Sam Samson

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ Nov. 26 2002,19:49)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I'll have to get clearence first, but if I get it I'll take some pictures of it and post it. You'll see why it is a very popular target <span id='postcolor'> does it look like you?

GUYS! rape is not a condoned military tactic in nato. we don't need to go into who was the worst. for me: if it was 1944 right now and you would stick the nazis and the communists into one sack together, and would start beating on it: you would always hit the right one! so there.

gotta walk softly, harnu. all that superiority didn't help the supersoldiers in primitive mogadishu. it's not just the equipment that money can buy. it's the brains behind the whole show that makes the difference. some nations are just better at certain things than others. I'm interested in seeing who does what best.

I think germany would make a great logistics specialist, given their close proximity to almost everywhere in the world. and based on their history they're not too keen on fighting, which I understand fullwell. UK? the navy, but then, what would the US do with its carrier groups? okay. UK does commandos, the US the navy. france? I once heard that french soldiers with a competent officer are one of the most awesome infantry combinations. who does: submarines? tanks? airforce? ... best? (history would favor the germans, but we already went over this. )

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Balschoiw @ Nov. 25 2002,16:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">One thing US forces are most afraid of, is Urban warfare.<span id='postcolor'> US forces just don't like to die. back to topic: depends on what kind of UW you're talking about. 1. in an evacuated war-zone with only enemy military you'd have to take one house down after the other. gotta plan thoroughly with a good map in front of your nose, and somebody who can read it properly. somebody who can figure out fields of fire, terrain, enemy capabilites, etc. you'd need a competent group of operations/planning sergeants. you'd need secure MG-positions outside the town to suppress the enemy. (we're supposing you don't have helos available.) you'd have to partition the town into manageable sections. if you have a company at your disposal, you can start your work with several platoons from more than one point to confuse the enemy about your number. (confusion can be your best friend.) dissect the area into platoon- and squad-, fire team- and battle team-manageable areas. you need seasoned engineers. they have the eyes to discern booby-traps in buildings. nerve-racking work. I'd send in mercenaries, like the gurkhas. they're tough. (first ones into kosovo. their compound in kathmandu is positively the only clean place in the whole city! 2. in a counter terrorist setting many things may be different. you presumably have one heavily defended building. (defense is always easier than assault.) so your battle is uphill to begin with. recon: are there campers (enemy snipers)? what are the tangos' arsenal and capabilities? will you have the element of surprise or are they waiting for you? will the whole show last longer than the optimum 10 seconds? will it deteriorate into an atrocious attrition-firefight, like what happened to the rangers in mog ... in practice it seems to be fun: fast-roping in, hanging upside down from rooftops, breaking open doors and windows, flashbanging around, ... speeeed: when you take down a room, focus on and run only into your designated corner. don't look around. the operator behind you will come running in right after you and will cover the corner you have to neglect. in real life fractions of a second can determine the success or failure of the op. the chechen terrorists in moscow are a prime example. imagine they would have realized that they were being gassed? in one second one could have ignited his bomb-belt and all would have been lost! ...in case you ever get into the real thing: just remember to let your gun always point in the direction into which your nose is pointing. ... (I read all that somewhere. )

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Warin @ Nov. 24 2002,21:35)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Heh. Confusing someone that watches 'Keeping Up Appearances' with being a true intellectual is an awfully interesting concept. Perhaps in America, the only people that watch britcom are true intellectuals....<span id='postcolor'> you are an elongated sapaiou, aren't you?

