The Iraq Thread 2

[theavonlady 2]

Any pics to share with us?

[PiNs_Da_Smoka 0]

As soon as my squad leader downloads the right softawre for his digital camera. Of course, i can't show the good shit as of now, especially most were taken with my disposable and there is a serious lack of 1-hour photos in Samarra and Mosul.

[theavonlady 2]

Otherwise you're OK?

Anything us folks out in OFP-Land can get you ro do for you?

[denoir 0]

Only thing i can tell you now is that Iraqi's are really good at making bombs now, but we're better at blowing them up.

The Iraqis or the bombs?

[theavonlady 2]

Pins, you been playing gunner in an Apache lately?

[Akira 0]

It's good to see that Pins is doing alright.

Also if anyone is interested:

Rule Iraq

[theavonlady 2]

Rule Iraq

[ran 0]

And mortars really suck when they land 100 feet away while you are sleeping in the middle of the night.

AH ! SEE

nice to hear from you again

well, i wish you good luck and i hope you're doing allright

being a combat engineer in a combat zone rocks doesn't it ? (joke)

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]And mortars really suck when they land 100 feet away while you are sleeping in the middle of the night.

You´ll get used to it by the time Pins. After 3 months you don´t even wake up when they come in.

Only the rain that came through the holes the mortar shrapnels caused woke me up after a while

Head up and butt down Pins.

[ralphwiggum 6]

Only thing i can tell you now is that Iraqi's are really good at making bombs now, but we're better at blowing them up.

I'd have to say that this was one of those pessimism dressed in positivity....

Quote[/b] ]And mortars really suck when they land 100 feet away while you are sleeping in the middle of the night.

tell mortar to shutup.

good to see youa gain Pins. hopefully they got good weed supply there.

[ran 0]

Only thing i can tell you now is that Iraqi's are really good at making bombs now, but we're better at blowing them up.

I'd have to say that this was one of those pessimism dressed in positivity....

optimisim is the enemy of the soldier on the battlefield

[miles teg 1]

Wow Pins! I remember way back when you were here I think talking about joining the Army or something like that. Damn, time flies. That's pretty cool that they got ya on the Strykers. I know you probably can't talk too much about it, but it'll be interesting to see how they hold up. I saw pics of that one Stryker that got hit by a roadside bomb (with only minor injuries to crew and passengers) and so far so good. I just hope that the slat armor (the RPG-cage) around the Strykers do the job as advertised. Maybe by the time you get back we can convince Sigma to create a Stryker version of his LAV-25 addon for OFP.

Anyways good to see ya in the Corp of Engineers. Look on the bright side, at least your not running space mountain or the roller coaster at Ft. Lost-In-The-Woods (Ft. Leanordwood). Stay safe.

Essayons and Salam Alekum.

Chris G.

aka-Miles Teg<GD>

(Former 51 Bravo in a Combat Heavy Engineer unit)

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

deleted

[Tex -USMC- 0]

Good to see all is well, Pins Just don't do anything, you know, stupid

[Harnu 0]

Sweet, hey Pins. Wanna save some small ordinance, or what it's made of, for me?

[ralphwiggum 6]

Sweet, hey Pins.  Wanna save some small ordinance, or what it's made of, for me?    

tsk tsk tsk.. don't get him into trouble. so ask him for some of his finest pot.

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]so ask him for some of his finest pot

AK 47 it is as far as I know

[theavonlady 2]

so ask him for some of his finest pot.

He'd walk a mile for a camel!

[Gollum1 0]

Only thing i can tell you now is that Iraqi's are really good at making bombs now, but we're better at blowing them up.

The Iraqis or the bombs?  

Heh.

But it's good to know that Pins is all right, be careful over there.

[Dauragon 0]

Quote[/b] ]TOKYO — Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's (search) Cabinet on Tuesday approved the dispatch of about 1,000 soldiers to help in the reconstruction of Iraq, the biggest deployment of Japanese troops (search) overseas since World War II (search).

In a special meeting, the Cabinet approved the dispatch of troops to southeastern Iraq to restore water services, offer medical and other humanitarian assistance and help rebuild schools and other infrastructure.

The dispatch, expected to begin over the next month, will involve elements of Japan's land, sea and air forces.

Following the Cabinet meeting, Koizumi went before the nation to explain why he is pushing ahead with the controversial plan, which opposition leaders say could draw the troops into combat and violate Japan's postwar pacifist constitution.

