The Scuttlebutt | Season 4 Episode 12

Joining The Scuttlebutt this week is former Iraqi Interpreter Ehab Al Akrawi. Ehab was born in Nasiriyah in 1986 and clearly remembers watching cruise missiles cross the sky during Desert Storm. But it wasn’t until the 2003 invasion of Iraq that he saw his first American soldier. Mesmerized by their appearance and stature, Ehab got up the courage to speak to one and soon after began interpreting for a unit — at the age of 15! With all the news regarding Afghan interpreters, it’s easy to forget that there are still Iraqi interpreters making their way through the SIV program to gain admittance to the US. Ehab was one of the lucky ones. For more information about our duty to Iraq and Afghan interpreters see Modern War Institute. To understand more about the SIV program visit Travel.State.gov and WashingtonPost.com.

Thank you to Millerstown Pic-A-Part for sponsoring this episode!