Info From Iraq From Someone Who Is Doing the Run and Gun

June 2004 | An American Contractor

[Jeff Head]

Amen to both points Trav...on the books and the applicability.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Thanks. When the put the Six Flags in Tikrit I will put all this to use.LOL

[Travis McGee]

"Six Flags TIkrit," LOL!

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I'm still bringing my rifle though. Will their be a little sign with a guy's hand outstretched with the inscription reading, "Your magazine must be at least this long to enter this ride"?

[Travis McGee]

I think one could get a jump on the book simply by compiling 20 or so of these terrific open-source email letters from soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Somebody ought to send this to Soldier of Fortune.

There are all kinds of people in the security industry. The old guy asleep at the back gate of your gated community is at one end of the spectrum.

These high-speed, low-drag guys are at the other.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Got any emails on convoy escort?

[Travis McGee]

They sure are! No, no more emails specifically on convoy escort, but there were some good replies to that thread on the letter posted from that soldier who was riding shotgun on a tanker truck during the 4-9 ambush.

[in the Arena]

Good info, thanks...Interesting comments on the medical equipment compared to GI...

[Billthedrill]

Good advice, and not just for operators, and not just in Iraq.

Oh, and about that 17 large a month...you gotta live to spend it.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Did anybody ever take this contract?

archy is still AFK. Anybody have a status on him?

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[Darksheare]

Interesting.
Sounds alot like the stuff a bunch of us said while in uniform about training how we will fight.
And some stuff that makes alot of sense, and stuff I'd never think of.

[Travis McGee]

I think the GIs are relying more on having a sustained medical response system right behind them, from platoon medic to Walter Reed. I guess for a small independent team, having more stuff right on hand takes on more importance.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Thanks Much

[CholeraJoe]

Medical equipment. It’s expensive. It has saved lives. The company I currently work for spent a gajillion dollars outfitting each crew with great med gear. I'm sure the bill was hard to swallow. I shit you not it saved three peoples lives, all had life threatening injuries. The med kits and our 18D's saved them. The Army had a few bandages and an IV. That was it. You know who you are, thank you for spending the money...

If I were going over there, I'd want the kitchen sink, and then some. Chest tubes, oxygen, central lines, crystalloid, plasma, crichothyrotomy kits, and more than just a pair of scissors for surgical instruments. They make a mechanical respirator that's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. I'll take one of those, too.

[Travis McGee]

I hope we're out of there real soon! But the contractors will probably be there long after the uniforms are out of sight, and they will have less military field hospital support to rely on.

I think that right now, SF medic qualified physician's assistants/paramedics etc can write their own ticket with these private outfits. Shooters are easy to find, compared to qualified former SF medics!

[patton]

Man, that is great - I was LMAO.

[Poohbah]

Throwing a flashbang into the team leader's hootch at 3AM while drunk is not a good practical joke.

BTW, throwing a grenade simulator into the squadron sergeant major's hootch at 0300 while drunk is ALSO not a good practical joke.

(Guess how I know about that one :o)

[Travis McGee]

Don't get me started!