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Locked on 12/11/2005 8:41:41 AM PST by Admin Moderator, reason:
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Posted on 10/15/2005 7:13:08 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
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Still round the corner there may wait |
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Home is behind, the world ahead, |
I'm at the Prancing Pony (the regular waterin' hole) saying howdy to the regulars before I hit the bach pad.
There are only 5 testing locations in the US and an uber long waiting list. Stupid test is 3.5 days long and $6K (OWWWW!). At least after I pass it I will only have state boards to take, and then no more exams ever!
Ouch and ouch! Man!
If you were taking your test in Fort Collins I'd take you out to celebrate afterwards...
Well, we just finished our "virtual" evacuation of our Miami office. All of their mailboxes and mail services are now on the west coast. :-)
Well I'm in the KC area...Nov 16th? That's Wednesday. How long before you drive to Columbia?
yeow... just saw a great line on the WA state board:
"No democracy has ever been taken down from the outside."
I have no idea if that's actually true or not, but it rings right. I'll think on it. The Confederate States of America notwithstanding... :-)
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Hi all, and particularly the Hobbit Hole ...
We finally issued our knives at the end of Sept. as we prepped for movement. They were VERY well recieved and many commented it was the best thing they've gotten so far...and we've gotten a lot of the new stuff. They are very appreciated.
I'm in Bagdhad now...for now. Won't be staying here for the duration...or even terribly long. Where would the fun in that be?
Everyone in the engineer side is in the middle of transition...just waiting for people to realize there is stuff to be done and then the sh1tstorm of missions will start.
Later
bart
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Hello all,
Today was supposed to be my first "combat patrol", a mounted movement to Abu Gharib to look at some ongoing engineer activities that are intended to help the Coalition to no longer use Abu and give full control of it to the Iraqis. Well, it didn't happen. So I have yet another day with not a lot to do. Trust me, I'm enjoying it. This is just the "calm before the storm", because once the outgoing units have run far far away (as I will scamper and skip all the way home in 11 months), the new units will look around and say, "Gee, I want new buildings, and new roads, and a hot tub here, and a deck for my BBQ, I mean, command meetings..." and then the fun shall begin. Of course, I'll have several gate keepers ahead of me so I'll just be fed the missions that are (allegedly) most needed...but that could be anything from modifying armor design (based on my civilian skills) to designing some new bridges to doing forensic work for the IED Defeat Task Force (more civilian skills) to being part of someone's battlestaff to...well, just about anything.
Now, you might think the idea of "uniforms" wipes out the issue of "what to wear". Au contraire, it just gives everyone the same starting point. First, we have the issue of which style to wear...the DCUs (Desert Camo Uniforms, the yellow and brown suckers) or the new ACU (Army Combat Uniform, the new digital pattern). We have both and trust me, there is a split on which is "better" to wear. Personally, as long as it covers the body and some underemployed sergeant major doesn't feel the need to quick step across three roads to correct me, I'm good. Then it because "which hat"...the patrol cap (ball cap), or the boonie hat (floppy hat.) Some think the first is "more squared away", others feel the second is "better for the all around protection from the sun." So right then and there, you have 4 different uniform variations that are all over the place here, and that's just within the US Army's conventional forces. I'm sure more than one highly anal rententive garrison senior sergeant has had a nervous breakdown when confronted on this issue alone. The standard "woodland pattern" BDU? Oh please, that is *SO* last year, honey, you just wouldn't be caught dead wearing that here, it would ruin your image.
Now we come to our weapons. We have to have our weapon, and a loaded magazine, with us at all times. Its on the bench when we shower. It sits next to us in the bathroom. Allegedly we have to carry it while running (hoping that policy will change back as it has every rotation). The M16s and their variants do have some signficant variations in terms of sights, slings, hand guards, etc...but its all very utilitarian. You can tell the changes are made for utilitarian reasons, not for STYLE. But the pistol carriers....those are some fashion concious troopers.
