Sometimes, apparently, these pictures are captioned by the photographer, sometimes they get help from other people. I use the word "help" advisedly.
I even had a rather acrimonious exchange of email with a Sergeant First Class Combat Camera guy who, when I got snarky about the numerous errors in a caption (which *I* got snarked for by the assembled horde) basically said, "Hey, I'm out here in the sh*t, you're just a fat f**king civilian with nothing better to do than snipe people who do stuff you won't or can't, how dare you criticize me."
Heh. I sent him a .pdf of my VA rating letter. But, 'tudes aside, I love the Combat Camera guys, bad captions or no. They're the ones who are documenting this war, since a lot of the MSM photographers, for many good reasons and some bad, are not. This is an example of one pic that came in the mail yesterday...
Well, from the uniform, she *is* a Marine. I'll take their word on it that it's Camp Lemonier, Djibouti.
But this isn't a M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (which would be odd to have a Marine painting, frankly, since they don't use any of 'em), it's a US M3 105mm howitzer used by the Cannon Companies of WWII infantry regiments.
But let's test ourselves - what's the gun in the background?
I even had a rather acrimonious exchange of email with a Sergeant First Class Combat Camera guy who, when I got snarky about the numerous errors in a caption (which *I* got snarked for by the assembled horde) basically said, "Hey, I'm out here in the sh*t, you're just a fat f**king civilian with nothing better to do than snipe people who do stuff you won't or can't, how dare you criticize me."
Heh. I sent him a .pdf of my VA rating letter. But, 'tudes aside, I love the Combat Camera guys, bad captions or no. They're the ones who are documenting this war, since a lot of the MSM photographers, for many good reasons and some bad, are not. This is an example of one pic that came in the mail yesterday...
03/03/2009 - U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Jessica Gwillim, assigned to the 9th Provisional Security Forces, repaints a wheel on an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle System on Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, March 3, 2009. Camp Lemonier is the hub of Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa. (DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Joe Zuccaro, U.S. Air Force/Released)
Well, from the uniform, she *is* a Marine. I'll take their word on it that it's Camp Lemonier, Djibouti.
But this isn't a M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (which would be odd to have a Marine painting, frankly, since they don't use any of 'em), it's a US M3 105mm howitzer used by the Cannon Companies of WWII infantry regiments.
But let's test ourselves - what's the gun in the background?
Who do they think they're kidding with THAT caption? Holy cow. I'm not very good at identifying military vehicles or weapons, but even I know there's no way that could be a Bradley! sheesh.
But Marine wimmin are tough like that. Of course, I remember when I first ran into womyn who exercise their right to chew... she was an Oklahoma Cowgurl in Lawton, who could spit with the best of 'em. Heh. 2LT McConchie tried to get me to chew. I did it exactly once. Clearly, I didn't get the attraction.
Be careful what you wish for...
As a young recruit in boot camp, our platoon was readying for our force march up Mt. MoFo at Camp Pendleton when the Senior DI strutted up.
He asked my squad leader if he chewed, and Pvt Butler responded; "Suh, noah suh! Thayut stuffs naastay!" (Butler was deep Southern).
I perked up at this exchange and secretly hoped the Senior would ask me if I wanted any chew.
The Senior then marched over to me and asked; "Ah, Goodwin, do you chew?"
I enthusiastically replied; "Sir, yes sir!"
"Open up!" He ordered, and pulled out a small pinch of leaf chew.
I, being a good Marine, obeyed orders, opened wide and the Senior stuffed in the tiny wad.
I was delighted, until....
The Senior roared, "I'd didn't tell you to close your mouth did I recruit?!"
He then proceeded to stuff the whole damned bag of chew into my mouth. I musta looked like a chipmunk after raiding a nut farm.
On the bright side, during that forced march, my mouth never once dried out.
On the dark side, I got hollered at (repeatedly, to the great and sadistic delight of my DIs ) for not requesting permission to spit....
Be careful of what you wish for....
And, yes, I could relate stories of BAMs who were tattooed, chewed tobacco and crushed beer cans on their heads in the E-Club... but that's for another day.
*putting on DoD captioneer hat*
A Stryker.
Those spoked wheels look OLD, I'm with John(NTA) on this one.
That was some years ago, when I learned the photogs google themselves (waves at SSG Mancini and SSG Barnhart).
"A Stryker"
LMFAO
Someone changed the caption at some point in time.
And the DVIDs caption is still wrong. The M2-series guns are the classic 105mm howitzers that served from WWII through at least the 80s (in Alaska, where they worked better than the newer 105s), and the Canadians and other forces still use them.
That's an M3, sho' nuff!
And the DVIDs caption is still wrong. -- JoA
Merely a misinterpretation. The captioneer obviously sought out the resident artillerist and asked him what the gun was. He glanced at the pic and said, "M2. Ehhhh, 3."
Kevin: spittin is for amateurs (unless we're talking some good barn-dried twist, in which case ya need to work up a good first spit just to get the thing jump started).
Red Man Golden, all the way, all the day.
Nasty habit.
8^ D
"Red Man Golden, all the way, all the day"
Been there, done that, found much better. Stokers. Far, far better and much less expensive in the long run, it's just not as easily found.
But then, I'm an eevuul tobacconist and have access to such delicacies.
so we settled it the democratic way. Sqdn XO mandated single flavor TOC. that way, someone always had a pack to bum. ammo cans full of the stuff. always straw down on the floor, and a designated spit corner (funny how that always ended up by the intel M577)...
Do I get the photographers job now?
But, for all I know the pic is actually taken outside one of the Btn HQs in the 11 Mar area of Camp Pendleton. Never was a gun bunnie so never wandered around that particular part of the base.
As to tobacco, Day's Work plug is the way to go. Small, denser packaging so less hassle to carry enough to last. It's not prone to being ruined if it gets a bit damp like ciggies. Don't light you up at night like cigs either. Never was a fan of loose leaf chaw. The chaw was alright, but the packaging as loose leaf was a lot of wasted space. Besides, the molasses used as a binder in the plug was a nice lil bit of energy boost on a long hump.
Now she is qualified to do maintenance on Bradley's.
Also since they are Army only, some Joint Service time too.
Find them all to be... icky.
But, don't support banning 'em, except in a private property sense. I.e., you ain't smoking in my house or vehicle. And I'd rather you didn't dip or chew inside, either.
An office full of dipper's n' spitters is just nasty in a different, more avoidable sense than an office of smokers.
I have some libertarian leanings, particularly in the sense that I am loathe to ban, well, practically anything.
Having grown up seeing the aftereffects of both smoked AND smokeless tobacco in my father's patients, though, I really wish there were some way to convince people to just give it up, PARTICULARLY military personnel...I mean they've got enough dangers already without dying or being maimed by head, neck, and lung cancer.
My crazy libertarian-influenced idea is that maybe possessing and smoking/chewing tobacco should be perfectly legal (because you have the right to harm yourself if that's what you really want), but selling tobacco commercially should be banned for the same reason (consumer protection) that we ban all other completely unsafe products. If you want to grow and roll your own tobacco, that's your problem. But you can't sell liquor cut with methanol, so why can you sell tobacco?