01-07-2004 18:46									#241
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quote: Originally posted by Chemical Ollie When I was in the military, I was tought to never be more than an arm's length from my rifle. You could even get a penalty if you broke that rule. Wouldn't that be the regular policy in any army, especially when deployed in a war zone?

One of our favorite tricks on exercise was to sneak into american positions on patrols and steal (usually we'd just move em) their M16's (and sometimes their officers). We snatched a Colonel one time who was not very happy with his rough treatment (well he did fight back so we were entitled), being sandbagged, and hustled through the bush. He was quite irate and our commander apologized but we were congratulated later. Thats what we did to our allies. Thinking about it always makes me laugh about the comments made about the treatment of Iraqi POW's.

	01-07-2004 23:47									#242
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So are you ready for another care package? Can I use the same APO address? Any requests?
Take care and don't wander out on your own.

	02-07-2004 17:46									#243
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I'm really liking my new team since we get way more free time then on my last team. On my last team we got only about one day per month off while on my new team we take every Friday off unless there is some really important mission taking place. That means I now get four times as much time off.

Even better our mission yesterday got cancelled at the last minute so we ended up getting two days off in a row.

	02-07-2004 18:03									#244
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quote: Originally posted by Auntie H So are you ready for another care package? Can I use the same APO address? Any requests? Take care and don't wander out on your own.

I'm always in the market for another care package. The best address to use is the one in Tikrit since they send a log-pack down to Balad once per week. That means it should only take a week longer to reach me then last time.

BTW Did my dad tell you about my new house? It's a three bedroom two bath town house in the same complex my sister used to live in. It cost an arm and a leg but it should be a good investment if I can keep the spare rooms rented.

	02-07-2004 21:24									#245
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I was reading an article in Stars & Stripes (It is the Army owned newspaper which makes up most of my noninterent derived news) today about the Lebonese born Marine who has been captured by the insurgents. It appears the young foreign born Marine was trying to desert and that he asked several of the Iraqis working here if they could help him desert and return to his native Lebonon. Apparently some of them did help him desert but instead of taking him to Lebonon they handed him over to the insurgents. I feel sorry for the poor guy but he is in a mess of his own making.

	02-07-2004 21:36									#246
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I wondered if you guys would hear that part of the story. It has been widely reported here. Still, don't run around (or walk or jog or sip iced tea) with out your gun.... what a scary thing to say to my little brother!! But do it any way...

	02-07-2004 21:42									#247
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I keep my rifle with me at all times and I job on the treadmill at the gym. I'm less likely to be jumped there plus it's easier to get to a bunker if mortars start landing as happened today when I was at the gym.

Everytime mortars hit the base they have an Alarm that goes off. That's well enough but the alarm never seems to go off until after the last incoming round has hit the base. Wouldn't it be better to link the system to radar so that the alarm went off before the incoming rounds impact?

No doubt the Army just doesn't want to spend the money.

	02-07-2004 22:39									#248
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quote: Originally posted by Oerdin ...Everytime mortars hit the base they have an Alarm that goes off. That's well enough but the alarm never seems to go off until after the last incoming round has hit the base. Wouldn't it be better to link the system to radar so that the alarm went off before the incoming rounds impact? No doubt the Army just doesn't want to spend the money.

Maybe the person pressing the alarm button is busy making friends with their foxhole while the rounds are landing?

	03-07-2004 00:55									#249
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Nah, they're in a nice concrete building which is highly unlikely to be breached by a mortar.

	03-07-2004 01:05									#250
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But why take the chance, if you are the button pusher???

	03-07-2004 03:57									#251
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quote: Originally posted by Oerdin I was reading an article in Stars & Stripes (It is the Army owned newspaper which makes up most of my noninterent derived news) today about the Lebonese born Marine who has been captured by the insurgents. It appears the young foreign born Marine was trying to desert and that he asked several of the Iraqis working here if they could help him desert and return to his native Lebonon. Apparently some of them did help him desert but instead of taking him to Lebonon they handed him over to the insurgents. I feel sorry for the poor guy but he is in a mess of his own making.

Well, if that's true, it explains how a marine could be captured alive inside his own base. If the other story is true (hitting him alone at night), the terrorist surely got guts. Haven't heard any more about him. At least he's not in Ted's signature yet.

	03-07-2004 05:15									#252
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Wow, Apolyton is now really family BBS.

	03-07-2004 08:17									#253
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quote: Originally posted by Chemical Ollie At least he's not in Ted's signature yet.

I noticed that the Paki guy was released along with 2 Turks. ( I thought there were 3 of them).

	06-07-2004 00:20									#254
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For the couple of days we've been going out on 12 patrols with the infantry guys. Each day we've only gotten in about 1-2 hours of Psyop time and none of it has been with anyone I'd call a key communicator so its impact is questionable at best. I'm getting the feeling that these national guardsmen we're working with have no idea how to use Psyop effectively and they're to stuck in their ways to bother listening to us.