the czech republic figured out specialization is a good idea all by itself - without its government reading this thread - they are specializing in bio/chemical detection and countermeasures. also: if - by way of specialization - we create greater interdependence, all I see is the decreasing likelyhood of western nations stabbing each other's back. I'll treat you right if I depend on you. so I maintain, what would your country - based on its history - be most capable in providing? the US would furnish the diplomatic four-stars... remember ike and schwarzkopf? powell... of course they would be the cincs.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (theavonlady @ Nov. 23 2002,22:26)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">"More tea, Vicar?" Sounds like something Hyacinth (or Rose ) said in "Keeping up Appearances".<span id='postcolor'> but... but that would mean we have true intellectuals here somewhere... and uh... I have talked to american soldiers before. some have good business connections. (but that was all before I became a christian.) but not all are spec-4 (with low iq). a lot of them even speak 2 languages, and you can become a specialist in some areas, which will help you in a private career, should you desire one instead of a mil-career.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (MesserJockel @ Nov. 24 2002,05:14)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">well, our christian culture spent most of the  middle age preserving and copying lots of arabian literature. for instance avicenna (dont know his original name), who gave galen and other christian "auctoritates" a decent forward push in medical knowledge. its a strange fact, that our culture prospered and flourished, while the islamic countries suffered some stagnation actually. i do not have enough knowledge in these matters to suggest some reasons for that, but kinda remembers me of the roman empire in the early middle ages.<span id='postcolor'> umm..., wasn't galen pre-christian greek? like hippocrates and his oath? in any case you're right, roughly around the 10th century the moslem culture had its climax, and the world greatly profited from their thinkers. about why their culture floundered: it's like i said before: a matter of theology, which around that time started to stifle personal growth and development. as long as they built on their strengths and used their talents, they moved on. when they took that element out, they mummified. in my thinking this is also the reason why the west is leading the world today: they believe in personal growth and development, building on your strenghts. in a free society you'll get somewhere with that philosophy. the beginning of that tremendous advancement on every level in the west - don't laugh at me - also has its roots in theology. it started precisely with the reformation, when the syncretism was washed out of christianity. for instance, follow the line back in the US and you'll find that their capitalist system grew out of the calvinist thinking that wealth is a sign of the favor of God and nothing to be bashful about. compare that to the mindset of barely-get-along, poverty-is-great medieval christianity in europe... *forces himself to shut up now*

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Renagade @ Nov. 23 2002,21:32)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Can we say a percentage of muslims are stupids or call the ku klax klan idiots too ?? <span id='postcolor'> before the moslem world en large subscribed to the notion of kismet - fate, everything is dictated from above, no personal growth possible or desired - they produced some astounding cultural progress, when they weren't busy making war. I personally think moorish architecture is fabulous. and their numerals, just thing you'd have to do fractions in roman letters! but considering all 1400 years of islam, I'm not all that impressed. especially lately.

I understand saving and conserving energy sounds noble and good. it's a good personal virtue. but for an economy to grow - so many people can partake of the wealth created - you can't just go save. you need to spend engergy. the reason why the US is using so much energy is because it creates about 24% of the world's wealth. what we need to discuss is how to keep the environment clean in the energy-creation and -consumption process, but lets not demonize the consumption and creation of energy. unless you want to go amish...

I'm shocked... SHOCKed... until I came across this thread I always thought the world was flat and ended at the atlantic and the pacific. what am I going to do now? Â P.S.: how can I edit that silly line under my avatar? I didn't put it there. whoever wrote it: write something like LastManStanding; SurvivorType or GodsCommando, pahlease. (I'm not a vicar. neither are most posters here. and I'm not partial to tea... ) Â

simple, 1. because of your ideals: freedom, democracy, civiliation. 2. because you love the people. 3. you are a mercenary and need the money

