Thursday - March 24, 2005

Front-Line News

Memo from Stan: I just got this e-mail from a buddy of mine at Fort Hood. Good stuff ....

I Went to an AUSA dinner last night at the Ft. Hood Officers’ Club to hear a speech by Maj. General Pete Chiarelli, Commanding General of the 1st Cav Div. He and most of the Div. have just returned from Iraq. Very informative and, surprise, the Mainstream Media (MSM) isn’t telling the story. I was not there as a reporter, didn’t take notes but I’ll make some the points I remember that were interesting, suprising or generally stuff I had not heard before.

It was not a speech per se. He just walked and talked, showed some slides and answered questions. Very impressive guy.

1. While units of the Cav served all over Iraq, he spoke mostly of Baghdad and more specifically Sadr City, the big slum on the eastern side of theTigeris River. He pointed out that Baghdad is, in geography, is about the size of Austin. Austin has 600,000 to 700,000 people. Baghdad has 6 to7 million people.

2. The Cav lost 28 main battle tanks. He said one of the big lessons learned is that, contrary to docterine going in, M1-A2s and Bradleys are needed, preferred and devastating in urban combat and he is going to make that point to the JCS next week while they are considering downsizing armor.

3. He showed a graph of attacks in Sadr City by month. Last Aug-Sep they were getting up to 160 attacks per week. During the last three months, the graph had flatlined at below 5 to zero per week.

4. His big point was not that they were “winning battles” to do this but that cleaning the place up, electricity, sewage, water were the key factors. He said yes they fought but after they started delivering services that the Iraqis in Sadr City had never had, the terrorist recruiting of 15 and 16 year olds came up empty.

5. The electrical “grid” is a bad, deadly joke. Said that driving down the street in a Hummv with an antenna would short out a whole block of apt. buildings. People do their own wiring and it was not uncommon for early morning patrols would find one or two people lying dead in the street, having been electrocuted trying to re-wire their own homes.

6. Said that not tending to a dead body in the Muslum culture never happens. On election day, after suicide bombers blew themselves up trying to take out polling places, voters would step up to the body lying there, spit on it, and move up in the line to vote.

7. Pointed out that we all heard from the media about the 100 Iraqis killed as they were lined up to enlist in the police and security service. What the media didn’t point out was that the next day there 300 lined up in the same place.

8. Said bin Laden and Zarqawi made a HUGE mistake when bin laden went public with naming Zarqawi the “prince” of al Quaeda in Iraq. Said that what the Iraqis saw and heard was a Saudi telling a Jordainan that his job was to kill Iraqis. HUGE mistake. It was one of the biggest factors in getting Iraqis who were on the “fence” to jump off on the side of the coalition and the new gov’t.

9. Said the MSM was making a big, and wrong, deal out of the religious sects. Said Iraqis are incredibly nationalistic. They are Iraqis first and then say they are Muslum but the Shi’a - Sunni thing is just not that big a deal to them.

10. After the election the Mayor of Baghdad told him that the people of the region (Middle East) are joyous and the governments are nervous.

11. Said that he did not lose a single tanker truck carrying oil and gas over the roads of Iraq. Think about that. All the attacks we saw on TV with IEDs hitting trucks but he didn’t lose one. Why? Army Aviation.  Praised his air units and said they made the decision early on that every convoy would have helicopter air cover. Said aviators in that unit were hitting the 1,000 hour mark (sound familiar?). Said a covoy was supposed to head out but stopped at the gates of a compound on the command of an E6. He asked the SSG what the hold up was. E6 said, “Air , sir.” He wondered what was wrong with the air, not realizing what the kid was talking about. Then the AH-64s showed up and the E6 said, “That air sir.” And then moved out.

12. Said one of the biggest problems was money and regs. There was a $77 million gap between the supplemental budget and what he needed in cash on the ground to get projects started. Said he spent most of his time trying to get money. Said he didn’t do much as a “combat commander” because the the war he was fighting was a war at the squad and platoon level. Said that his NCOs were winning the war and it was a sight to behold.

13. Said that of all the money appropriated for Iraq, not a cent was earmarked for agriculture. Said that Iraq could feed itself completely and still have food for export but no one thought about it. Said the Cav started working with Texas A&M on ag projects and had special hybrid seeds sent to them through Jordan. TAM analyzed soil samples and worked out how and what to plant. Said he had an E7 from Belton, TX (just down the road from Ft. Hood) who was almost single-handedly rebuilding the ag industry in the Baghdad area.

