shoot first and ask questions later

12/18/2005 1:55:55 AM

Quote :

"Hate the war or not, only a retard can pretend its about oil. We've spent more cash on the war than all the oil in Iraq would have cost us on the open market. War for oil is a myth...it always has been War for strategic interests in the Middle East in order to have friendly owners of oil fields have happened, but nowadays South America is more important for us. "

Exactly.

But, then again, God forbid some of these people open up a World Almanac or something like that to figure it out.

ncsu_ot_usmc: Be safe!

12/18/2005 8:55:31 AM

my cousin has a blog up from his year there

http://meadowsoif.blogspot.com

with any luck the new iraqi government will tell us to kindly pull out our troops, and you'll come home before your year is up. be safe.

[Edited on December 18, 2005 at 10:15 AM. Reason : .]

12/18/2005 10:13:47 AM

Best of luck!

I have been reading:



John Crawford wrote most of it while he was in Iraq and it goes into a lot of detail about day to day life and what he faced while he was there.

Here is an interview with him (audio) also:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4783583

Be safe man.

12/18/2005 10:26:02 AM

Quote :

"And to quagmire02 move to Canada, if you take prison over fighting for your country. If I were drafted I can honestly say that I’d take the challenge and not be a fucking pussy about it. People like you are the epitome of today's society. If our forefathers were like you who knows where the fuck we’d be today."

i welcome you to go over there and die...i can honestly say that i would not miss you, and i would rather you die than me...i have standards, this war doesn't meet them, i encourage you to sign up and become cannon fodder...i, alive and breathing and just as free as before, will bring flowers to your funeral and perhaps shed a tear at your idealistic, though ultimately misguided, nobility

additionally, there is a reason i am a perfect example of "today's society"...the majority of people have realized what a mistake we made and would much prefer we get out of the mess we've put ourselves in (or, should i say, that our puppet of a president put us in)...but then again, we have to sleep in the bed we make, eh? i'll tell you what, when i make a mess like this, i'll be more than happy to own up to it...but since it's not MY fault (not only do i disapprove of this situation, but i didn't vote for - and therefore, don't support - the jackass that put us there), i feel no responsibility to anyone who supports it...let them die, i'm much to valuable to die for oil, which brings me to point two:

Quote :

"Hate the war or not, only a retard can pretend its about oil. We've spent more cash on the war than all the oil in Iraq would have cost us on the open market. War for oil is a myth...it always has been"

you, sir, are an idiot...i BEG you, honest to goodness BEG you to give me a reason we're over there, if it's not oil...WMD's was complete BS, what else are you going to say? that hussein was a threat? i think the bastard ought to fry, that's true, but if you condone the blatant invasion of a country for the sake of seeking justice for a single man, despite the cost of lives of those who are innocent (both theirs and ours), i pray to God that you kill yourself soon and spare the world any sad little offspring

who cares what the war costs the taxpayers? you think bush does? you think cheney does? do you think a congress who votes to give itself massive raises EVERY YEAR cares what the war costs? as long as those in power make money, they couldn't care less how much it costs those "beneath" them...your blind ignorance makes me laugh

the puppet we have in the white house will be gone in a few years...as long as someone keeps him in check (or cheney, who's really pulling the strings, decides the american public isn't as dumb as he originally thought), then we might stay out of trouble long enough to get him out...in which case, if i am ever called to fight for my country for a truly worthy cause (you know, one that actually threatens me, my family, or my country...not this crap), then i'll strap on a gun, get shipped to some hell hole and pray that i don't die



do you understand this comic? or does the meaning escape you? this is YOU, people who are so indoctrinated that you believe any half-assed thing your leaders tell you

sheep.

12/18/2005 10:33:04 PM

Major : beats me, let me know if yours is fun

you sir are a dumbfuck

12/18/2005 10:45:51 PM

SOAP BOX,SOAP BOX,SOAP BOX,SOAP BOX,SOAP BOX!

12/18/2005 10:50:22 PM

You all should get together and send him some Wolf Web care packages. We did that for just the UGA version of this site and got stuff for a whole unit!

12/18/2005 10:57:20 PM

Thanks everyone for your support and advice. I've been told I would be there from 6 months to a year. Any more advice on good things to do before I go or to take?

Thanks,
Lcpl Oscar Torres
USMC

12/19/2005 2:02:44 PM

I was talkin to a Marine before I caught a flight over thanksgiving

great guy, said that there was def alot of downtime boredom, so take a book with you with tons of stories in it, I dunno, how's the complete shakespeare sound? Good way to kill boredom and accomplish something

but what he also said, was there was no porn allowed in iraq, I suggest packin up some XXX to tide you over

12/19/2005 2:06:21 PM

wow, what a great thread to argue over politics

cards, laptop with some games (if allowed...i dunno), dvds, crosswords, magazines (maxim, c&d, whatever floats your boat), books or maybe b-books if you can take the laptop, cd/mp3 player, preferred toiletries, CANDY!

be safe, god bless, and thank you.