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (RalphWiggum @ Nov. 23 2002,00:14)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">...but then again, you are asking for equality, when someone who is suppose to be morally higher acts like the morally inferior person. so stakes should be higher for the morally higher person (just a thought)<span id='postcolor'> I understand where you're coming from, but with that last statement you're coming awfully close to a double standard... let's stick with treating everybody the same. btw, mohammed, islam and women..., just a side thought: although the koran allows for only 4 women per man, allah made an exception for him and he married 9, his youngest wife being fatima, the daughter of his comrade abu bakr - the first caliph, the one who died of natural causes. she was 9 when they wed. arabian nights, the collection of stories from around 800 a.d. did you ever read (or start to read) the real version? not the one for kids? pretty ummm... juicy. some of that stuff would be classified as porn today. they obviously weren't always prudish. but then again: the sultan has every one of his brides killed the morning after their wedding, until scheherazade and her sister come in and entertain him for 1001 nights... with stories... balshoiw is right concerning the murderousness of africa. you literally take your life in your hands when you mess around down there. why would anybody in their right mind have a miss-contest there? it's bound to become just that.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (USMC Sniper @ Nov. 22 2002,22:47)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">No, I read once that a woman was stoned because she was raped, that is really dumb. And I said "what if", as well. And obviously if there is a law like that then someoen who will get impregnated without wanting to do so will get stoned! Â <span id='postcolor'> that's called sharia. it is the legal system all orthodox moslem societies are striving for. islam is always politics and law also, never just religion. if you see this differently, you obviously know nothing about islam. (a kaliph is known to be a ruler, but the word means "successor", of mohammed, that is. the first three or four killed one another, by the way, when mohammed died.) I agree, to hold a pageant in that place is moronic and shows great lack of discernment. ...and ralph: I think to punish assault like that is uncalled for. I remember r..., - somebody, to badmouth the victims of 9/11 (of wahhabi moslem violence) and all he got was one day.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (RalphWiggum @ Nov. 22 2002,22:46)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">so when Clinton performed Operation Desert Fox why did US republican's criticized it instead of lending hands? because it stood in the way of Lewisky investigation?<span id='postcolor'> umm... ralph? might it be that slick bombed iraq to distract from his many many scandals at home? btw, I hear that susan mcdugal got released from the slammer, - to which she went because she wouldn't talk about slick and hillary's role in whitewater - trying to cash in on her new bill-and-me book? how many folks went to prison because of scandals involving their affiliation with the clintons? I lost count... anyway. we can't just let france and russia have access to the iraqi oilfields. why not liberate the iraqis from their menace AND get to the oil all at the same time?

guess a lot of people don't realize that you as a person can grow in your leadership ability. here's what helps you get respect over the long haul: 1. character is more important than charisma. your martial charisma will wears off after a while, character never goes out of style. (you know, the ten commandments-style stuff; duty, honor, country...) 2. competence. nothing makes you as attractive to somebody with a problem as competence, which solves his prob. 3. vision and clear goals. you need to know what you want. because if you don't know where you're going, you won't know when you have arrived. can't think of anything else right now. another question: do you know somebody - a leader - you genuinely respect?

normally 70% of churchgoers are women. to have a bunch of guys sing real loud is a great experience. ...hey! have you ever been in a real big service? like with tens of thousands of people in it? (no, not in rome.) it's awesome. I think the biggest services on the planet are happening in africa these days. check www.cfan.org

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ Nov. 15 2002,00:59)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Sam Samson @ Nov. 14 2002,23:36)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">did you know burundi finances its army solely with one brewery?<span id='postcolor'> Sounds like every soldier's dream : Soldier 1: Ha! My army is so cool they gave me a brand new Abrams today! Soldier 2: Well, I got 37 cases of Heineken today from my army. Soldier 1: (hides in shame)<span id='postcolor'> actually, the ministry of defence sells beer to the nation and with the money from those sales they pay their soldiers. you also run into all kinds of checkpoints manned by drunken youths down there, they're smiling big, toting their gun and ask for a buck. if you don't give them anything they let you pass anyway. I'm very grateful to the french embassy which handed out ID cards, substitutes for passports, that said "ministry of foreign affairs of the republic of france" on it in large letters. the bums mistook us for some official french hotshots.

