NationStates Jolt Archive

Makes my day. Recovered a peice of gov't property, got some bad guys, and cleaned up some bad ends.

Possibly they got the so called "Juba" sniper? The m40 isn't the easiest thing to use accurately, and it would take someone with better skills that your run of the mill arabic insurgent.


CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (June 20, 2006) -- Scout snipers from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment killed an enemy sniper and recovered a Marine sniper rifle lost nearly two years ago during a mission near Habbaniyah June 16.

The rifle was the one formerly used by four Marines of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment who were killed on a rooftop in Ramadi June 21, 2004.

Sniper Section Four was in a hide when the spotter observed a military-aged male inside a nearby parked car videotaping a passing patrol of amphibious assault vehicles. The Marines saw a rifle stock by the insurgent’s side.

“We were in the right place at the right time,” said Sgt. Kevin Homestead an infantryman from K Company serving as a spotter for the sniper team that day.

They first radioed the passing Marines and told them they were being watched by an enemy sniper and to stay low. The insurgent then sealed his own fate by preparing the weapon. The 21-year-old Marine sniper, who declined to be interviewed – aimed in at the gunman’s head behind the rear-side window.

He recited a mantra in his head. Breathe, relax, aim, squeeze, surprise.

The enemy sniper died with the gun in his lap.

They dialed K Company – or Samurai 6 – and reported the target was dead.

“We then saw another military-aged male ... enter the passenger side door,” said Homestead, 26, from Ontario, Ore. “He was surprised to see the other shooter was killed.”

The second insurgent scurried around the car and jumped in the driver’s seat.

With the sniper now spotting for him, Homestead aimed in with his M-4 carbine and put three bullets in the driver before he could start the car.

A squad of K Company Marines came to the position and saw the sniper dead and the driver shot three times. The driver died as soon as the squad arrived on scene.

They pulled out the sniper rifle and immediately recognized that it was an M-40A1, the same used by the snipers of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment in 2004.

The trunk of the car contained a pistol, a hand grenade, dozens of 7.62 mm rounds, multiple license plates and several camcorder tapes.

“When we saw the scope and stock, we knew what it was,” Homestead said.

The rifle was missing for nearly two years – almost to the day. Marines believed the insurgent they killed, or those closely associated with him, had it all along. It is unknown how many times it was used against U.S. and Iraqi forces.

“He was a very good sniper,” Homestead said. “But he got cocky and slipped up and it was our time to catch that.”

The weapon came full circle, having originally belonged to the Darkhorse battalion in Operation Iraqi Freedom I, who turned it over to the “Magnificent Bastards” of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. Coincidentally, a Darkhorse sniper killed the insurgent sniper, and a former Magnificent Bastard killed the spotter.

Darkhorse battalion had been dealing with sporadic sniper attacks since arriving in Iraq in January. Now, Marines have one less sniper to worry about.

“It’s very rewarding to take them out the way we did,” said Lt. Col. Patrick G. Looney, the battalion commander. “Doubly rewarding that it’s a 2/4 sniper rifle, even though it won’t bring back the four Marines who were killed that day.”

Triple rewarding that it won’t be used on another Marine or soldier, he added.

“The credit has to go to Sgt. Homestead and the Sniper Section leader who made the kill,” said 1st Lt. J. H. Cusack, Sniper Platoon commander. “It was more than being in the right place at the right time.

“It was the culmination of all of the training and planning the section leader had done up until that moment,” Cusak added. “Being absolutely alert and focused to detect a small clue during a period of apparent inactivity and a perfectly executed shot.”

Darkhorse snipers have since removed the powder and primer from the last 7.62 mm round chambered in the recaptured rifle. They will mount it on a plaque and present it to the Magnificent Bastards’ snipers to honor their lost Marines.

Looney said the ability to give some retribution for their loss makes the day a “grand-slam home run for sniper ops.” He credited the snipers’ professionalism and attitude in accomplishing the mission throughout their area of operations.

“I would say that the guys who shot are typical of the Darkhorse snipers,” said Looney, 43, from Oceanside, Calif. “They’re very proficient, very modest, very busy. They’re out there almost daily doing great things in this AO and our old AO. The fact that they’re taking a back seat and letting the battalion reap the benefits is typical of the kind of Marines they are.”

The 21-year-old Marine sniper, who declined to be interviewed – aimed in at the gunman’s head behind the rear-side window.

He recited a mantra in his head. Breathe, relax, aim, squeeze, surprise.


I thought he declined to be interviewed?

I thought he declined to be interviewed?
Pwned. Batuni FTW.

I thought he declined to be interviewed?

Interviewed by the press. They probably got the details from his superiors, whom he is required to tell.

link?

