02/28/2009 - U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jared Tomberlin (left) and an interpreter provide security on top of a mountain ridge during a reconnaissance mission near Forward Operating Base Lane in the Zabul province of Afghanistan on Feb. 28, 2009. Tomberlin is assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Mancini, U.S. Army. (Released)
Next, "Bang! Bang! I got you!" I remember some days early in my career where training similar to this (we did at least have weapons, if no blanks) was something of a norm. It takes some real small unit leadership (of course, in this case, a pending deadly work environment after training is concluded helps) to keep people focused on the task.
02/25/2009 - Iraqi soldiers with the 26th Brigade practice room-clearing techniques at Zubayr Road in Basra, Iraq, Feb. 25, 2009, during training with U.S. Marines from the 26th Brigade Military Transition Team. (DoD photo by Spc. Karah Cohen, U.S. Army/Released)
And how many among us have been this troop, on foot on the dusty road, either patrolling like this troop, or ground-guiding?
02/27/2009 - U.S. Army Spc. Lonnie Kirk, from 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, attached to 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, patrols between Iraqi army checkpoints in the village of Tawilla in the Diyala province of Iraq Feb. 27, 2009. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Walter J. Pels, U.S. Navy/Released)
I really like mountainous desert. It's like the bones of the earth are exposed, and you can read the history of the planet as you move through the area.
03/02/2009 - U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Demetreus Perez, left, and Spc. Jackie Greenlee, a medic, look out over mountains following a mission near Forward Operating Base Lane in the Zabul province of Afghanistan March 2, 2009. Both Soldiers are from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Mancini, U.S. Army/Released)
First up, SSG Mancini and the eminently photogenic 1LT Tomberlin and his interpreter.
33 Comments
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Those are stealth weapons.
durn that Castle Echo!
Too bad we can't win real wars with "BANG BANG YOU'RE DEAD!" Clinton-era ammo.
That would have been the Carter and very early Reagan years, when the budget upticks started by Carter and accelerated by Reagan finally started bearing fruit.
Especially not if you have to trust an AR to actually get the thing out of the barrel.
And I don't have that objection.
Nor do about 80% of the users, last I saw the numbers.
Actually, I was referring to some other current and former military friends of mine who told me about their own "bang bang" stories under Clinton. One is in Iraq now, after leaving the Marines and re-joining the Army, and the others are former Marines.
; ^ )
John (the Armorer) -- there's a *reason* we called the original M-16 "Jammin' Jimmy"...
Sis -- I will point out that, while John was still trying to figure out which way the colors on the National Defense Ribbon were s'posed to run, three helicopters I was qualified in had already been removed from the inventory after being declared obsolete...
And the squad of gang bangers, nobody has a pot on their head, including the two guys with painters hats in front. They train without helmets? Or they don't have helmets? Or maybe they're just going in to fix up the place.
That would have gotten you relieved in my Army. Things have changed. I won't say for good or worse, just, things have changed.
Bill - I remember you bitching about how stretchy the bow strings were when you first got issued bows, too...
So, color me unimpressed on *that* issue.
I know. General officers told me so.
You're easily confused, you know that? And for Zoomie-larva, you have lots of ground warfare opinions, too.
Yeah, I just don't "get" some of these things, apparently.
*scribbles notes* Disciplined...Professional...Unit...
And for Zoomie-larva, you have lots of ground warfare opinions, too.
I have lots of opinions on EVERYTHING.
pic 2: that's no weapon drill, that's just a "walk-through"
pic 3: that's no Stryker, that's just a SPC about to be griping about having to hoof it.
pic 4: "look out over mountains"??? what the hell else are they gonna see in any given direction??
I saw tucks once. We were marching past a motor pool, on an Army base.
'Tis not DLSly. She only hoarrrrrdes nnns.
Oh noos. Must be a conspiracy. What starts with r and ends with n that conspirators would be interested in conspiring about?
Maybe they're hoarding while preparing to go hording?
They're really pretty when you're flying over them in your air-conditioned cockpit at 400 KIAS. Especially those rolling hills with their verdant plains. Serious deficiency of FBOs, though.
I saw t(r)ucks once. We were marching past a motor pool, on an Army base.
And what did we learn from this kids? Don't be a light infantryman.
You mean you can't just land in a restaurant parking lot and walk inside?
*don't try that trick at home, kids -- especially if you haven't taped over your buzz-number*
Well sure, if they've got a decent-sized parking lot it's pretty easy, but what about fuel? Good luck finding anything that will substitute for avgas outside of a racetrack. If you've got a turbine you could probably get away with road diesel...hell, a turbine should burn pretty much any liquid hydrocarbon in a pinch, but I wouldn't wanna try it.