Oerdin's Iraq thread - Continued

[Asmodean]

Great thread, Oerdin. I've had a long hiatus from 'Poly, and I've just arrived back to read this.

I wish you and your unit an uneventful tour of duty in Iraq.

Asmodean

[Dinner]

Thanks. So far the first 6 months have been alright and there is only about 3 months or so to go.

[:) Smiley]

If the water line was laid by hand, why wouldn't it be half a foot underground?

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by Oerdin
--- and there is only about 3 months or so to go.

How can you be so sure? Some of the people you were replacing had to stay for some extra months despite having been there for a year already, didn't they?

[Giancarlo]

Oerdin, have you considered opening up a website to post your day to day stuff?

[Dinner]

Ollie: You are of course right but there are several things which lead me to believe this will not happen. #1 We are scheduled to have our replacements take over on 22 Sept which is around two weeks before the Presidential elections in the US. The last thing Bush wants is for the newspapers to be full of "Bush is ****ing over the soldiers again" articles just before the election. #2 The Army has very limited Psyop assets which it wants to keep in the field as long as they possible can (even if this screws the individual soldiers). Since Congress has passed laws which limit the amount of time the President can call up reservists they have to choice between to 9 month tours or one 12-16 month tours. The army will almost always go for 18 month over 12-16 months. They want the extra two months.

Luckily, I will be out by the time that next deployment happens (unless they stop loss me) and then I should be able to apply for flight school with either the Air Force Reserve or the Air National Guard.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Giancarlo
Oerdin, have you considered opening up a website to post your day to day stuff?

Yes, I have but I'm not sure which place would be best. Do you have any suggestions?

[Giancarlo]

Originally posted by Oerdin


Yes, I have but I'm not sure which place would be best. Do you have any suggestions?

This is the service I use:

http://www.below10host.com/hosting.php

Starting from $4.99/month.

[DinoDoc]

Apolyton.

[Dinner]

I would like to use one of those online blog services if I was going to post a real blog. I've been told you get more cross traffic that way since they cross advertise and index other blogs on the same service.

[DinoDoc]

Livejournal if you insist on a real blog then.

[Barinthus]

Originally posted by Oerdin
It appears I will be flying out to my new station on Saturday afternoon. It sounds like a decent station with some good people plus I hear they are rather laxed about the rules. I'm thinking that is exactly the kind of place for me.

You... you slacker!

Hope it turns out to be a place you'll like with people you at least can work with without any moronic officers or whatever.

Hope you and your comrades are faring alright considering the "Tet offense" thing insurgents pulled off.

[Dinner]

Well, I guess some things are not meant to be. I've been told that due to recent events I'm going to be needed in the Samarra area instead of on the Iranian border. The border area is quiet except for the odd smuggler while Samarra seems to be quickly degenerating into another Fullujah so they're redirecting people there.

I can't help but feel the politicians are really screwing things up here just like they did in Vietnam. For the last month or so the Bush Administration seems to be very concious of the fact that every time bad press comes out of Iraq their poll numbers go do so they've been interfering with military operations in order to minimize press exposure.

Two excellent recent examples of this are Fullujah and Najaf. After four US contractors were killed in Fallujah the CPA announced the military was going to go take over the town and that they would continue occupying it until the persons responsible were brought to justice. The marines went in, lossing several dozen men, but before any bad guys were captured the politicians got squemish about the bad publicity and order the marines out of the city. The Marines were forced to give back the territory their men had just died to take in exchange for a cease fire which lasted less then one day. All the military experts said the cease fire wouldn't work and that the insurgents would just use the time to rearm and reequip but the Bush Administration didn't want pictures of dead bodies on TV so close to the elections. The result? The rebels now control the town and they use it as a safe haven to launch attacks against us.

When Sadr began his little uprising a few months back the CPA spokesman was quick to say Sadr would be either killed or captured but there would be no negotiations. The military began operations in Najaf but when Arab TV began showing pictures the Administration again lost its nerve and the army was order to abandon the town. We never did catch Sadr dispite the fact that everyone knows exactly where he is (the Imam Ali Mosque) and the Coalition has now twice looked like weak liars because we said we'd do something but then the politicians lost the nerve to follow through. We cannot win any type of honorable solution if the Bush Administration continues to undermine our soldiers in the field.

So any way I will now be going to Samarra which is another town the Administration as let the insurgents take over. With each town they take over they get stronger and bolder while we look weaker. Bush doesn't seem to have the nerve to do anything atleast until after the election so now our soldiers sit here being targets and are unable to effectively respond to the threats coming from these defacto safe havens.

[Cruddy]

Originally posted by Oerdin
...Luckily, I will be out by the time that next deployment happens (unless they stop loss me) and then I should be able to apply for flight school with either the Air Force Reserve or the Air National Guard.

Go for your wings! I'm turning green here!

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Thanks. So far the first 6 months have been alright and there is only about 3 months or so to go.

And then they extend you.