So many military guys on NSG were saying that juba wasnt even real, although my friend who is a marine said that his guys thought that it was several snipers.

meh. This is why you should always label your weapons, people.

Liasia']meh. This is why you should always label your weapons, people.
If found, please return this sniper rifle to......

I thought he declined to be interviewed?

Reports. Superiors. Fellow jarheads.

http://192.156.19.109/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0B6A3EED77FE183A852571950026A180?opendocument

http://192.156.19.109/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/5393A7B7E1870EBA852571950029A794?opendocument

If found, please return this sniper rifle to......

It would be hard to guess that the rifle came from anyone else but uncle sugar. Even a dumb kid would recognize that an M16 is uniquely american....

Reports. Superiors. Fellow jarheads.
His thoughts :eek:

Liasia']His thoughts :eek:


?

:confused:

?

:confused:
sorry, ive just been reading dreamcatcher by stephen kind. Lots of telepathy in that.

Juba was still alive? Holy Shit, that guy was better than I thought.

Anyways, I would prefer his kind to that of the people who think blowing up markets is a good idea, as far as insurgents are concerned.

Still: Live by the gun, die by the gun.

Liasia']sorry, ive just been reading dreamcatcher by stephen kind. Lots of telepathy in that.


:D

Juba was still alive? Holy Shit, that guy was better than I thought.

Anyways, I would prefer his kind to that of the people who think blowing up markets is a good idea, as far as insurgents are concerned.

Still: Live by the gun, die by the gun.

It was just my speculation. No telling if it was the so-called "Juba" sniper or not, it WAS however the guy who had ambushed and killed four marines. He got his just deserts in a fraction of a second.


I know the last thing that went through his mind, and it wasn't his kids, or his wife, or his goat.



A bullet ;)

Reports. Superiors. Fellow jarheads.

http://192.156.19.109/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0B6A3EED77FE183A852571950026A180?opendocument

http://192.156.19.109/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/5393A7B7E1870EBA852571950029A794?opendocument



It would be hard to guess that the rifle came from anyone else but uncle sugar. Even a dumb kid would recognize that an M16 is uniquely american....


Why do those links have an IP addy instead of a domain name?

when you go to http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/news and search for "Darkhorse snipers kill insurgent sniper" there are no documents found.

I also notice that on the site you link to... when you hover over the menu headers, it is different than on the www.usmc.mil site.

Suspicious.

Suspicious.
I couldn't be bothered waiting for the bogus website to finish loading after the first two minutes. And I'm on broadband.

ok nvrmnd its on the actual site here: http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0B6A3EED77FE183A852571950026A180?opendocument

that's just wierd how it seemed like a spoof site

I know the last thing that went through his mind, and it wasn't his kids, or his wife, or his goat.
Nothing like gloating, hey. :rolleyes:

You know, this guy was a fair-play soldier. He presumably didn't shoot random people, he engaged soldiers in combat and shot them fair and square. You of all people should know that that is quite okay in warfare. A bit of respect is in order, don't you think?

As for goats...what the fuck, dude. What is someone to do with a goat in a city of millions of people? When they want milk, they go to the supermarket, when they want meat, they go there as well. You need to sign up and go there ASAP so you learn a bit about that country.

Nothing like gloating, hey. :rolleyes:

You know, this guy was a fair-play soldier. He presumably didn't shoot random people, he engaged soldiers in combat and shot them fair and square. You of all people should know that that is quite okay in warfare. A bit of respect is in order, don't you think?

As for goats...what the fuck, dude. What is someone to do with a goat in a city of millions of people? When they want milk, they go to the supermarket, when they want meat, they go there as well. You need to sign up and go there ASAP so you learn a bit about that country.

He has my respect for being able to evade death and capture for the time he's been there, that's it. We don't know if he did sniped at americans as a full time or part time job, or if any of his other occupations involved bombing civis.

Eitherway, he is a scumbag and it's good he's gone.

Goats are everywhere over there. Could have said camel, but in a city not many will use a camel, and most city dwellers aren't Bedouins. Or Dog, but to muslims dogs are 'unclean' just like pigs are 'unclean' to jews.

Nothing like gloating, hey. :rolleyes:

You know, this guy was a fair-play soldier. He presumably didn't shoot random people, he engaged soldiers in combat and shot them fair and square. You of all people should know that that is quite okay in warfare. A bit of respect is in order, don't you think?

As for goats...what the fuck, dude. What is someone to do with a goat in a city of millions of people? When they want milk, they go to the supermarket, when they want meat, they go there as well. You need to sign up and go there ASAP so you learn a bit about that country.

HAHA supermarkets in Iraq???? WTF are you thinking, there is practically as manyt stray dogs, camels, and goats as there are people. If they want meat, they either kill there goat, or go to the small marketplace (and chance getting bombed)
Learn a little about what you are saying BEFORE you tell someone else they dont know what they are talkin about. :headbang:

And hats off to the US servicemen around the globe,.

