May
03
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Saturday, 03 May 2008 |
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Bill Ardolino files a report from Sadr City.
Read the whole thing.
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Apr
24
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Friday, 25 April 2008 |
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The men who weild hot lead at the enemy
love hot women. That should not be a surprise to anyone, but to
some it is .
Some see pin-ups in the barracks as a
vice, but it is part of a larger virtues of--Love & Fortitude.
It is currently against the regulations
of Multi National Forces Iraq to possess any pornographic, lewd or lacivious
material.
Even pinups of girls in bikinis were
not exempt from the regulations I first read in 2005.
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Read more...
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Apr
22
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Tuesday, 22 April 2008 |
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According to a recent study by Rand Corporation ,
"18.5 percent of current and former service members contacted in
a recent survey reported symptoms of depression or post-traumatic stress."
The number seems about right to me and
after three trips to Iraq, I've had a few quirky PTSD experiences.
The first was in 2005 driving from a
logistics area in Kuwait to the International Airport when I looked
over at the driver and asked if he could drive in the middle of lane
of the freeway. I had found myself eye-balling the sandy shoulder
for anything that looked like a roadside bomb.
The most recent was when I got home from
a month in Baghdad and I was acutely aware of man hole covers.
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Mar
31
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 31 March 2008 |
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(In January 2007, Sen. Barack Obama proposed removing all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008)
Last US Troops Leave Iraq
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Mar
24
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 24 March 2008 |
When I was in the Marines we wore shiny, black leather combat boots and pressed and starched our cammies with razor sharp creases--what a stupid waste.
By going to brown suede leather boots and un-starched cammies, the American service member has gained an extra 15 to 20 minutes every day while in garrison and picked up a major morale boost. No one likes to shine their boots.
The past years have seen an explosion in military innovation, knowledge, experience and, in a few cases, the discarding of the bureacratic ways that had built up the 25 years since Vietnam.
And it has been the little innovations that have had major impact--rail systems on rifles, ACOG and EO Tech sights, grips, wider use of Nomex and ballistic glasses.
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Mar
20
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Thursday, 20 March 2008 |
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War does not care for the arbitrary timelines of man.
The fifth anniversary of Marines and Soldiers crossing the berm from Kuwait into Iraq is treated as a news subject only because we humans tend to measure things in such terms.
As Cormac McCarthy wrote in the 'Blood Meridian':
"It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way."
A war is a competition between the wills of humans. There are no rules, no boundaries, no timekeepers or even scorekeepers. It is a struggle until one side yields to other. To pretend otherwise only protracts the war.
The United State's war in Iraq did not begin in March of 2003. The United State's war with Mohammanden Jihadists did not start on September 11th, 2001.
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