Oerdin's Iraq thread.

[Lancer]

Set up a few claymores around the chicken coup and call it a night.

Love the story. Get a bunch of guys together like that, armed to the teeth, and funny things tend to happen.

[Barinthus]

subscribe me!

[Tattila the Hun]

I can imagine, a bunch of G.I's hiding around the henhouse, with them claymore triggers. Just like in Platoon.

Of course, a tripwire could be more efficient.

I wonder, are nw gogles usefull in coyote hunt?

[Bloody Monk]

With the Palaces and its compound so poorly constructed, the rest of the population must have it bad.

Glad to see the old GI sense of humor at work. Be well.

Monk

[Sirotnikov]

Wow, our own Iraq blog *sits down waiting for more*

[DAVOUT]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I spent much of today inventorying equipment so that it could be taken off of the old unit's books and put on my units books. It seems they lost a fair amount of equipment over the last year and they are now trying to pull a fast one by trying to get us to sign for equipment which isn't there. Luckily, we're on to them and now EVERYTHING will be layed out before we sign.

Every time, everywhere the same !!

[Chemical Ollie]

What will you call your soldiers' mess, "Chicken Ranch" or " Coyote Ugly" ?

[Barinthus]

Yeah! They ought mount a head of a coyote over the entrance of their mess.

[Chemical Ollie]

That Coyote store reminds my of my own military service, when my platoon spent a whole night waiting in the trenches instead of sleeping, because a deer set off a trip wire.

[Chemical Ollie]

This sequence is kinda disturbing when taken out of context:

and he's willing to eat just about everything in sight. One of the guys in the unit feed Roscoe a bunch of people

[Skanky Burns]

[Cruddy]

Originally posted by Oerdin


As long as we're talking about water I'd like to bring up another observation. Arabs seem to have no idea how to install plumbing because the toilets clog up with the slightest amount of toilet paper...

Can't comment on the lack of sewage treatment plants in Tikrit (I've heard there is a (small) one in Basra but...

... while staying in Egypt there was no sign of toilet paper in the "native" toilets. Instead there was a hosepipe for sluicing down the area...

... seems strange to westerners BUT it's actually more freshening in a desert environment... at least, I thought so.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Chemical Ollie
What will you call your soldiers' mess, "Chicken Ranch" or " Coyote Ugly" ?

Hehe, those sound like excellent suggestions.

[Ted Striker]

This thread is cool as hell

[Dinner]

Now seems like a good time to mention General Order #1. General Order #1 covers all American service members in Iraq and really reflects how anal and puritanical the American military establishment can be. General Order #1 prohibites Alcohol, Sex (by any service member with another service member or with a civilian), gambling (of any sorts), buying anything on the local economy (they want to control what you buy and where you buy it), possessing local currency, possessing any cell phones or personal radios (again they don't want you to be able to call or act without their permission), and the possession of any pornographic material.

Luckily, General Order #1 is widely ignored but it illistraites how ****ing stupid staff officers can be with their fears of losing control. Remember that all soldiers are in Iraq for at least one year and many are hear even longer so parts of this order are seen as highly unreasonable amoung service men.

Here is a list of banned items which the commanding General has order to be displayed in every porta potty:

General Order #1 Prohibited Items

Privately owned firearms, ammo, ordnance, or explosives

Captured or found firearms (I'd say about 50% of the soldiers I know have broken this rule mainly because they have fire arms taken from the Iraqi Army)

Unexploded ordance of any kind (This one isn't a problem because EVERYONE already has more munitions issued to them then they know what to do with. In my house my friends and I have 2 AT-4s, 40 grenades, 5 claymores, and 10 pounds of plastic explosives with 10 blasting caps and timers)

Alcohol, any amount (surprisingly this one seems to be followed by and large)

Controlled substances (prescription drugs must be in the original container or accompanied by the original prescription label)

Drug paraphernalia - including hooka pipes (smoking tabbacco in hookas is extremely common in the middle east and so this rule about hookas is largely ignored)

Phsyical performance enhancing dietary suppliments containing ma huang, creatine, ephedra, yohimbine, or androstenedione. (Not sure why they'd ban legal suppliments but they have)

Pornographic or sexually explicite photos, video tapes, movies, drawings, books, magazines, or similiar representations. (Your teenage daughters harliquin romance books probably break this rule because they have declared Maxium and FHM to be sexually explicit)

Cellular telephones, two way pagers, and two way personal data assistants not specifically authorized by the Commanding General on an individual bases. (They claim this is needed for Operation Security reasons but the real reason is they want complete control over what soldiers are allowed to know)

Unauthorized individual souvenirs or trophies (items of former enemy property)
-Items purchased at AAFES, bazaars, Iraqi merchants, etc, are not war souvenirs or trophies.
-Specifically authorized war trophies/souvenirs are: 1) Helmets and head coverings; 2) uniforms and uniform items such as insignia and patches; 3) canteens, compasses, rucksacks, pouches, and load bearing equipment; 4) flags; 5) military training manuals, books, and pamphlets; 6) posters, placards, and post cards
- Other items that clearly pose no safety or health risk and are not prohibited by law. Soldiers may bring items to their servicing judge advocate to determine whether the item is allowed. Knives, bayonets, etc are specifically prohibited as war trophies.