I think the issue is leadership. even in a rigid environment like the armed forces, with its wall between officers and enlisted men, there are true leaders on both sides of the wall. in every crowd there are some that others are more willing to listen to than others. it lies in the personal makeup of a leader that he attracts followers. let's say people can have a "leadership quotient" of between 1 and 10. a 5 will never willingly follow a 1 or a 2 or a 3 or a 4. he will want to follow a 6 or 7... now, when you have a real leader among the NCOs and only follower quality types among the officers, you have yourself a problem. I admit that I personally have a very hard time to follow somebody's order which I percieve to be inferior because I can come up with a better alternative myself. I only want to submit to folks I look up to. (good thing I command an army of one   )

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (NurEinMensch @ Nov. 14 2002,17:50)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (DarkLight @ Nov. 14 2002,16:34)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">What's that guy saying about the Belgium soldiers evacuating something. Â I can't understand it very well...<span id='postcolor'> It says something like: "Rwanda 1994, belgian soldier evacuate german citizens, threatend by massacar, from the country, that is ravaged by a bloody civil war. This event showed the need for specially trained forces of the bundeswehr." Sorry, thats the best translation I could do. Â <span id='postcolor'> rwanda and burundi used to be german colonies before ww1. I have been in barracks down there that still stemmed from german times. and brought some german and belgian coins from colonial times. (they had rupees there! ) I have a rwanda video too... it's not for the faint of heart though. did you know burundi finances its army solely with one brewery?

I'm rubbing my chin, looking up... If I were an average iraqi joe, what would I do? publicly protest, of course, but secretly pray that an invasion happens soon. hey, centcom's tommy franks as tommy pasha would be just fine with me for a while. better than saddam in any case. I'm sure franks would at least get rid of those distusting door frame sized gallows with dead people hanging on them on many sidewalks in baghdad. I'd wave my ak as long as saddam looked. and were I separated from his watchful eyes, say by an advance from westerners, I'd surrender to the next best western tv-crew around. come to think of it... didn't that already happen once?

what immediately impressed me was the melancholy music of the desert island title screen, that loads everytime the game comes on. the atmosphere! also: the utter absence of the nihilism and gore a lot of computer games seem to have. the soldiers in OFP were cool, collected types, who had a job to do. felt like I was on the right team. ...I remember how uptied I became when I placed my first head shot into an enemy. (even tangos are made in the image of God, you know... ) when I realized the potential of the editor I was hooked. I could stick a message into a mission or campaign and entertain all at the same time!!! OFP won't die. I'm looking forward to the second edition.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ Nov. 13 2002,00:04)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Sam Samson @ Nov. 12 2002,23:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">then you might not be dying for your country, but for your ideals at the hand of your country. (I imagine this is very hard to do for somebody without faith in God. ) <span id='postcolor'> Why do you think that? Do you really think that the only ideals in the world are religious ones?<span id='postcolor'> no, silly. I know better than that. but folks with an acknowledged set of values, which faith unvariably brings with it, are more predictable in their judgments. they know right from wrong when they see it. moral relativists on the other hand, who always peg their ethics to the current situation, are a plague to everybody who has to deal with them, because what was not okay today may be okay tomorrow. they're hard to figure out. more to the point: when you know right from wrong because you have an established moral compass you're not as prone to get suckered into obeying orders which you later find out violated your conscience and were against decency and humanity. with believers there are fewer gray areas. remember: the grunt in the wehrmacht was my example. (I pity him. ) some folks I know remind me of groucho marx, who said: "...these are my principles! and if you don't like them... I have other ones."

balshoiw how do you know what my friend told me about orders? (to tell you the truth: we were mostly busy with his p6 sigsauer. ) thx for enlightening us anyway. I'm aware that the grenzschutzgruppen are a subdivision of the bundesgrenzschutz police, not the bundeswehr. othin, too. I don't think I said anything contrary to your remarks. appreciate you posting the text, though. erex I'm no catholic either. (protestant. that's what put that annoying swagger into my stride. ) I agree with you and compliment you for having a spiritual life. 'preciate that piece from the beatitudes.