12/19/2005 2:14:38 PM

ha, yeah, no porn allowed in iraq except for the tons of pirated porn dvds you can buy on street corners next to the kids offering to sell you their sisters. at least, that's how my cousin described it. guess it depends on where you are in the country

12/19/2005 2:30:48 PM

get sudoku or whatever that popular new puzzle game is now. and some CD's and a cd player with noise cancelling headphones - also, for down time inside base, you could get a game system like a PS2 or a personal system like PSP.

12/19/2005 2:32:51 PM

my buddy who was over there said all he really ever wanted was booze and porn. he took a laptop and books though. Have people send you vodka or something in a listerine bottle. Thats how I sent it to my cousin and he got it fine.

think about all the real important gear you use. now go out and replace it with stuff you can buy off the shelf. generally this will be higher quality than lowest bidder made issued gear. things like coolmax underwear, good boots, fleece jacket, thin leather or kevlar gloves, large bandannas, a small led lamp, maybe some small binoculars and a REALLY good knife. get a strider, tops, or custom made tactical blade. get a good carbon steel blade, without serrations and a small diamond sharpening stone.

bring tweezers, moisturizing cream, lots of q-tips( for you and your gun), spare toothbrush, dental floss and one of those little scent-less deodorant stones works great too. Also take good bug juice since the middle east is home to malaria carrying bugs. pack a small first aid kit with assorted medications.

Now for the most important part- WATER- the rule of thumb in any desert enviroment is "down in 12, dead in 24" that pretty much means you can go around 12 days without food, but only 24 hours without water. Bring some of those collapsible nalgene bottles and pack along 3 or more qaurts of spare water. remember, if you have food but no water. don't eat because you use more water trying to digest food than you would just going without. camelbacks are a really nice way to carry water. stay away from coffee or other caffinated drinks. gatorade or similiar powders are also nice to add to your water.

I don't know what you'll be doing, or what type of camp/place you'll be in, but here is some extra advice- for a back up weapon carry a expandable steel baton or sap, if you're not allowed a pistol. Think about this- if you're attacked over there most likely your aggressor wants to kill or capture you. Don't let them. Do the most damage you can to the head or soft bone area, to the left side of the head or neck.

Most of what I've said is more desert survival oriented than really deployment, but I hope it helps. survival begins in your head, if you think you can do it, you can.

Good luck and keep safe.

12/19/2005 3:10:15 PM

I can't believe nobody has suggested this, yet.

BODY ARMOR.

Make sure you have some.

Best of luck to you. I truly hope you return safely and soon.

12/19/2005 3:10:39 PM

I'm curious why we're still sending people when there's all this talk of pulling out.

12/19/2005 3:32:08 PM

^ talk != actions

12/19/2005 3:39:20 PM

OT, good luck and my family and I will be praying that God will be with you. We pray for all of our soldiers to return safely. Just remember that the vast majority of your fellow citizens support you and what you're going to do. It is a very shrill minority that are investing in our defeat, and they will be on the wrong side of history.

12/19/2005 3:42:04 PM

^^^^

They get that as standard issue now. It's not magical, but it works pretty damned well.


^^^

Rotation.

12/19/2005 3:44:47 PM

under armour tactical gear is standard issue? wtf mate, i cant wait till we switch to bdu's then



ET3 Faircloth
USN

12/19/2005 8:35:10 PM

Called an IMPAC card and OIF/OEF funds. Don't forget all the nice gear coming out of RFI. All in all, it's pretty sweet.

[Edited on December 20, 2005 at 8:16 PM. Reason : .]

12/20/2005 8:15:37 PM

marine acronyms, i have no clue what you said

12/20/2005 9:45:58 PM

Quote :

"under armour tactical gear is standard issue? wtf mate, i cant wait till we switch to bdu's then"

what? hey, that's not bad. but good luck over there, man.

Midshipman 3/C Riley
USNR

12/20/2005 9:51:25 PM

bring a stack of "Free Iraq" flyers

12/20/2005 9:53:42 PM

^^we(the navy) are getting BDUs(blue digitals) in place of the Utilities, and possibly phasing out the whites and blues for a khaki shirt and black pants


i think it is an effort to not be the only branch who separates e1-e6 and e7 and up uniform wise....


personally i dont care, because it makes making officer or chief so much better because you get khakis and and a combo cover

12/20/2005 10:21:15 PM