14. Said he could hire hundreds of Iraqis daily for $7 to $10 a day to work on sewer, electric, water projects, etc. but that the contracting rules from CONUS applied so he had to have $500,000 insurance policies in place in case the workers got hurt. Not kidding. The CONUS peacetime regs slowed everything down, even if they could eventually get waivers for the regs.

There was more, lots more, but the idea is that you haven’t heard any of this from anyone, at least I hadn’t and I pay more attention than most.

Great stuff. We should be proud. Said the Cav troops said it was ALL worth it on Jan. 30 when they saw how the Iraqis handled election day. Made them very proud of their service and what they had accomplished.

Posted by Yellow Dog     on 03/24/2005 at 12:30 PM   
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   Monday - March 07, 2005

The Italian Kerfuffle

I started writing this a couple of days ago so as you read it you will see how the story has evolved and why I say what I say early on.

Of course our government will make apologetic mewling noises over this but I could care less what happened to that leftist, pro-communist Italian press bitch and her body guard.

All indications are that the driver was speeding towards an American checkpoint (why speed?  they were not being chased.  She did not break out.  They were not being pursued.)

So our guys fired on the car and killed the bodyguard.

The Italians, natutally, have their collective panties in a wad over the death of ONE (1) person!!!!  But that’s really not news either considering they have no idea what it’s like to fight anymore.  Hell, you ever see the Italian Navy?  Neither have I.  It’s at the bottom of the ocean.  (ha ha)

State funerals are in order, diplomatic notes are being traded, and this bitch will now launch a drive against the US for this “HEINOUS ACT OF WAR” against her person by the war-mongering imperialistic Americans.

If any punishment is due to American soldiers it is to the one who fired the bullet that killed the guard.  He should be taken to the range and taught how NOT to miss ranting, raving, lunatic communist bitches like this one.

But it gets better.

If you go to this link

“Sgrena said the driver began shouting that they were Italian, then “Nicola Calipari dove on top of me to protect me and immediately, and I mean immediately, I felt his last breath as he died on me.”

What melodramatic bullshit!  Remember, this bitch is a communist and hates the US.  She’s also had lots of time to dramatize her story.

She also wrote:

“that her captors warned her as she was about to be released not to signal her presence to anyone, because “the Americans might intervene.  If we had run into someone, meaning American troops, there would have been an exchange of fire, and my captors were ready and they would have responded."”

What the bitch does not admit is that her government BOUGHT her freedom!!  They paid ransom.  Of course her captors don’t want anyone to be signaled because then the jig is up.

If you go here you will see that she says:

“U.S. forces may have deliberately targeted her because Washington opposed Italy’s policy of dealing with kidnappers.”

Of course,

She offered no evidence for her claim

Every time I hear the news about this I hear that over and over and over and over and over and over how she claims we targeted her but “never offers evidence for her claim.”

So why the FUCK does the MSM continue to parrot that stupid accusation? It has no basis in fact.

Oh, that’s right-------bad for Bush and America , good for the press and leftists and America haters and Democrats.  And like CBS with the Bush papers, it does not matter if it’s true or not it only matters if they THINK there may be truth in it.  So the constant telling and re-telling of the lie becomes the truth.

Saving the best for last, here is an article from the Washington Times that lays out what most probably happened.  In it we find out Italian secret service weenies kept information about the negotiations from our CIA.  Sorry, but all this leads me to believe that our soldiers had no choice but to shoot.  Hell, if a car comes at them at 25-30 MPH and the driver does not stop after being signaled not to, then ---shoot at will, boys!!!!

What irks me even more about all this is all the attention being paid to one person who dies accidentally.  It’s a fucking war, people!  I wonder how many good soldiers will now get punished for this.  And we wonder why recruitment goals can’t be met?  Hell, if you call me a soldier but tie my hands so I can’t do anything and I then become nothing but fodder for the enemy, then why the hell would I want to be a soldier?

Good God!  Using today’s rationale for taking the littlest of stories and blowing it up out of proportion, aren’t you glad we are not fighting WW II today?  With today’s leftists we’d be paying the Japanese for damage to their airplanes in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 03/07/2005 at 07:05 AM   
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   Friday - February 04, 2005

Have Any Of You Heard About This?

