***Operation Iraqi Freedom - Situation Room - Day 19 - LIVE THREAD***

Multiple ^ | April 7, 2003 | Various

[Tree of Liberty]

From FAS

The Bradley’s main armament is the M242 25mm "Bushmaster" Chain Gun, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The M242 has a single barrel with an integrated dual-feed mechanism and remote ammunition selection. Either armor piercing (AP) or high explosive (HE) ammunition may be selected with the flick of a switch. The Gunner may select from single or multiple shot modes. The standard rate of fire is 200 rounds per minute, and has a range of 2,000 meters (depending on the ammunition used). A wide range of ammunition has been developed for this weapon, making it capable of defeating the majority of armored vehicles it is likely to encounter, up to and including some main battle tanks. The M240C machine gun, mounted to right of the Bushmaster, fires 7.62mm rounds.

Someone's moving the NTV Bag-cam around alot, pointing towards the sky. Showing a drone.

[Otta B Sleepin]

How on earth am I supposed to go to bed now????

I'm facing the same dilemma.

[Tree of Liberty]

LOL, I think you don't

[bygolly]

It looked like an A-10 to me!

[dogbyte12]

on second pan, that was fixed wing...
man... was it a warthog? I couldn't tell cause I am going full screen and my resolution is crap.

[Dolphy]

WOW, I see why he was panning the sky.

[Poser]

Is the Busmaster chain gun made by McDonnell Douglas or Bushmaster?

[Tree of Liberty]

Fox - 3rd ID press officer "the other day was just an incursion, this is for real"

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Reuters says general says "this is for real".

[Timeout]

There you go. I bet there wasn't one person on this board who guessed an A-10 would be the first good-guy we would see on our webcam! Way to go Ahmed! Give this guy a raise!

[SoldiersGirl]

We are the wives of the US soldiers.We are in the battle too.We are proud of what our country stands for and we are proud of the men who defend her. When my husband comes home from work he has made a difference in the life a woman who has never known independence,of a child who has never had nourishment of a nation who has never known the freedoms we so often take for granted.

We spend countless hours glued to a television that portrays images that will haunt forever.We watch in fear that the next casualty will be ours, in sympathy that the next casualty will be someone else's and in pride of what our men are doing to change the world around us. We spend countless hours in prayer for their strength and safety and pray God's comfort for the wives and families who suffer loss at this great cause. We sometimes go days, weeks and months with no word from the one we love. No quick phone call, letter or email. No "honey, don't worry everything will be all right" and no "I love you"s to get us through the night. But we know that they are out there and we are in their hearts as they are in ours. We know a life where one phone call at 2:00 a.m. can change our lives forever. We know what it's like to use all that we have to make it through a day.We are brave and we are strong and we stand behind our men at all cost.
When I hear the war protesters, I am curious. You cry out for the loss of lives of our innocent soldiers, Yet you don't cry for the thousands of innocent lives lost under the Iraqi regime. You cry out for the few innocent civilians who unfortunately may be caught in the crossfire and blame our own forces. Yet still you do not cry out for the thousands tortured and executed daily under the Iraqi regime and fail to realize we are sending food and medicine to a nation who has never had such treatment. You say "oh, but what about those poor soldiers" Does a doctor become a surgeon with the hopes of never having to operate on a patient? Does a lawyer pass the bar with expectations of never trying a single case? Does an athlete train for a big event he never intends to participate in? No, just as a soldier doesn't train for combat and vow to give his life forhis country with the expectations of never being put to the test.
Don't cry for our husbands, they are proud of what they do, they have trained hard for this important job and they are good at it. Don't cry for us, the wives, we are trained as well. Your pity is nothing more than insulting. We are all much stronger than you give us credit for.
Not just you, the protesters, but NO ONE likes a war.
We all understand and share a common sorrow for the things that have to be done but the bottom line is that they have to be done and they are for a greater cause.
We should all be grateful that there are thousands of men and women who have chosen this job and this life so that all of the rest of us can enjoy our freedom.
There is a time to sit back and there is a time to stand up.There is a time to speak out and take action.There is time to stand up, suck it up and show as much support and
gratitude as possible.The time to sit back ended 9-11-02 and the time to stand up began.The time to speak out is now for the people who lost their lives in the twin
towers, Pentagon and in Pennsylvania who no longer have a voice and for the Iraqi and Afghan people who have no voice of their own without our help.The time to take action is now, before we're violently attacked on our
own soil again, not after.The time to stand up for our troops, suck up the sadness and show support and the gratitude for this elite group of selfless men and women who have chosen to protect your way of life and create a new and better life for those less fortunate is now.
Show them that they're not fighting or dying in vain, show them that you appreciate their sacrifice for your freedom. Everyday of your life is not a picnic or parade, you can choose to let it get you down or you can learn, grow and move on. The choice is yours.
We are at war, like it or not, so please accept this fact, stop whining and support our troops and when you tuck your children into bed tonight and gently kiss them
goodnight when you lie down beside your husband or wife for a good night sleep,thank the Lord that your family is safe and you know where each of them are. We, the wives, will go to sleep tonight, alone, not knowing where our husbands are, but our hearts will be filled with pride knowing that it is because of our husbands, these brave and selfless soldiers, that you have the blessing of this great freedom. We are the wives of the US soldiers.

Please say a prayer for our men and women in combat. Pray for their strength, safety and morale. Pray for their spouses, children and loved ones that may have comfort and peace. Pray for strength, courage and wisdom for President Bush, his cabinet and our military leaders. And take time today to be thankful for your freedom

Tobie R. Kreiner

This is the best letter I have received in a long time, it expresses perfectly everything I feel and believe. Please pass it on.

[Tree of Liberty]

McDonnell Douglas. I'm pretty sure that Bushmaster only does small arms (AR-10's, and AR-15's)

[Fledermaus]

FNC reporting Greg Kelly and the 3rd ID probing to the center of downtown Baghdad.

Boy, I bet this pulls out and identifies the enemy for elimination.

[section9]

There's some nearby fire. I can't tell if it's tank or antitank.

Some small arms, as well. BagCam following a tacair cap over the city, possibly a Jaguar.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Mo1]

Sky News guy says that he think our boys are right about the corner

[gop212]

What are your thoughts on the coalition control of the airport? Is this our new homebase? Or, is it still a tad risky? More or less, IYO, how many more days till endgame?I have read your prior analysis of this, and it was right on.

[dogbyte12]

I think we are going to see the 3rd ID in the next few minutes. No crap.

[Tree of Liberty]

Anyone know the distance between that parade ground and the circle in the bag-cam?

[Texas Tea]

Hahaha, Ahmed said "Oh my gosh, one more"

[Robert A Cook PE]

Right.

And as soon as everybody in the tank smells what everybody else in the tank smells like after everybody in the tank has worn a CW suit for two weeks, those CW suits are going right back on in self-defense!