H&I Fires, 1 Jan 2007

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. [Admittedly, I'm fibbing. Trackbacks are still broken]

You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...

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The Castle's reach in 2006...

We didn't get to as many countries as last year, Africa certainly seems to have lost interest. We have had about an 8% growth in visitors. It's been slacking off this last quarter, however. Must be getting stale, not to mention the ever-increasing amount and quality of the competition. Thank heaven's I'm not trying to make money at this! Well, that and the fact that the military service's net-nannie software is blocking us sporadically, so traffic we used to get daily now shows up on weekends (weekend traffic has been climbing to match the decline in weekday traffic, that's my guess as to the cause. In which case, I appreciate you guys who take time on the weekends to drop in! I appreciate you all - but those of you who have to take the extra effort... well, thanks.

We're gonna try to improve load times and get this place fully functional again. The last attempt at the software upgrade still has bits and pieces that went all kerblooey. We're seeking a qualified blog mechanic - and it's a paid position. -the Armorer

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Christie Blatchford gets a whiff of the essence of soldiering. Where are *our* MSM reporters, our Ernie Pyle? I'm not talking Yon, or Roggio, or Fumento - I mean a big network, big newspaper reporter? Sigh. H/t. CAPT H. -the Armorer

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Speaking of reporters. Looks like the MSM decided to roll in the New Year with a Front page Banner Headline regarding the death toll in Iraq. Some of us celebrate with champagne. Some of us celebrate with children. The MSM celebrates by dancing on graves, it seems, to attract the populace's attention.
-BloodSpite

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"The armed forces...are considering expanding the number of non-citizens in its ranks." Well, du-uhhh -- that's taking a page out of the playbook of forty years ago. Used to was, any well-intended citizen of the Outside World (including WarPac escapees) could enlist in a branch of the US Armed Forces (most entered the Army, for some odd reason) and, after serving for two years, would receive US citizenship

a. the day he was released from active duty or

b. the last day prior to beginning his second term of enlistment.

How do I know that? Simple -- I had three Panamanian Spec Fours working for me as ammo specialists in '71 and 72 at Mag #2 on Fort Dix and a Costa Rican NCOIC, an E-6 who had already become a citizen and was on his *third* enlistment.

Arroz col pollo for lunch every Saturday. Yum!

Two of my First Platoon pilots in the Delta were Canadians.

Half our neighbors in the 135th Assault Helicopter Company (okay -- they lived in Dong Tam and we lived in Can Tho, but that's close enough for neighborliness) were Ozzies. 'Course, they didn't come for the offer of citizenship, they came for the fighting...

I knew three Green Beanies who came to the Army from Latvia (by way of Finland). BTW, Latvia and Finland have all the vowels that Bosnia should'a been issued.

And don't forget Frequent Visitor and Honorary Denizen V29, who's Caledonia-born.

Enuff history -- Happy New Year!

*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires.

Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute.

Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*

The UAVs we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now.

I call the post that because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to. It's also an open trackback, so if (Don Surber uses it this way a lot) someone has a post they're proud of, but it really isn't either Castle kind of stuff, or topical to a particular post, I've basically given blanket permission to use that post for that purpose. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone".