CJ3 "Route Irish" T-shirts

CJ3 "Route Irish" T-Shirts

Route Irish was the military Main Supply Route (MSR) name for the approximate 8-mile stretch of highway connecting Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone to Baghdad International Airport during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Widely considered one of the most perilous roads during the height of the Iraq War, it was a frequent target for insurgent attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs), and small-arms fire. Because Route Irish connected the airport (the point of entry into the country) to the central command hub, it was the very first thing new soldiers experienced when arriving in Iraq, and the very last thing they had to survive to go home. It was considered a "trial by fire". Surviving your first run down Route Irish was a soldier's brutal initiation into the reality of the Iraq War. For most soldiers who served in Iraq during the height of the conflict, Route Irish was far more than just a road. It was a psychological crucible, a daily gamble with death, and the ultimate equalizer where anyone—from high-ranking generals to private contractors and frontline infantry—could be killed in an instant.

The CJ3 “Route Irish” shirt features on the front of it, a tan subdued map of the country of Iraq depicting the location of the city of Baghdad. Also shown in front of the Iraq map is a full color interstate/route sign that reads “Route Irish”. Across the back of the shirt in white bold block letters says “CAUTION STAY 100 METERS BACK OR YOU WILL BE SHOT”. Just below that is the same thing written in Arabic. The sleeves maintain our tradition setup with the CJ3 Foundation letter scramble logo on the left sleeve and the American flag on the right sleeve.