Thanks to Mike at Ramblings’ Journal I found this little time-bomb about the Eason Jordan, the big guy at CNN, claiming that US soldiers not only killed 12 journalists but actually “targeted them!!”

Damn!  That’s a pretty serious charge but I must have missed the story.

The original article is here and it took place in Davos (of all places) likely a spot he figured he could get away with such outrageousness since so many attendees there hate America and would never question him.

But some people did.  The result?

“Eason did backpedal and make a number of statements claiming that he really did not know if what he said was true, and that he did not himself believe it. But when pressed by others, he seemed to waver back and forth between what might have been his beliefs and the realization that he had created a kind of public mess. His statements, his reaction, and the reaction of all in attendance left me perplexed and confused. Many in the crowd, especially those from Arab nations, applauded what he said and called him a “very brave man” for speaking up against the U.S. in a public way amongst a crowd ready to hear anti-US sentiments. I am quite sure that somewhere in the Middle East, right now, his remarks are being printed up in Arab language newspapers as proof that the U.S. is an evil and corrupt nation. That is a real nightmare, because the Arab world is taking something said by a credible leader of the media (CNN!) as the gospel, or koranic truth. What is worse is that I am not really sure what Eason really meant to communicate to us, but I do know that he was quite passionate about it. Members of the audience took away what they wanted to hear, and now they will use it in every vile and twisted way imaginable.”

This is very disturbing.  Who can help me out here?  How did I miss this?

One more thing: personally I am not opposed to US soldiers targeting some of these “journalists.” They’d be doing us a favor.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/04/2005 at 06:36 AM   
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   Monday - January 03, 2005

Coming Attractions!

Anyone up for another act of ”The Heavenly Poker Game”? You can read Act I here and Act II here. Stay tuned. Act III is almost finished .. sorry it took so long. General “Black Jack” Pershing takes center stage on this one and explains to his comrades the bullshit that went on during and after WWI and then Eisenhower joins the game and gives his side of WWII. Patton has his say (in spades) but Grant and Sherman are confused until Reagan explains it all. Oh yeah .... almost forgot .... someone is caught cheating.

Posted by The Skipper     on 01/03/2005 at 10:04 AM   
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   Friday - December 10, 2004

You’re Welcome, Sid

Sid Seymour, our friend in theUK just sent me an e-mail thanking me for reporting Cpl. Shaun Jardine’s being cleared ....

Allan,

Many thanks for putting the record straight.  He really is a good guy and has a great future.  The Battalion had a good tour in southern Iraq last year (mainly because it was warmer than Northern Ireland!) and sadly lost two of our young men.  The work goes on out there and it looks like it might go on for a little longer. 

Sid
(Here is a photo of me and my “minder” from the Czech police last November)

DAMN! They sure grow ‘em big in Czechoslovakia.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/10/2004 at 02:12 AM   
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   Thursday - December 09, 2004

War Hero Is Cleared!

Do any of you remember a story I covered back on October 29 of this year about a young British soldier named Shaun Jardine? If not go back and read the story here.

Corporal Jardine was awarded Britain’s Conspicuous Gallantry Cross ( equivalent to our Silver Star or Navy Cross). Here is an excerpt from the award citation ....

On 9 August, Cpl Jardine was commanding a rapid-reaction force from Al Uzayr in southern Iraq.

His team engaged two enemy positions, one occupied by three men with automatic weapons and the other by a machine-gunner.

The corporal told his men to cover him and, despite facing intense fire, he single-handedly charged the positions, killing the Iraqis.

His “quick thinking and total disregard for his own safety undoubtedly served to prevent casualties among his own team and other units”, according to his citation.

Then after returning to Britain and being assigned to Northern Ireland another story broke that Jardine had been arrested for drug possession. Go read the prior post to get the whole story.

Now, why am I revisiting this lad’s story? Because the media have buried the story about what happened to this fine young man. I, however, refuse to see his honor left darkened over a silly accusation and thanks to one of our fine readers in the United Kingdom I am proud to announce that Jardine has been cleared of all drug related charges. I repeat, cleared of all charges. This young man’s gallantry and honor are now clean. Pass the word along.

My thanks to reader Sid Seymour in the UK for tipping me off to the story. If not for him, no one outside of the UK would probably ever be aware of the young soldier’s innocence. Here is the link to the story in the Scottish Daily Record.