And yes, I have a pistol. Regular ole leg drop black holster, mounted on a pistol belt so its easier to take on and off plus can attach extra mag holders, my combat knife, my ASP (baton), etc. none of which I wander around here with. But geezums....watching people shop for holsters is like taking a girlfriend out to shop for shoes. We have holsters for sale both at the PX and at the Bazaar, the latter being where approved locals can offer goods, and there, amongst the rugs, brasswear, local artifacts, and other items is the leathermaker with his holsters. Brown, black, with tooling, without tooling, ballistic nylon, for the belt, cross shoulder, double looped H-style, tanker style... I swear I was waiting for someone trying one out to ask "does this go with this uniform pattern?" or "does the way it rides make my butt look big?" The ones most getting into are the people least likely to have to use it...the HQ people that will stay in the wire. I saw today a few sergeant majors with knives and a light on their leg straps....clearly, not worrying about running with all that crap let alone hop in and out of armored HMVEES. One of my guys got a two shoulder rig with fancy tooling and a full color picture tooled into the holster itself....been joking its a "purty rig for a city boy."
Finally, you have your IBA (improved ballistic vest). When we were stateside, we were told EXACTLY how to put stuff on. The fact the Army hadn't issued us a dang thing to put on it yet and those who had stuff had bought it themselves was absolutely irrelevant. Well, now that we're here, you'll see about anything attached, to include tomahawks, extra magazine carriers, IPOD I mean single magazine holders, bowie knives, small nuclear devices....whatever that soldier feels will make his life either last longer or be more bearable. The color coordination is a bitch, though....for example, we were issued DCU vest covers, but we're now wearing the ACU pattern. Some of the guys bought DCU attachments for the vests...but others anticipated getting the ACU vest covers to match our ACU body covers so they bought ACU vest attachments. And this sounds all utilitarian...but you can hear the soldiers talking about "does this go with that", "do you think I fit all my stuff in here, what about my cell phone (and we do have those)"....its like going with your girlfriend to buy a purse.
If the uniform variations didn't kill off those highly strung anal retentive types before, the combat soldiers loading up their vests will.
I don't know how much longer I'll be here in Bagdhad. No...not being sent home early, its just too nice here. Not good enough. (Actually, we're looking at giving this area back to the Iraqi gov't, but that is not as fun to bitch about.) We will be moving north to [redacted]. It won't be too bad...its over 50% Air Force base, and they typically have the ice cream shop and easy chairs in the office before they even finish stringing the wire around the fenceline. I'll wait until we know what the shipping address is for there, as that's where we'll be headquartered, and I'll relay it to y'all as soon as I get it.
That's about it for now....just waiting for things to start hopping. Busy is good...makes time go by faster. I'm still hoping for April for my mid-tour leave, and we're hoping to start our hand-off to the new guys in Sept, and even allowing for travel and de-mobilization issues, be home before next Halloween. I think I'll go as a civilian.
bart
OH... dear God... that's about the funniest thing I've read in ages. [wiping tears from eyes]
"Does this holster make my butt look big?" hehehe...
That sounds so damn familiar. We didn't have too many options for boarding party gear, but there are always at least a few options, and it did get pretty funny listening to the guys shopping for "just the right look". And yes... it's just like taking the girlfriend out shopping for shoes.
I always argued for a shoulder rig, but the command wouldn't clear it. Better weapons-retention I argued... when going down a ladder into a dark space I don't want the pistol on my hip to be the first thing in the room while both my hands are still on the ladder. Good argument, I thought. And hey... look at those shoes over there...
:-)
Good piece. Good read. Funny and true all at the same time. :-)
heh heh... classic...
We won't be engraving any more Gerbers, because, for some unknown reason, the laser engraving comes out perfect on some blades, and putrid on others. The troops will know where they came from, anyway.
Also included in the deal is special pricing on the Gerber 600 multitool in black, which is standard military issue, if you can snag one. Also the Gerber Recon four-color LED flashlight, and the TX 3.0 high-intensity LED tactical flashlight.
As funds allow, we'll build up a supply of these items before announcing their availability to the troops.
Just wondering...
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
ROTFL!!! Hilarious! It also makes me feel good for all those folks, that in the middle of a 'war', they have time to think about stuff like this! Things ARE getting better over there.
BTW, my brother wanted to know how much the knife that you sent to Alexander cost. He wants to make a donation to the HH fund, but wanted to know what you'd need to pay for a knife or two.
Well they wouldn't want to clash....what would the locals think?
Ugly Americans?
Mornin'
mmmmmm....new flash drive...
You flashed WHO on your drive?
"Can't believe those Americans wore black boots after Memorial Day."
Tsk, Tsk.
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