The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 14, April 3, 2005, Article 2

NEW MILITARY PAYMENT SCRIP ISSUED IN IRAQ

The following item is reprinted with permission from the
Friday, April 1, 2005 issue of the MPC Gram (Series 006 -
Number 1267), an email newsletter covering "the entire
World of Military Numismatics"

In a startling move the United States issued military payment
certificates in Iraq yesterday. The move was a surprise to
military and civilian personnel, but most of all to collectors.
The new issue in denominations $1 through $50 is Series 002.
The notes feature vignettes of space flight on the faces and
military hardware on the backs. Immediate reports from the
field have personnel using the notes saying that they look like
monopoly money. Even though few of the current military
personnel in Iraq ever used MPC anywhere else, that is the
same description often given by military personnel of an
earlier time.

No official reason was given for the introduction of MPC or
why it was issued now rather than at the beginning of
operations in Iraq. It was not stated if the Series 002 (or
another series) was issued in Afghanistan or other areas.
According to reports the notes seem to be lithographed
(actual notes, or even photos have not been seen yet).

Here are the reported major vignette pairs:
denom face/back
$1 rocket on launch pad/none
$5 moon surface/unidentified nuclear submarine
$10 Mars rover/B-52 bomber
$20 solar system/tank firing
$50 two space walkers/large machine gun on
tripod (50 cal?)

[Subsequently, an MPC Gram reader submitted images
of two of the notes, which were then posted on the
publication's web site: Return to TopMPC Gram

In another surprise, a British paper was among first to
report the news of the enlistment of President Bush's
two daughters:

"First daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush will be assigned
to a high-tech unit in Iraq, the Air Force Human Resources
Command has confirmed. Having finished basic training at
the Officer Training School (OTS) at Maxwell Air Force
Base in Alabama, they are scheduled to receive advanced
training in telecommunications at the School of Information
Technology before deployment overseas with the USAF
Information Operations Squadron. For security reasons,
the exact dates have been withheld.

The girls' surprise enlistment was kept secret until they
successfully completed their basic training. During an
invitation-only press conference while on leave between
OTS and their school assignment - conducted, symbolically,
at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware where America's
war dead are brought - the twins described their motives
and rationale.

"We'd always planned to do this," Jenna explained. "But
first, we had to graduate from college, and then we had
to help our father win the 2004 election, to ensure that
America would continue to have the kind of strong,
inspiring leadership it needs in these troubled times."

"Under questioning from reporters, Jenna acknowledged
that "yes, it's important for our father's credibility as
Commander-in-Chief as well. People still insist on saying
that he side-stepped the Vietnam war, which of course he
didn't - and it's very hurtful to hear that - but because he's
the President, my sister and I sort of have to go beyond
what would be expected of ordinary people."

The twins readily admitted to having been afraid of their
parents' reactions to the news that they would enlist together
and ask to serve together in a combat zone.

"We're their only children, so, naturally, we worried that
they'd go totally postal," Barbara said. "But we prayed
together as a family, and in time we all came to the same
conclusion."

To read the full article, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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