Goats are everywhere over there.
Funny, when I try and look for a picture of Iraq and Goats using Google Image Search, all I find is pictures of farmers and rural areas. When I enter a search for Baghdad, I find cars.
But maybe the guy was really a farmer. Who knows.

What I resent is your implication that Iraq is an underdeveloped third world country, populated with dimwits and village idiots. It might be right now, thanks to the failure to reconstruct the place, but it wasn't before the war.

HAHA supermarkets in Iraq????
I agree that supermarkets may have been pushing it a little. Corner shop a better word? Independent Grocery Businesses perhaps?

WTF are you thinking, there is practically as manyt stray dogs, camels, and goats as there are people. If they want meat, they either kill there goat, or go to the small marketplace (and chance getting bombed)
Dude, most people in a metropolis like Baghdad do not own goats, although they obviously do in rural areas outside the city. There is no room for camels either (although apparently some escaped (http://www.usma.edu/PublicAffairs/PV/031212/RebuildIraq1.jpg) from the Baghdad Zoo). Stray dogs, yes, but they're not kept as pets, nor as food.
When people need meat, they go to a (wait for it...) butcher (http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/iraq/2003-04-20-iraq-economy_x.htm)!

Learn a little about what you are saying BEFORE you tell someone else they dont know what they are talkin about. :headbang:
He's essentially telling me that Baghdad is not a city, but some sort of giant slum made of tin houses and mud in which dirty Arabs role around in camel dung while fantasising about their numerous goats.
No city can be like that and have almost six million inhabitants. The war destroyed a lot of the infrastructure and it hasn't been rebuilt yet, but the image you people seem to have is ridiculous.

As for goats...what the fuck, dude. What is someone to do with a goat in a city of millions of people? When they want milk, they go to the supermarket, when they want meat, they go there as well. You need to sign up and go there ASAP so you learn a bit about that country.

Nah, I've seen goats in cities of millions of people in the Philippines, where milk is ridiculously expensive, etc. Iraq is probably a a good deal poorer, so I'd expect to see some livestock in urban areas.

Well, you did not mention you were talking about Baghdad, however most of Iraq is third world, many people own goats, much of the population IS uneducated, most people do not own cars, aside form parts of Baghdad, Iraq is essentially a shithole, my friend showed me pics from when he was in Iraq with the 82nd ABN, he was in parts of Ramadi, and as I said, most people have goats, few people have cars, and it is very similar to the rest of Iraq, and google is probably not the best source to use for this.

and google is probably not the best source to use for this.
It is essentially a search engine to find many more of the pictures like the ones your mate showed you.

My personal source for info about life there is primarily this blog: http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Baghdad is very unsimilar to other parts of Iraq, certain parts of Baghdad are built up because of the presence of government facilities, and foregners.

Baghdad is very unsimilar to other parts of Iraq, certain parts of Baghdad are built up because of the presence of government facilities, and foregners.
And not because it was one of the major metropoli in the Middle East, and because six million people live there and because the standard of living in Iraq was actually fairly decent compared to its neighbours, at least before the sanctions?

And not because it was one of the major metropoli in the Middle East, and because six million people live there and because the standard of living in Iraq was actually fairly decent compared to its neighbours, at least before the sanctions?


Simply put, No.

Simply put, No.
Go ahead then, make your case. I don't want "simply put", I want an argument.

EDIT: I think I'll add this entry from the aforementioned blog:
The Promise and the Threat
The Myth: Iraqis, prior to occupation, lived in little beige tents set up on the sides of little dirt roads all over Baghdad. The men and boys would ride to school on their camels, donkeys and goats. These schools were larger versions of the home units and for every 100 students, there was one turban-wearing teacher who taught the boys rudimentary math (to count the flock) and reading. Girls and women sat at home, in black burkas, making bread and taking care of 10-12 children.

The Truth: Iraqis lived in houses with running water and electricity. Thousands of them own computers. Millions own VCRs and VCDs. Iraq has sophisticated bridges, recreational centers, clubs, restaurants, shops, universities, schools, etc. Iraqis love fast cars (especially German cars) and the Tigris is full of little motor boats that are used for everything from fishing to water-skiing.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that most people choose to ignore the little prefix ‘re’ in the words ‘rebuild’ and ‘reconstruct’. For your information, ‘re’ is of Latin origin and generally means ‘again’ or ‘anew’.

In other words- there was something there in the first place. We have hundreds of bridges. We have one of the most sophisticated network of highways in the region: you can get from Busrah, in the south, to Mosul, in the north, without once having to travel upon those little, dusty, dirt roads they show you on Fox News. We had a communications system so advanced, it took the Coalition of the Willing 3 rounds of bombing, on 3 separate nights, to damage the Ma’moun Communications Tower and silence our telephones.

