re about as different as can be when you ask Marines with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, who have served in both war zones, to compare the nations. The Marines refer to “here” as Iraq and “there” as Afghanistan.

Lance Cpl. Craig Plutchak, with the battalion’s Company G, described Iraq’s urban environment as claustrophobic.

“There, it felt like you could breathe,” said the 21-year-old from Mass City, Mich. “In Afghanistan, there was still a threat, but it was more open. Here, every time you go anywhere, you have to put all this stuff on.”

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