A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....05-31-05....Military Monday on Tuesday

Billie, The Mayor

[LadyX]

Good evening, Your Honor!

How would any of us like to have to wear this bullet proof vest in addition to the uniform and weapon, ammo, grenades, radio, etc. in hot Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, etc.?

It is perhaps more awkward than uncomfortable,
given this information:

How COMFORTABLE are vests?

Very comfortable - unless it gets hot! You usually don't notice an extra 3 - 5 lbs. of weight all that much, and vests don't restrict freedom of movement very much (if fitted properly), BUT...

Heat buildup is always a problem in the summer. No vest on earth can honestly claim to be comfortable when it is hot and / or you are exercising and sweating hard. The thickness of the ballistic panel insulates you, and the waterproofing of the ballistic panel simply prevents effective cooling through the vest.

So, in a very hot environment, you might want to leave a gap on the sides for extra ventilation when we size you, and accept only partial side protection.

We always recommend at least one of our 'Sweat-Wicking Undershirts to keep you drier and cooler. It accomplishes this by wicking sweat away literally 3 times faster than a cotton shirt. When the sweat has been "wicked" to the edge of the vest it can then evaporate.

[Darksheare]

They could do what NASA does with their space suits.
They have fish ank hose threaded through this weird underwear stuff and hooked to a heater/cooler unit.
The problem is, the heater/cooler unit itself would be bulky and require a huge battery along with it's own armor.

[luvie]

My manager's son-in-law is in Iraq at this time, and she said that he said those vests are miserable right now because of the heat! Plus they are quite heavy. But, thank God they have them for protection. What's a "little" discomfort where your life is concerned!

[LadyX]

Benchmark 1,000th Reconstruction Project Completed in Iraq

By Denise Calabria
Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 31, 2005 – The public spotlight recently shone on an unassuming, eight-classroom school in the town of Zakho, Iraq, and for good reason. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, responsible for oversight of reconstruction in Iraq, announced it had identified Betas School as its 1,000th completed reconstruction project.

Betas School students file through the gates of their newly renovated school to take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo by Harry Weddington

The Betas School, located amid rolling hills on the outskirts of the town of Zahko, in the northernmost province of Dahuk, is home to headmaster Ibraheem Nuri, 60 students, and seven teachers.

Nuri was visibly pleased and proud. "I have been the headmaster at Betas School for many years," he said, "but I never imagined it could be such a wonderful school. I am very happy for the teachers and students."

Nuri and his students took part in the school's ribbon-cutting ceremony. The children presented flowers and refreshments to all invited guests, including local government and tribal representatives.

U.S. Army Col. Kurt Ubellohde, district engineer for the Gulf Region Northern District, and numerous Corps staff members, as well as members from Washington Group International, the company that performed the renovations, also attended the ceremony. Local Kurdish television and U.S. military media chronicled the event.

Renovations to the school included replacing water tanks, water piping, and sewer pipes; installing toilets and sinks; laying a concrete floor and terrazzo tiles; and installing ceiling fans, interior and exterior lights and a school bell. Repairs also were made to the school safety wall.

While Betas School renovation is the 1,000th project, the pristine schoolhouse also serves as a symbol of the 840 planned school projects throughout the country. To date, 171 of these projects are ongoing, and 580 school projects are complete.

Spending on reconstruction projects in Iraq has reached more than $5.5 billion. Thus far, of the 3,200 total planned projects countrywide, 2,389 have started, 1,215 are ongoing, and 1,174 have been completed in the sectors of Buildings, Health, and Education; Oil, Security and Justice; Electricity; Transportation and Communications; and Public Works and Water.

(Denise Calabria is assigned to the Gulf Region Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.)

Army Col. Kurt Ubellohde, district engineer for the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Northern District, and local dignitaries cut the ceremonial ribbon at Betas School,
the 1,000th project completed by the Gulf Region Division.
Photo by Harry Weddington

[The Mayor]

Thank you Dub..

