Oerdin's Iraq thread - Continued

[Dinner]

Well, we got today off because our translater didn't show. A hate to say it but for once I'm glad Iraqis are as unreliable as a Soviet car in a Siberian winter. If the lazy little bugger had actually showed up to work then I would have had to go on another 12 hour long patrol with the infantry and while that is fun once in a while it also has nothing to do with my job.

[Harovan]

Little you know about the reliability of Russian cars in Siberian winters. It always amazed me how the old Lada of my host in Novosibirsk worked at -30..-40C, without even being in a garage. My (compared to his) high tech western car would get in heavy trouble under these circumstances.

[Dinner]

It appears the Marine of Arab decent has some how talked his way out of captivity.

[Barinthus]

Originally posted by Oerdin
BTW Did my dad tell you about my new house? It's a three bedroom two bath town house in the same complex my sister used to live in. It cost an arm and a leg but it should be a good investment if I can keep the spare rooms rented.

If I finally get my sorry butt moving and get into a grad school in SD, I'll check with you re: those rooms

[Dinner]

Sure.

[Auntie H]

Yes, I heard about your house. Be sure to get a cleaning service if you intend to rent some of it out, tenants can be a pain in that respect, you know!!!

Glad to see someone else picked up on the Lada in siberia thing, stinky tho they were, those little cars seemed to kep on keepin' on.

You didn't say if there were any requests for the care package???

Don't go out on patrols, please.

[:) Smiley]

Ladas and other Russian vehicles have unsurpassed cold-weather performance and are generally rugged all around. They still have a breakdown rate that would never sell in America (think the Yugo, for instance) but in harsh conditions its excusable.

[/threadjack]

[Dinner]

Ok, I will find another analogy to use in the future.

[oerdin's sis]

You could try " as unreliable as a Soviet car"...... I didn't hear any one say they were reliable, just that they worked well in the winter!!

[Barinthus]

Originally posted by Auntie H
Yes, I heard about your house. Be sure to get a cleaning service if you intend to rent some of it out, tenants can be a pain in that respect, you know!!!

*sniff* hey, I'm not that bad!

[Cruddy]

Originally posted by Oerdin
For the couple of days we've been going out on 12 patrols with the infantry guys. Each day we've only gotten in about 1-2 hours of Psyop time and none of it has been with anyone I'd call a key communicator so its impact is questionable at best. I'm getting the feeling that these national guardsmen we're working with have no idea how to use Psyop effectively and they're to stuck in their ways to bother listening to us.

Not good. But really, all you can do is do the job that's in front of you. If the support units around you don't understand what your work is about, maybe the line "trying to prepare for when we're gone" might get the message over (and make them think Psyops are worthwhile).

Or put it another way - if you can't convince, confuse.

[Dinner]

Well for the last three days the commanding General of the 1st ID has closed all internet and phone access for soldiers in their AO. Apparently, reporters have been raising hell with the pentigon because the military has been so slow to notify families when one of their love ones was KIA or WIA in Iraq. On several occations families have found out about a service man's death from their neighbors who got e-mails from other service men in Iraq.

The Army is now embarassed and has ordered that when ever someone is KIA that all means of outside communication be cut off from the soldiers in Iraq until the families can be notified. This seems so typically Army to me. I mean rather then fix the real problem, namely that it takes the Army forever and a day before they bother to pick up the phone and notify the next of kin, they instead try to gag all soldiers. Yes, the families should be notified through the proper channels but the Army owes these people notification much sooner then the 5-7 days they've been running. It seems like 12 hours would be more then enough time to determine someone has died and then to pick up a phone and call someone. All of this doesn't involve gagging anybody nor robbing them of their abilities to talk to friends and loved ones back home.

I sometimes wonder if the Army will ever get it; that quick fixes aren't the long term anwser but firing a few people who can't do their jobs competently just might be.

[:) Smiley]

Good to hear you're doing alright. Looks like the army might need some Psyops itself.

[Dinner]

Well, some new news. One of the SSGs in Tikrit has had to go on Emergency leave due to family problems and he most likely won't be coming back to Iraq. That means some or all of my team will have to move back to Tikrit in order to fill his spot. We don't know anything for sure yet but we should find out soon. Change seems to be in the wind.

[Dinner]

It has been confirmed and all three of us will be moving to Tikrit tomorrow. I just can't seem to stay away from that place.