Driving in Iraq.

the bad taste in my mouth formed after the army tried to cover up what really happened to pat tillman. do they teach people how to differentiate between friendly and hostile targets? do they teach them how to listen when the persons being shot at identify themselves as not only friendlies, but the same #### part of the team? the other part of it being speculation that he was shot at close range with an m16, and that fragging was suspected, and the officers "in the know" made a conscious decision NOT to inform the tillman family of it. the army has integrity issues far within and it stinks. if they're willing to lie, cover up, and spin a massive screw-up, and turn it into something it's not, are you sure you can trust the adam henries up top?

it also stinks that they are allowing MORONS in who cannot get a minimum score of 32 on the azvab. don't even try telling me that they're not allowing them in, because one of my neighbors is such a case. he couldn't get into another branch due to not being able to score a 32, minimum. the army granted him a waiver for it.

 

Bingo. excellant observation. Having spent many years in the Army, with 5 deployments to combat zones, i left with a bad taste in my mouth. Too many whiners, and too much walking around bein shot at while your hands are wrapped around your gonads becuse of beurocrocy(sic) BS.

Also, the general publics view of the combat situation should never have relavance on the mission or the methods used to accomplish such a mission. PERIOD.
Concerning the obvious coverups, I will add this. Before I left the Army, I testified in a hearing on a soldier who had sexually assaulted two females.
All ended up being covered up, kept within the Green Machine so the public didn't see that there are criminals in all facits of life, including the Military.
As for the Tillman debacle, the only thing I can imagine is that there are too many UNSKILLED, UNTRAINED and UNTESTED troops, pressed into combat service. Even in a Special Operations Unit.

 

i scored a 96 on my ASVAB I dont think that truck 5 was hit by an RPG, it looks like he stalled it and panicked, couldnt get composed and wasnt able to restart.. he shoulda radioed to the truck behind to push him a couple feet so he coulda bump started it or just jumped out and hopped in the vehichle behind.. either way he was too scared of gettin "god #### killed" and crawled in the back and couldnt recover to think clearly.. bad combat training, doubt he was a vet and if he was then he was prolly air force lol

 

the air force is actually an HONEST branch, like the marines. too bad i cannot say the same for the army. the air force, like the rest, has special op units such as SERE, TACP, and para rescue. para rescue is non-political. they have use wherever and whatever the rescue mission may be.

at least the air force has higher standards. they don't allow socially and morally stupid people to serve. also, like the navy, the air force is THE branch to go with if somebody is looking into technical training and skills that'll carry over rather well into the civilian work force. marines have high standards, too. the difference is that they're not really a technical branch. either way, all of the branches have their missions and are important in their own ways. the army needs to raise their standards and weed out the simpletons.

nice try at cracking at the air force. besides, preston wheeler was unarmed. what the hell would you have done in that situation? especially when those assigned to protect you just straight up abandon everybody without firing a single #### shot. it's sickening that those in that national guard unit were given medals for bravery after the fact. they don't deserve anything but to be tarred and feathered, and tried under the ucmj for desertion. however, since it's regarding civilian contractors, we all know that won't ever happen.

 

i looked at the Para Rescue & Combat Controller positions when I considered the Air Force myself..i was just joking above, there's nothing wrong with the Arm Chair Force,except maybe the shorter,easier basic and maid service *cough cough*, besides I have several friends that are/were in it, heck my one bud gets to analyze all that data from the drones. Anyway, all of the branches are important & vital to our country's national defense and anybody that has served has my respect, whether they were in combat or just pushing a pencil.

 

Improvise, adapt & overcome..thats what i wouldve done

1st i wouldve been carrying a sidearm before i got in the truck

2nd if my truck stalled my initial reaction if it didnt turn back over wouldve been to have the truck behind me push me forward for a bump, if that didnt work i wouldve had him pull alongside and i wouldve hopped in

3rd if all else failed i wouldnt stay a sitting duck.. i wouldve made a run for it, whether into another vehichle behind or in the opposite direction of the gunfire and made my way through the town and looked for friendlys to hide out with until the cav showed up, if need be and i was chased or followed i wouldve secured better firepower and made a stand or died trying.

 

Seriously, just about ANY job you get through a contract with the Government (overseas) is going to pay big. If you want that kind of risk, do it. There are a lot of people that chose that life. Auto body repair is contracted, but safer. Check out the Government list of jobs available (it's online), see if there is something that might be an alternative. Did you check into truck driving "schools" before you signed up with Road Master? You might want to head to Iraq/Afghanistan with some experience under your belt, which means that you could go to a large trucking company and get your training FREE, with a 1-2 year commitment. Just some advise from a trucker who just left the road to support her husband who just reenlisted in the Army (after being out 16 years!). He is headed to Afghanistan next year, and I am glad he won't be driving a truck! Too dangerous. Best wishes, good luck, and may God keep you safe.

 

There was an old bugs bunny cartoon years ago where he had a similar job to that of driving in Iraq. He work on an assembly line and hit artillery shells with a hammer and when they didn't go off he marked em dud!

 

Wow 3.16..I am glad to see you put down the military like that on 9/11..Shows what kind of standards the marines held you up to for the short time you were in...Just like the standards of the marines who held up our covoy on msr sword on the way to ramadi cause they had a blue on blue (friendly fire) at each others convoys..You talk about the army bein wussies..What about those marines that killed 17 innocent Iraq's cause they lost a marine in that village??Takes alot of guts to shoot un armed civillians..So you see,the actions of a few cant be held against all...If you didnt join the marines,u would have common sense and logic to know what I am talking about..Then again,you were a marine...sorry for you...Did u even go outside the wire in Iraq??

 

i wasn't in the marines, and i never said anything about 9/11. i was elsewhere when that happened. actually, i was still on base and in tech school during the time. a few days afer 9/11, i attended a memorial on base. when a chaplain came up to stage and told those of us who hadn't given our lives to "god", come on up that instance and convert. i left. that memorial was nothing but a #### conversion ceremony. i caught massive crap for it, became socially blacklisted on base, and people acted as if they never knew me. 2 years later, i opted out by way of a voluntary separation. i haven't really looked back since. i don't talk to a single person i ever served with.

there's trouble in all the branches. i actually didn't care enough to go out and make friends. the air force has too many backstabbers/self serving jerk-offs. last thing i ever wanted was some "friend" airing my dirty laundry. i'm simply a very jaded and detached individual. i march to the beat of my own drum. i also have no political affiliation. i'm also all for some states seceding the union and doing their own thing. face it, america as you know it is on its way to total collapse. just hope that it doesn't become another russia.

as for iraq, the war is unjust and we americans, allies as well, shouldn't have ever been sent over there. "dubbya" just wanted to finish what his daddy started a decade prior, using wmd's as his platform. there are no wmd's there. if they're really in syria, what kept bush from using that as another platform for invading syria?

afghanistan should have been remain as the primary focus. not the other crappy country. the "war" in iraq is nothing but a war over ideals. pat tillman was critical about that conflict. he went further to even say it was an illegal war. it was written in his personal diary, which by the way, has become withheld. attempts to recover it for the tillman family have been ignored. i wonder why the army is withholding it. seems there's plenty of motive for soldiers committing fratricide. maybe the order came within the chain of command. who knows? all i know is that the real truth will come out some day. the army did a terrible disservice to pat tillman, his family, and all of those who looked up to him as an inspiration to pursue what one felt was right and just.