[The Mayor]

I am so sorry to hear that news..

Welcome Home

[The Mayor]

Evenin Maggie..

Long day here. Thank you for your posts.

[LadyX]

Late because I didn't know you had posted the thread last night!

It was buried unnoticed under my Pings because only 20 show (system choice, as I usually have 50) on a page, and I was posting heavily on another one.

I checked, but there was no connecting link placed on last night's weekend thread -- no ping for the Finest showed this morning, so I was wondering who was ill and if there would even be one.

Finally went to the grocery store, etc., and then cleaned a flower bed and planted the last of my bedding plants until 5:30 - made dinner, and am getting ready this evening for an out of town appointment tomorrow.
Won't be here until late afternoon, then, I'm afraid...:(

[Pippin]

This is sad news.

God bless you and this fine soldier, may he rest in peace.

[LadyX]

Attributed to a soldier in 1916 - World War I, is this poem expressing the thoughts and hearts of all military of all wars, past, present and future:

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"-- BUT A SHORT TIME TO LIVE"

Our little hour, -- how swift it flies
When poppies flare and lilies smile;
How soon the fleeting minute dies,
Leaving us but a little while
To dream our dream, to sing our song,
To pick the fruit, to pluck the flower,
The Gods -- They do not give us long, --
One little hour.

Our little hour, -- how short it is
When Love with dew-eyed loveliness
Raises her lips for ours to kiss
And dies within our first caress.
Youth flickers out like wind-blown flame,
Sweets of to-day to-morrow sour,
For Time and Death, relentless, claim
Our little hour.

Our little hour, -- how short a time
To wage our wars, to fan our hates,
To take our fill of armoured crime,
To troop our banners, storm the gates.
Blood on the sword, our eyes blood-red,
Blind in our puny reign of power,
Do we forget how soon is sped
Our little hour?

Our little hour, -- how soon it dies:
How short a time to tell our beads,
To chant our feeble Litanies,
To think sweet thoughts, to do good deeds.
The altar lights grow pale and dim,
The bells hang silent in the tower --
So passes with the dying hymn
Our little hour.

Leslie Coulson

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Simple, profound and timeless ---

~ LadyX

[fatima]

LadyX,Thanks for the poem,fatima

[luvie]

When poppies flare and lilies smile;
How soon the fleeting minute dies...
Beautiful poem, Lady! Thanks for sharing it with us!

[LadyX]

Cannot resist revisiting my Unites States Marine Corps Quotes from "my" war -- The Korean Conflict" - -
(a war by any name, remains the same - a Conflict it certainly was,
with the Chinese pouring in literally drugged up troops to support North Korea)...

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One of the reasons why we hear little about the Chosin Reservoir action is that the US Marines should have never been there in the first place.
This short piece could not begin to describe the heroism displayed by the First Marine Division there.

Suffice it to say that the 1st Marine Division, 16,000 men strong, were sent on a fools errand to the Yalu in the winter of 1950.
In November, 9 Chinese divisions, numbering 120,000 men , stopped the Marines about one hundred miles short of their objective.

The Chinese quickly surrounded and cut off the marines. Fighting for days on end without sleep, and enduring frostbite in temperatures that dipped to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the marines not only fought their way out, but they also brought their equipment and their own dead with them, while inflicting tremendous casualties on the attacking Chinese.

It is from the Chosin Reservoir action that we get several memorable quotations from Marine Corps legends:

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things."
(Col. Lewis "Chesty" Puller)

"Gentlemen, we are not retreating. We are merely advancing in another direction."
(General O.P. Smith)

Smith's words were not so much bravado as they were the cold truth.

[The Mayor]

Wednesday Thread

[Mama_Bear]

Thanks for posting the link to my Wednesday thread. :-)

I realized today that I had forgotten to do that and rushed over here to take care of it. Don't know where my head's been lately.