HERO IS CLEARED IN DRUG PROBE

Nov 27 2004

A SCOTS war hero at the centre of a cocaine investigation has been cleared.

Corporal Shaun Jardine, 22, was arrested when police suspected him of being in possession of the Class A drug.

Samples of a white powder were analysed after he was stopped outside a Kent nightclub.

But yesterday, police said the case against the soldier with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers had been dropped.

The Dumfries man was decorated by the Queen last month.

He received the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross - Britain’s second-highest bravery award after the Victoria Cross - for his heroism during a tour of duty in Iraq last year.

He stormed two Iraqi gun positions single-handed despite being under fire. Jardine, who joined the army at 17, was considered by his bosses to be a soldier with a bright future until his arrest on October 3.

Currently serving in Northern Ireland, Jardine was bailed until December 10 to allow analysis of the substance.

Yesterday, a police spokeswoman confirmed no further action would be taken.

She said: ‘He has been released from bail and there are no charges to be brought.’

DAMN! I feel good passing this news along. Don’t you feel good reading it? I extend my personal thanks to our allies, the Brits, and my thanks for giving the world young men of courage and valor reminiscent of the fine Scottish warriors of yesteryear. As long as Britain produces such fine young men, Britannia still rules!

Oh .... and the French still SUCK!

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/09/2004 at 01:13 PM   
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   Friday - October 29, 2004

A Tale Of Bravery .. And Possibly Stupidity?

We present two stories. Both about the same young man. I am deeply proud of the young man in the first story and deeply saddened by the same young man in the second story. Here is a picture of the young fellow. The story is not over yet so I beg everyone to withhold judgement until all the evidence is presented. I find it hard to believe the same young man is involved in both stories. We first covered the story of this young man back in April. Here are Shaun Jardine’s two stories ....

Bravery awards for KOSB corporals by JIM MCBETH TWO Scottish soldiers who showed great heroism under fire during the war in Iraq have joined the nation’s roll of war heroes. Corporal Shaun Jardine and Corporal Anthony Currie, both of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, have been awarded two of Britain’s highest gallantry awards. The Borderers are among 120 military personnel included in the Operational Honours and Awards List for 2003. Cpl Jardine, 22, from Dumfries, a soldier since he was 17, won the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. Cpl Currie, 30, an 11-year veteran, from Hamilton, Lanarkshire, was awarded the Military Cross. Last night, Cpl Jardine’s mother, June, 43, said she was delighted. “I was just happy to see him come out alive, never mind a hero,” she said. “He is being modest, but he’s excited.” On 9 August, Cpl Jardine was commanding a rapid-reaction force from Al Uzayr in southern Iraq.

His team engaged two enemy positions, one occupied by three men with automatic weapons and the other by a machine-gunner.

The corporal told his men to cover him and, despite facing intense fire, he single-handedly charged the positions, killing the Iraqis.

His “quick thinking and total disregard for his own safety undoubtedly served to prevent casualties among his own team and other units”, according to his citation.

The day before - 8 August - Cpl Currie was commanding a unit also based at Al Uzayr.

He led his men on a frontal assault into heavy fire. During the assault an unexpected enemy appeared between Cpl Currie’s team and the objective.

He killed the enemy and maintained the assault, clearing buildings and wounding another two enemy combatants.

His citation records that his “selfless courage and inspirational leadership” led to the success of their mission.

Yesterday, Lieutenant Colonel Rob Jefferies, the soldiers’ commanding officer, said: “This is a proud day for all of us and tremendous news for these courageous young Borderers who have conducted themselves in keeping with the highest standards of our regimental tradition.”

Cpl Jardine phoned his mother in Dumfries from Northern Ireland, where the regiment is on a tour of duty.

Mrs Jardine added: “Every second of every day he was in Iraq we worried. I was so glad to have him home and so excited for him.

“His grandfather was a soldier, but sadly didn’t live to see Shaun a hero.”

The KOSB heroes were among a number of soldiers from Scottish regiments who received accolades.

And now for the second story, much more recent and more tragic .... if true ....

DRUG PROBE GULF HERO GETS MEDAL FROM THE OUEEN

Oct 29 2004

Award as soldier faces cocaine rap Exclusive

By Cara Page

A HERO of the war in Iraq who is at the centre of a cocaine probe will be decorated by the Queen today.

Corporal Shaun Jardine, 22, was arrested after police allegedly found him with the Class A drug.

