Disagreeable
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2005
- Messages
- 2,464
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Below is a link to this Marines discussion site. It obviously doens't need my emphasis. I'd encourage all of you to go to that site, thank and ecourage these young people putting their lives on the line.
"Let me preface this with saying that I am not a grunt, I am not a 4 star and im not a contractor. I'm just a poor shlub that spent 7 months in the sand doing everything from Supply work, providing security on over 20 CAG missions, to being the PSD leader for a BC. I've also had access to every SPOT report that has been posted on the SIPRnet. I've traveled every road from the western most border of the Green zone to Al Asad Airbase. As far north as Balad and as far south as Zaidon. I've been on patrols that have been IEDd twice and RPGd once. I've been in some sustained firefights with the MUJ and felt the effects of some pretty accurate, but mostly inaccurate, IDF. With that being said:
1. The cities of Ramadi and Fallujah need to be assaulted AGAIN. Our guys killed plenty of muj the first time they swept those cities, but the Muj are back.
2. The most highly traveled MSR in the AO (MSR Mobile) is as dangerous today as it was the day I got here. Marines are getting killed or injured daily on this POS road.
3. Every vehicle my unit owns is up-armored. Up armor does nothing when faced with a double stacked 155mm IED or AT mine.
4. Presence patrols are a waste of time. The only thing the Marines face are sniper fire and well placed IEDs. The only time these patrols are effective is when the word comes down that a HVT is in the area.
5. CBR (counter battery radar) is a waste of time. The muj fire their rockets and mortars from the back of their trucks while driving on the MSRs that are a stowns throw from the bases. As soon as they launch they are gone. BDAs are pointless.
6. Comm sucks. PRRs are ineffective if required to communicate to a vehicle that is more than 50-75 meters away.
7. Every unit, regardless if they are Infantry or if they are running the Log trains should have Marines trained on the use of metal detectors. Walking up to a box and kicking it to see if it has an IED inside of it is not good for your health. Dont believe me that this is what we are doing? I'll show you the pictures.
8. EOD is doing a great job, but they are so undermanned it is crazy. There is no bonus too high to get Marines to lat move to this MOS. We have CLPs sitting in the middle of the road sometimes 2 or more hours waiting for the EOD techs to show up.
9. ACOGS or similiar optics should be standard issue to EVERY Marine. It's alot safer to "look" at a suspicious object from 75 meters away with your optics then it is to walk up to it. (see #7)
10. Billeting and chow is great. The one exception is that the DOD must have stock in chicken. We eat it 5 times a week.
11. Mail service is probably the best that it can be. No complaints there.
12. The bases depend too much on Haji contractors or KBR. When something breaks (the water pumps or the generators) they have no sense of urgency. It could be worse though, so no real complaints there.
13. The average Iraqi civilian does not care about us, whether it is in a good sense or bad. the only time they interact with you is if they want something or they want to blow you up. you will see just as many people giving you the thumbs down or throwing rocks at you as you will see giving you the thumbs up.
14. The US govt should not be paying the relatives of any "innocent" casualities when we sweep an area. Innocence is all in the eye of the beholder. Just because he didn't personally plant the IED, doesn't mean he didn't know it was being planted.
15. Company and above level sweeps are pointless. This place is like a bowl of jello. When you stick your finger in a bowl of jello, the jello moves out of the way. When you remove your finger, the jello fills back in.
16. The local Sheiks are all corrupt. Nuff said.
17. All speakers throughout each city should be destroyed. If the people want to hear the clerics, let them go to the mosque. The insurgents are using the speakers to announce our presence. I've had this confirmed to me on more then one occasion by the Terps that ride with us.
Once again, and before someone points this out to me, this is all from my "limited point of view" as a Marine Sergeant deployed to Iraq."
http://forums.military.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/69719858/m/6700073610001
"Let me preface this with saying that I am not a grunt, I am not a 4 star and im not a contractor. I'm just a poor shlub that spent 7 months in the sand doing everything from Supply work, providing security on over 20 CAG missions, to being the PSD leader for a BC. I've also had access to every SPOT report that has been posted on the SIPRnet. I've traveled every road from the western most border of the Green zone to Al Asad Airbase. As far north as Balad and as far south as Zaidon. I've been on patrols that have been IEDd twice and RPGd once. I've been in some sustained firefights with the MUJ and felt the effects of some pretty accurate, but mostly inaccurate, IDF. With that being said:
1. The cities of Ramadi and Fallujah need to be assaulted AGAIN. Our guys killed plenty of muj the first time they swept those cities, but the Muj are back.
2. The most highly traveled MSR in the AO (MSR Mobile) is as dangerous today as it was the day I got here. Marines are getting killed or injured daily on this POS road.
3. Every vehicle my unit owns is up-armored. Up armor does nothing when faced with a double stacked 155mm IED or AT mine.
4. Presence patrols are a waste of time. The only thing the Marines face are sniper fire and well placed IEDs. The only time these patrols are effective is when the word comes down that a HVT is in the area.
5. CBR (counter battery radar) is a waste of time. The muj fire their rockets and mortars from the back of their trucks while driving on the MSRs that are a stowns throw from the bases. As soon as they launch they are gone. BDAs are pointless.
6. Comm sucks. PRRs are ineffective if required to communicate to a vehicle that is more than 50-75 meters away.
7. Every unit, regardless if they are Infantry or if they are running the Log trains should have Marines trained on the use of metal detectors. Walking up to a box and kicking it to see if it has an IED inside of it is not good for your health. Dont believe me that this is what we are doing? I'll show you the pictures.
8. EOD is doing a great job, but they are so undermanned it is crazy. There is no bonus too high to get Marines to lat move to this MOS. We have CLPs sitting in the middle of the road sometimes 2 or more hours waiting for the EOD techs to show up.
9. ACOGS or similiar optics should be standard issue to EVERY Marine. It's alot safer to "look" at a suspicious object from 75 meters away with your optics then it is to walk up to it. (see #7)
10. Billeting and chow is great. The one exception is that the DOD must have stock in chicken. We eat it 5 times a week.
11. Mail service is probably the best that it can be. No complaints there.
12. The bases depend too much on Haji contractors or KBR. When something breaks (the water pumps or the generators) they have no sense of urgency. It could be worse though, so no real complaints there.
13. The average Iraqi civilian does not care about us, whether it is in a good sense or bad. the only time they interact with you is if they want something or they want to blow you up. you will see just as many people giving you the thumbs down or throwing rocks at you as you will see giving you the thumbs up.
14. The US govt should not be paying the relatives of any "innocent" casualities when we sweep an area. Innocence is all in the eye of the beholder. Just because he didn't personally plant the IED, doesn't mean he didn't know it was being planted.
15. Company and above level sweeps are pointless. This place is like a bowl of jello. When you stick your finger in a bowl of jello, the jello moves out of the way. When you remove your finger, the jello fills back in.
16. The local Sheiks are all corrupt. Nuff said.
17. All speakers throughout each city should be destroyed. If the people want to hear the clerics, let them go to the mosque. The insurgents are using the speakers to announce our presence. I've had this confirmed to me on more then one occasion by the Terps that ride with us.
Once again, and before someone points this out to me, this is all from my "limited point of view" as a Marine Sergeant deployed to Iraq."
http://forums.military.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/69719858/m/6700073610001
