War in Iraq, updates/stories Options

[Divergent Realit...]

'new' tools

Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.

more entertaining than a tricorder.

[Hartmann]

Some of the weirdest things in warfare start because of necessity.

[impala454]

heheh sweet

In other cases of battlefield improvisation in Iraq, U.S. soldiers have bolted scrap metal to Humvees in what has come to be known as "Hillybilly Armor." Medics use tampons to plug bullet holes in the wounded until they can be patched up.

Also, soldiers put condoms and rubber bands around their rifle muzzles to keep out sand. And troops have welded old bulletproof windshields to the tops of Humvees to give gunners extra protection. They have dubbed it "Pope's glass" -- a reference to the barriers that protect the pontiff.

[cupcake]

iraqi police have been compromised...this shit is going downhill.

just a year ago they were fine (rough around the edges, but loyalties were there). I asked my freshly deployed best friend if they were totally compromised, or if it's a regional thing:

Not sure. A truckload of them opened fire on one of our convoys a few days ago. In an IP truck and wearing IP uniforms. Needless to say, they didn't last long. We roll out with .50 cals on all trucks, so there wasn't much left of the truck or the gunmen after it was all over.

IP's can't be trusted. Some of them even taunt us when we're at a few Police stations. One was full of Mahdi militia moonlighting as IPs. We bring SAWs into those stations now, instead of our M4's.

IP's are also stupid. They don't pay attention to what they're doing. I almost lit a truckload of IP's with the .50 cal a few days ago becuase one of them was carelessly pointing his RPG at our convoy as we were passing. Idiot.

As far as the IEDs all over the place, the threat is there, but I've not heard about many going up recently. We get intel assessments every morning when we go to Brigade to put in our mission plans and we see generally 3 or 4 a day in our sector. Something must be going on tonight because theres been non-stop jet traffic flying over us since about 10am. more apaches have been seen as well. Today we were off, so I've not been out of the wire.

I did my 5th mission last night and it was a night mission. Thankfully, it was pretty boring.

We're going to an Iraqi police station tomorrow that's known for its hostility. Should be interesting. They're still mad at us for taking away some weapons they shouldn't have had.

I found a brand new copy of Steinbeck's East of Eden in the free book pile, I just started it, pretty good book.

Oh, and stop worrying DAD.

Rob

[Hartmann]

Good God... do you know what part of Iraq he's in or is that censored?

[cupcake]

baghdad

fallujah I could see. but nope, belly of the beast.

[impala454]

my bro-in-law is getting deployed right after christmas... he's artillery but he's supposed to be going to work with all the big wigs in some building in baghdad. not safe by any means but hopefully safer than anything else.

[GOB]

good toothpastefordinner today

[cupcake]

had a really bad day. 2 VBIED's went off about 50m from my vehicle. We were driving through a market area. Freakin carnage, dude.

None of us were hurt, but damn. never gonna forget this one.

I'm not really worried about my safety. It doesn't really cross my mind to be afraid (is that a bad thing? Does that mean I'm fucked up in the head?) It was just really jarring to see it raining blood and freakin bodyparts everywhere. That's what freaked everyone out. I now know what hell looks like, if there is one.

I just don't understand why they feel the need to do this to each other. I'm really beginning to think that religion is the root of all evil.

[cupcake]

I'm assuming he's talking about this...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/22/...main/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Bombs in Iraqi marketplaces killed dozens of people Monday in Baghdad and in Khalis, near the northeastern city of Baquba.

At least 88 people were killed and 160 wounded in central Baghdad in a pair of nearly simultaneous car bombings, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.

Hours later, an explosion ripped through a market in Khalis, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad -- killing 12 and wounding 29, Iraqi officials said.

The midday bombings in Baghdad's al-Sharqi district targeted civilians in a second-hand market, the site of several earlier attacks. (Watch ambulances rush to help bombing victims )

"Body parts everywhere, many bodies charred; it was horrible," the Interior Ministry official said.

Both car bombs were parked near the market and were detonated by remote control shortly after a driver stepped out of one of the vehicles, leaving its engine running, the official said, citing witnesses.

That car had a large amount of explosives and metal objects, including nails and other shrapnel, to inflict maximum casualties, the official said.

Also in Baghdad, mortar rounds fell on an elementary school in the Abu Dhseir section, killing one woman and wounding eight children.

In addition, a prominent Sunni tribal sheik, Riyadh Hussein al-Ogaidat, was fatally gunned down outside his home in Baghdad's western al-Furat neighborhood, an Interior Ministry official said.