	06-07-2004 02:14									#255
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They're now saying the Marine was lured off the base to meet a woman.

	06-07-2004 14:34									#256
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Well, we got today off because our translater didn't show. A hate to say it but for once I'm glad Iraqis are as unreliable as a Soviet car in a Siberian winter. If the lazy little bugger had actually showed up to work then I would have had to go on another 12 hour long patrol with the infantry and while that is fun once in a while it also has nothing to do with my job.

	06-07-2004 14:56									#257
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Little you know about the reliability of Russian cars in Siberian winters. It always amazed me how the old Lada of my host in Novosibirsk worked at -30..-40C, without even being in a garage. My (compared to his) high tech western car would get in heavy trouble under these circumstances.

	07-07-2004 00:22									#258
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It appears the Marine of Arab decent has some how talked his way out of captivity.

	07-07-2004 01:24									#259
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quote: Originally posted by Oerdin BTW Did my dad tell you about my new house? It's a three bedroom two bath town house in the same complex my sister used to live in. It cost an arm and a leg but it should be a good investment if I can keep the spare rooms rented.

If I finally get my sorry butt moving and get into a grad school in SD, I'll check with you re: those rooms

	07-07-2004 01:40									#260
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Sure.

	07-07-2004 02:28									#261
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Yes, I heard about your house. Be sure to get a cleaning service if you intend to rent some of it out, tenants can be a pain in that respect, you know!!!

Glad to see someone else picked up on the Lada in siberia thing, stinky tho they were, those little cars seemed to kep on keepin' on.

You didn't say if there were any requests for the care package???

Don't go out on patrols, please.

	07-07-2004 02:59									#262
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Ladas and other Russian vehicles have unsurpassed cold-weather performance and are generally rugged all around. They still have a breakdown rate that would never sell in America (think the Yugo, for instance) but in harsh conditions its excusable.

[/threadjack]

	07-07-2004 18:35									#263
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Ok, I will find another analogy to use in the future.

	07-07-2004 20:48									#264
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You could try " as unreliable as a Soviet car"...... I didn't hear any one say they were reliable, just that they worked well in the winter!!

	07-07-2004 21:19									#265
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quote: Originally posted by Auntie H Yes, I heard about your house. Be sure to get a cleaning service if you intend to rent some of it out, tenants can be a pain in that respect, you know!!!

*sniff* hey, I'm not that bad!

	07-07-2004 21:56									#266
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quote: Originally posted by Oerdin For the couple of days we've been going out on 12 patrols with the infantry guys. Each day we've only gotten in about 1-2 hours of Psyop time and none of it has been with anyone I'd call a key communicator so its impact is questionable at best. I'm getting the feeling that these national guardsmen we're working with have no idea how to use Psyop effectively and they're to stuck in their ways to bother listening to us.

Not good. But really, all you can do is do the job that's in front of you. If the support units around you don't understand what your work is about, maybe the line "trying to prepare for when we're gone" might get the message over (and make them think Psyops are worthwhile).

Or put it another way - if you can't convince, confuse.

	10-07-2004 20:18									#267
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Well for the last three days the commanding General of the 1st ID has closed all internet and phone access for soldiers in their AO. Apparently, reporters have been raising hell with the pentigon because the military has been so slow to notify families when one of their love ones was KIA or WIA in Iraq. On several occations families have found out about a service man's death from their neighbors who got e-mails from other service men in Iraq.

The Army is now embarassed and has ordered that when ever someone is KIA that all means of outside communication be cut off from the soldiers in Iraq until the families can be notified. This seems so typically Army to me. I mean rather then fix the real problem, namely that it takes the Army forever and a day before they bother to pick up the phone and notify the next of kin, they instead try to gag all soldiers. Yes, the families should be notified through the proper channels but the Army owes these people notification much sooner then the 5-7 days they've been running. It seems like 12 hours would be more then enough time to determine someone has died and then to pick up a phone and call someone. All of this doesn't involve gagging anybody nor robbing them of their abilities to talk to friends and loved ones back home.

I sometimes wonder if the Army will ever get it; that quick fixes aren't the long term anwser but firing a few people who can't do their jobs competently just might be.

	10-07-2004 21:55									#268
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Good to hear you're doing alright. Looks like the army might need some Psyops itself.

	11-07-2004 16:42									#269
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Well, some new news. One of the SSGs in Tikrit has had to go on Emergency leave due to family problems and he most likely won't be coming back to Iraq. That means some or all of my team will have to move back to Tikrit in order to fill his spot. We don't know anything for sure yet but we should find out soon. Change seems to be in the wind.

	12-07-2004 17:30									#270
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It has been confirmed and all three of us will be moving to Tikrit tomorrow. I just can't seem to stay away from that place.