Oerdin's Iraq thread - Continued

[Dinner]

I'm betting the extension won't happen for reasons explained above.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

that's true, you picked the good time to enlist


but overall not good... it looks like more and more people killed over there as the time goes by...

[Ted Striker]

The real question is, what is going to happen in Iraq AFTER the election this fall.

The sad thing is that the weeks leading up the AMERICAN elections are going to be extremley bloody, not only in Iraq but in other places as well.

Don't be surprised if an attack occurs on American soil.

[Dinner]

I may not be sent to Samarra after all. They're going back and forth between Samarra or Baquba and neither of those places is very good. I'm supposed to find out for sure this weekend.

[Dinner]

BTW we had five rocket attacks on the base here in Tikrit today. This comes as something as a surprise since the last four weeks have been quiet or at least so I've been told. Supposedly the US had cut a deal with several of the local tribal and political leaders; the locals wanted more reconstruction money and they wanted the US to stop their "show of force" missions and in exchange the locals agreed to police their area and make sure the militants stayed away.

A show of force mission is when you fire off arty, mortar, or tank rounds in to fields in order to flush out bad guys or to let them know the area is being covered. Unfortunately, it has resulted in some live stock being killed but it was very effective in denying certain areas which militants had being using as firing positions. Civil Affairs had stopped several reconstruction projects which the locals had wanted because the locals were being uncooperative and allowing militants to fire mortars from inside their villages; the deal was that once the mortars stopped being fired from those villages that the US would pay for several big ticket reconstruction projects in the area. Several of the projects have been completed and now the firing has once again resumed.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I'm betting the extension won't happen for reasons explained above.

I really hope so for your sake.

[Dinner]

Well, I've got my flight info and I will be leaving for Balad tomorrow. With luck this will be my last duty assignment before the deployment ends. In other good news I think my post Army outlook is beginning to look up. As many of you may remember I was unemployed before I went to Iraq and since I now have a new morgage to pay I will really need to find work quickly when I get back home. It seems today is my lucky day because the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has just ended their hiring freeze so I'm going to be putting in an application. Since they give vets a hiring prefrence and because I meet all of their hiring guide lines I'm thinking I should be a shoe in for this job.

Just to be on the safe side though I've ordered a couple of books from Amazon.com which are supposed to help you with the hiring test and the interview process for the CHP. If I can get this job then I will be one step closer to moving my life in the direction which I want it to go.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Several of the projects have been completed and now the firing has once again resumed.

Funny how that works out that way, huh?

[chequita guevara]

Why does the CHP need geologists?

[Dinner]

I've gone through two jobs in 1.5 years as a geologist so I'm beginning to think I need a change of vocation. I'm thinking a nice government job just might be for me.

Besides if I ever finish my commercial pilots licence or become a pilot in the Air Force Reserve then I could get a job flying for the CHP. That way I wouldn't have to deal with people and the job wouldn't really be all that dangerous. There is also the fact that I'd be making 75% more then when I was a geologist plus if I remained a geologist then I'd basically have to go to grad school which I don't want to do.

[Dinner]

Tonight I sat on the back porch drinking iced tea while watching mortar rounds and counter battery fire go over head. The hajis are aiming for the division headquarters which is directly behind my house and up on a large hill. The result was I had a great view and was in no immediate danger; unless of course one of the shells fell short but even then you'll hear the whine of the incoming round most of the time.

After that I sat down and watched the classic movie Animal House. It wasn't nearly as good as I remembered but the last time I saw it I was 15 years old. I guess 13 years is a long vantage point to look back at things.

[Chemical Ollie]

You really have to be chastened to regard an enemy mortar attack as a firework show.

the classic movie Animal House

toga toga Toga Toga TOGA TOGA...

That's the one? John Belushi at his best!

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Well, I've got my flight info and I will be leaving for Balad tomorrow. With luck this will be my last duty assignment before the deployment ends. In other good news I think my post Army outlook is beginning to look up. As many of you may remember I was unemployed before I went to Iraq and since I now have a new morgage to pay I will really need to find work quickly when I get back home. It seems today is my lucky day because the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has just ended their hiring freeze so I'm going to be putting in an application. Since they give vets a hiring prefrence and because I meet all of their hiring guide lines I'm thinking I should be a shoe in for this job.

Just to be on the safe side though I've ordered a couple of books from Amazon.com which are supposed to help you with the hiring test and the interview process for the CHP. If I can get this job then I will be one step closer to moving my life in the direction which I want it to go.

Good luck.

Gimme a break when I come flying down the 5 freeway.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Chemical Ollie
You really have to be chastened to regard an enemy mortar attack as a firework show.

I suppose I deserve that but you really do get a feel for what is close and what is not close. There's a lake between my house and D-Main so I'm a good .75 KM away from where they were shooting at.

the classic movie Animal House

toga toga Toga Toga TOGA TOGA...

That's the one? John Belushi at his best!

The very same!

[chequita guevara]

Mmmmm, iced tea.