In the nearby Jihad area, mortar rounds exploded in a residential area, wounding four civilians. (Watch what's being done to make new Baghdad security plan work )

[Hartmann]

cupcake, in your opinion, if we look merely at the factions of al-Queda in Iraq and other anti-American groups fighting troops in Iraq, are we better off fighting them there than we would be fighting them here? I am not talking about the Sunni vs. Shia crap, I am talking about the folks targeting the U.S. troops.

I feel that what the Iraq war has done is pulled possible attacks on the U.S. (where it's difficult) into Iraq (where it's easy to grab a gun and take out your vendetta). Granted, the carnage in the country is nothing we'd like to see but when it comes to self preservation, do you think that it's accomplished that somewhat?

Just wondering from a military point of view.

[cupcake]

I see what you're saying...

I don't think I can be very succint, and still be clear in how I answer you...please forgive my stream of consciousness muddle...

let me preface (ONCE AGAIN OH GAWD) that I think we should have used afganistan and perhaps some other lawless country that's prime for breeding muj like somalia as the "battlefield", and kept Iraq a contained for a while til we got our shit straight. right now, AQ is spread pretty globally, and I do think that is the result of the invasion and taking our eye off the prize.

but that is the past. regardless, I think it's very hard after 9/11 for al-queda to get in conus. perhaps I am being naive, but all of al queda is not in iraq, nor do I think they just stopped trying to get us on our soil. I think the simple fact is, they can't. we're not total dumb-dumbs like Lance thinks and we are working to protect ourselves. and I am confident some shit has gone down the likes of which we may not know until a couple decades down the road, if ever.

iraq simply makes it easy for them to wear on our motivation (though in the grand scheme, losing 3000...even 6000 troops is not going to adversely affect America or the military).

at most it leaves a bad taste in our mouth about getting involved elsewhere. the silver lining is that the US mil and coalitions have taken an evolutionary leap in warfighting tactics, equipment, etc that had lied dormant since literally vietnam. when I started playing gunslinger, the only difference in my equipment vs. my father's was the kevlar, A2 instead of the A1 or M14. same comm, same lensatic compass vice GPS, same boots, shitty shelterhalves, seriously everything. also we had the M1, hummers, and radder jets...but infantry wise...same shit.

Iraq has been steroids for our warfighting capabilities.

nowadays, the whole kit you use is totally evolved...in just 4 years. it's incredible and brilliant. tactics? I can't even begin to get into it...much much different.

but the insurgency is not making any grand steps toward our destruction. the real, non insurgency-based al queda still wants to rip down our shit. and I'm certain they are still working towards that.

is Iraq a buffer taking the brunt of their force, thus saving plano from car bombs? I don't think so at all. I believe what's happening in Iraq is nothing more than the natural reaction of an invasion.

if I knew a great way to fix it, I'd let someone know. but I don't.

[Hartmann]

I agree that Afghanistan should have been the containment area, and to a degree, it is. We are still fighting there, so do you think that's been a draw for fighters? "Come to Afghanistan and have your chance to kill Americans" rather than trying to get into the states?

It easy to gain access into both Afghanistan and Iraq and while I do not think that they have completely eliminated our chances for being attacked, I think they have reduced the urgency that the terrorist organizations feel to attack U.S. targets in the states when they can do it on their own turf.

[FORSAKENR320]

well, the difference i see is that while we are over there, we get to attack back.

i posted somewhere on these boards a few thoughts i had about it being beter to fight in someone elses country.



now, i don't know much about military, i admit, but i see a high cycle rate among the troops there, specifically after high combat situations. it makes sense to me, a blooded grunt is worth a damn lot more than a green recruit. (thought this while reading cupcakes post about the upgrades in the equipment) seems like a good opportunity to upgrade our troops into experienced fighters also. how many other of our "friendly" countries can say they have a large amount of combat experienced troops, ready to knock on someone's door and fuck up their Christmas?

[cupcake]

you bring up and interesting point...about salty combat vets. yes it is a great asset.

however, with private contracting paying what it does...and the military offering basically zero incentives to re-up...you lose a lot of seasoned middle management so to speak.

not to mention the toll 2...3 deployments in 4 years takes on a man, physically, mentally, emotionally.

if the mil did something like, 2 deployments, then bam, re-up with a decent bonus (like 20 g's or so), and your choice of noncombat duty for a couple years, like instructor at a school you've attended, that would be a rad start and help immensely. I wanted to go to coronado and be an instructor at scout/swimmers, or coxswain school, but the only guys they were taking were staff NCOs...which is way overkill for that billet. Sgts and Cpls could do that job just fine.

the time away from theater, and the grunt unit period, would help rejuvinate and re-sensitize him, while still maintaining the knowlege base he got from combat.

as opposed to the only real choices right now at the end of marine's enlistment, which are DI or recruiter. most...I'd say 85% of true grunts get out when faced with DI or recruiting duty. fuck that pogue shit.