Posted on 08/07/2004 7:08:32 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4
Bump
I was in the Air Force in 71, and pretty much "anti-war", (I didn't think we were trying to win so why do it) when kerry opened his big mouch there were large numbers of us that wanted to go violate his civil right, by taking him for a ride.
Supporting these troops is easy for me. And I support their mission. Anything less is a sham.
Helmet, Integrated Ballistic Shell Combat Vehicle Crewman
Even Colonel Douglas Macgregor noted that the Army had stuck the Strykers in the releatively safe North of Iraq amid the Kurds.
That thing is not combat tested. Its killed five soldiers in eights months with roll-overs alone. We don't know if the vehicle can fight or not since the brigade has never received its Mobile Gun Systems. Say what you like but if you ever see a real war, M2 .50 caliber machine guns are no match for a bunker line. You need firepower. Those brigades don't have it.
BTW, you mentioned urban environmnets. A wheeled vehicle must either turn around (22 steering points) or make a wide circle (55 feet) to clear obstacles in the urban environment. That takes a lot of space and room.
A track driver stands on one brake and guns the engine. The track PIVOTS and is out of harns way while your driver is still backing up and pulling forward trying to make that vehicle turn around 180 degrees. They are too wide to go into any alley and will never get out. So, the bad guys have a refuge from wheels.
It sounds impressive and a far cry from my ceremony. Im glad they did it for you all.
I was hit at Hue 23 February 1968. I was evaced to Phu Bai then to Da Nang. After a couple days at the Naval Support Facility hospital there some of us decided to go AWOL and rejoin our units - hitching rides wearing hospital blues.
I thought nothing more of it.
Over a year later I was stationed aboard a tugboat in Okinawa. Covered in grease, rust and dirt I was summoned to the Colonels office. The Colonel handed me my Purple Heart and commented that he had never presented a Navy award before, and how did a boat crewman get hit?
Colonel, the NVA thought it would be better to destroy ammo supplies before they were delivered to our Marines.
Army boat people never got much respect - except from those we supported.
Is that List of Improvements real or a parody?
I quote from his "al qaeda"- "We also had the Chaplain walking around yesterday, checking up on us and available for us just in case we wanted somebody to talk to. There was no need for me to talk to him, I did enough talking to god the other day....
Keep a close eye on that new guy - he sounds like a candidate for suicide. We had an almost suicide way back when We found him - after we sailed - with his M14 in his mouth. All we could do was tie him up for the rest of the mission.
I think he is serious about most of them. No way will he get 30 electrical outlets.
I'm glad they did it for them, too.
No way will he get 30 electrical outlets.
You're being called out on your other post about the Swift Vets. Better go defend youself.
This is what "battle tested" means:
Military Stats...
Statistics for Operation Enduring Freedom/ Operation Iraqi Freedom at 1000 casualties:
(where numbers do not add to 1000 - information is undetermined/pending)
Killed in Action: 540
Died later of Combat Wounds: 129
Died while Missing in Action: 8
Died while Captured: 3
Deaths by Accident: 205
Illness: 33
Self-inflicted: 34
Homicide: 6
Deaths by Pay grade:
E1 - 1 W1 - 1
E2 - 64 W2 - 22
E3 - 184 W3 - 6
E4 - 282 W4 - 5
E5 - 163 O1 - 15
E6 - 119 O2 - 19
E7 - 38 O3 - 43
E8 - 14 O4 - 10
E9 - 8 O5 - 6
Total Enlisted: 873
Total Warrant Officer: 34
Total Officer: 93
Active Duty: 812
Total Reserve: 188
White: 699 (71.4%)
Black: 120 (12.3%)
Hispanic: 114 (11.6%)
Other: 46 (4.7%)
Male: 977 (97.7%)
Female: 23 (2.3%)
Active Duty Home Stations (top 10):
Camp Pendleton, CA: 105
Fort Hood, TX: 86
Fort Campbell, KY: 77
Fort Bragg, NC: 58
Fort Carson, CO: 44
Fort Stewart, GA: 42
Camp Lejeune, NC: 40
Fort Riley, KS: 38
Twentynine Palms, CA: 34
Fort Lewis, WA: 25
* Almost half of the first 1,000 to die have been either E-3s or E-4s. Almost half of the 1,000 were younger than 24.
* Nearly three-fourths of the deaths have been Army.
* Two-thirds of the deaths have been caused by enemy action or devices.
* Reserves/Guardsman makes up 18 percent of the deaths.
* More than 70 percent of those who have died were white. Despite fears that an all-volunteer force would end up putting minorities at greater risk than whites, the military death toll is distributed proportionately among America's racial and ethnic groups.
There are NO battle stars on the Stryker Brigade!
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