Samples of a white powder are being analysed after cops stopped him outside a nightclub.

Jardine - who is in the King’s Own Scottish Borderers - faces the boot from the Army if he is guilty.

But the Dumfries man will still meet the Queen at the awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

He is to receive the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross - Britain’s second highest bravery award after the Victoria Cross - for his heroism during a tour of duty in Iraq last year.

He stormed two Iraqi gun positions single-handed while under fire.

An Army insider said: ‘It is hugely embarrassing that they are putting this boy before the Queen when he is under investigation for possession of cocaine.

‘The KOSBs still want that medal and were determined to send him to London to pick it up. Many people think if he is found guilty then he is not fit to wear the Queen’s uniform never mind meet her.

‘There is no place in the Army for drugs.’

Jardine, who signed up at 17, was considered a soldier with a bright future.

In April, he learned that he was to be awarded the prestigious medal.

But his career has been on the line since October 3 when he was arrested outside a nightclub in Kent. Jardine was in the area for training prior to a tour in Northern Ireland, where he is currently serving.

Police allegedly found white powder while searching him after a tip-off.

He was held on suspicion of possessing a Class A substance and bailed until December 10.

If the powder is cocaine, he could be cautioned or charged.

He would then face a court martial and possible dismissal from the Army.

A spokeswoman for Kent Police said: ‘The substance has gone off to forensics for testing. If there is anything to charge him with, that’s when we’ll have the evidence to do so.’

Jardine is one of only four servicemen being honoured for their work in Iraq by the Queen at today’s investiture.

Accolades will be given to more than 100 people from a number of walks of life including sport, the police and the fire service.

Last night, Jardine was enjoying a celebratory dinner at barracks in Woolwich, London, ahead of the presentation.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/29/2004 at 01:36 PM   
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   Saturday - August 28, 2004

The Front Lines

Hi I’m SSg Mike ********, from Fort Myers, FL, serving with the 82nd Airborne out in Iraq. I’m 29, unmarried, and have been proud to serve in the US Army since I left Bishop Verot High School. Like all paras, I keep jumping out of good aeroplanes, so I figure I’m kinda nuts. My personal motto is “Proud to fight, fight to win”.

We’re out in Al Anbar Province, west of Baghdad. It includes a bunch of names you’ve probably heard of, like Fallujah and Ramadi. We call it The Badlands. Most every day some towelhead hero is using us for target practice. Sometimes we lose a guy, and often someone gets injured. Sometimes we can’t hit back, for operational reasons. But if the officers do let us get up close and personal, the towelhead dies. Nobody messes with the “All-American” if they want to collect their pension.

Not that it’s a healthy place for us. Living in pup tents in some goddam desert, nothing as far as the eye can see. One of the guys from Utah says it’s just like home, except you can’t buy a beer and there’s no Burger King.

There’s a sandstorm at the moment, so at least the jeehaadis can’t see us.

Not that we can see anything either. It’s like a dark orange fog that tastes like metal. It gets everywhere, into your clothes, hair, food, bedding.

Still, you shouldn’t join Uncle Sam’s army if you can’t take a joke.

What’s not a joke is the way we’re not allowed to fight properly. Look how we had to back out of Fallujah before the job was done. Now the same thing with that Al Sadr in his mosque. They should have sent in the 82nd. Why?

Here’s a clue. Paras are deadly-accurate riflemen and I guarantee they’ll hit every jeehaadi – our kill-ratio exceeds rockets. That's right! Two reasons. One, we are trained marksmen and we carry close-combat optics on our rifles; anyone comes within range of us and fires, we can quickly target them and take them out. Second, we like to get up close and personal. Not like helicopters and tanks shooting from a mile away, they don’t know what they’re hitting, enemy, empty buildings, could be anything. We are trained to operate in risky situations with minimum equipment, so we go in to 200 yards or less, where we can see their eyes, that is until we make their face explode. Like I said, we would have taken that mosque 2 weeks ago.

Guys, we really appreciate all the support we get from people like you back home. Kinda makes a change from all those whining peace hippies. My Bishop Verot Vikings coach always used to say “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. Should have added “And the girlies start crying”. So we appreciate the patriotic support from sites like yours, and the emails, and the parcels. It keeps reminding us that we represent the greatest country in the world. That’s how every United States soldier usually can keep smiling.

Thanks, guys!

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/28/2004 at 06:14 AM   
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