"We are not going to war," Koizumi said. "The situation in Iraq is severe. We know it is not necessarily safe. But our Self-Defense Forces must still fulfill this mission."

Koizumi has repeatedly vowed to dispatch the troops as soon as the situation in the region is secure enough. But, facing intense political pressures and a skeptical public, he has refrained from setting a specific date.

The outline announced Tuesday left the timing of the dispatch open, though a small advance contingent expected to leave before the end of the year. Japan's defense minister was expected to set the date by early next week.

Under the plan, 600 ground troops will be sent, along with armored vehicles and up to six naval ships, including destroyers. Eight aircraft, including three C130 transport planes, will also be deployed.

The total number of troops would be about 1,000, making it the largest overseas deployment since World War II, according to the Defense Agency.

The troops will stay for six months to one year, and, as defensive measures, carry rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other arms that Japanese peacekeepers have never used, reports in most major newspapers said, quoting unnamed ruling party sources.

Koizumi stressed the need for Tokyo to live up to its international responsibilities, and its commitments to the United States, Japan's most important ally and trading partner. Japan was criticized by Washington for contributing only money, and not personnel, during the first Gulf War in the early 1990s.

"America has made many sacrifices to create a viable democracy in Iraq," he said. "Japan must be a trustworthy ally for the United States."

The deployment would be a milestone for Japan's military, which is strictly limited by the constitution.

A special law allowing the dispatch for humanitarian missions in Iraq was passed by Parliament in July, but only under the condition that the troops be sent to a place deemed safe and away from combat.

Opponents of the dispatch say Iraq is still not secure enough to fulfill that requirement, and argue that the troops could be drawn into fighting to protect themselves.

Such dangers were underscored last weekend, when two diplomats were gunned down near the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit. They were Japan's first casualties since the U.S.-led war in Iraq began in March.

No Japanese soldier has been killed in combat since World War II.

Officials have stressed that the area of Iraq where the troops are to go is less dangerous than Tikrit.

Opposition leaders have vowed to derail Koizumi's plan.

Most Japanese lean toward the opposition. Polls indicate only about a third of the voters support Koizumi's plan.

Japan sent 600 troops to Cambodia on a peacekeeping mission in 1992, and 405 on a separate, ongoing mission to East Timor.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105221,00.html

[miles teg 1]

I think the Japanese prime minister and his cabinet probably were watching "The Last Samurai" when they made that decision. Let's see now if the Japanese PM falls on his own sword (politically or perhaps literally).

Chris G.

aka-Miles Teg<GD>

[theavonlady 2]

Could've been Tora! Tora! Tora!

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

But back to the topic.

I have a good advise for George Bush. I mean now that the links between Saddam and Al Quaida seem to dissapear it gets harder and harder every day to justify Iraqi prisoners not being given the POW status. I have the solution. Why not giving them the DEF status ( disarmed military forces). This what the americans did with the soldiers already in WWII. Funny enough the effects were exactly the same like Guantanamo Bay.

The Red Cross is not allowed to visit the prisoners

The prisoners arent allowed any contact with the outside world.

It is against the Geneva convention

Times never change! It all repeats over and over again (I hope it is not the case with german history)

[PiNs_Da_Smoka 0]

Glad to see everyone here as usual. Just wanted to let everyone know that all is well here, and Iraq is...well...Iraq.

Yes, the Strykers are holding up damn well, that Stryker that got hit was hit by an IED and an RPG almost simaltaneously and all walked out alive, did they say the unit that it was? I will not say because i don't know if that info was declassified yet. But the big ugly bird cages are doing thier job for now, and the are only temporary until we get reactive armor. But i don't wanna keep posting off-topic shiznit, so let me close with a thought on iraq....

We don't NEED to be here, we SHOULD be doing alot more then we are, but in ways of helping the Iraqi people become dependent on themselves, not us. If you don't support the "war", support the troops, alot of us need it.

P.S.

Hadji has all the bomb ass bootleg DVD's!

[hellfish6 7]

P.S.

  Hadji has all the bomb ass bootleg DVD's!

Hehe... When I was in Kuwait we bought Playstations 1's for like $20, had a chip installed in them for another $5 that would let us watch bootleg VCDs - I saw some Hollywood movies before they were even released in America.

Keep your head down over there. Can I ask what your mission is most of the time? Just patrols? Convoy escort? QRF?