Yesterday, I read how it was going to take up to $90 billion to rebuild Iraq. Bremer was shooting out numbers about how much it was going to cost to replace buildings and bridges and electricity, etc.

Listen to this little anecdote. One of my cousins works in a prominent engineering company in Baghdad- we’ll call the company H. This company is well-known for designing and building bridges all over Iraq. My cousin, a structural engineer, is a bridge freak. He spends hours talking about pillars and trusses and steel structures to anyone who’ll listen.

As May was drawing to a close, his manager told him that someone from the CPA wanted the company to estimate the building costs of replacing the New Diyala Bridge on the South East end of Baghdad. He got his team together, they went out and assessed the damage, decided it wasn’t too extensive, but it would be costly. They did the necessary tests and analyses (mumblings about soil composition and water depth, expansion joints and girders) and came up with a number they tentatively put forward- $300,000. This included new plans and designs, raw materials (quite cheap in Iraq), labor, contractors, travel expenses, etc.

Let’s pretend my cousin is a dolt. Let’s pretend he hasn’t been working with bridges for over 17 years. Let’s pretend he didn’t work on replacing at least 20 of the 133 bridges damaged during the first Gulf War. Let’s pretend he’s wrong and the cost of rebuilding this bridge is four times the number they estimated- let’s pretend it will actually cost $1,200,000. Let’s just use our imagination.

A week later, the New Diyala Bridge contract was given to an American company. This particular company estimated the cost of rebuilding the bridge would be around- brace yourselves- $50,000,000 !!

Something you should know about Iraq: we have over 130,000 engineers. More than half of these engineers are structural engineers and architects. Thousands of them were trained outside of Iraq in Germany, Japan, America, Britain and other countries. Thousands of others worked with some of the foreign companies that built various bridges, buildings and highways in Iraq. The majority of them are more than proficient- some of them are brilliant.

Iraqi engineers had to rebuild Iraq after the first Gulf War in 1991 when the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ was composed of over 30 countries actively participating in bombing Baghdad beyond recognition. They had to cope with rebuilding bridges and buildings that were originally built by foreign companies, they had to get around a lack of raw materials that we used to import from abroad, they had to work around a vicious blockade designed to damage whatever infrastructure was left after the war… they truly had to rebuild Iraq. And everything had to be made sturdy, because, well, we were always under the threat of war.

Over a hundred of the 133 bridges were rebuilt, hundreds of buildings and factories were replaced, communications towers were rebuilt, new bridges were added, electrical power grids were replaced… things were functioning. Everything wasn’t perfect- but we were working on it.

And Iraqis aren’t easy to please. Buildings cannot just be made functionary. They have to have artistic touches- a carved pillar, an intricately designed dome, something unique… not necessarily classy or subtle, but different. You can see it all over Baghdad- fashionable homes with plate glass windows, next to classic old ‘Baghdadi’ buildings, gaudy restaurants standing next to classy little cafes… mosques with domes so colorful and detailed they look like glamorous Faberge eggs… all done by Iraqis.

My favorite reconstruction project was the Mu’alaq Bridge over the Tigris. It is a suspended bridge that was designed and built by a British company. In 1991 it was bombed and everyone just about gave up on ever being able to cross it again. By 1994, it was up again, exactly as it was- without British companies, with Iraqi expertise. One of the art schools decided that although it wasn’t the most sophisticated bridge in the world, it was going to be the most glamorous. On the day it was opened to the public, it was covered with hundreds of painted flowers in the most outrageous colors- all over the pillars, the bridge itself, the walkways along the sides of the bridge. People came from all over Baghdad just to stand upon it and look down into the Tigris.

So instead of bringing in thousands of foreign companies that are going to want billions of dollars, why aren’t the Iraqi engineers, electricians and laborers being taken advantage of? Thousands of people who have no work would love to be able to rebuild Iraq… no one is being given a chance.

The reconstruction of Iraq is held above our heads like a promise and a threat. People roll their eyes at reconstruction because they know (Iraqis are wily) that these dubious reconstruction projects are going to plunge the country into a national debt only comparable to that of America. A few already rich contractors are going to get richer, Iraqi workers are going to be given a pittance and the unemployed Iraqi public can stand on the sidelines and look at the glamorous buildings being built by foreign companies.

I always say this war is about oil. It is. But it is also about huge corporations that are going to make billions off of reconstructing what was damaged during this war. Can you say Haliburton? (Which, by the way, got the very first contracts to replace the damaged oil infrastructure and put out ‘oil fires’ way back in April).

Well, of course it’s going to take uncountable billions to rebuild Iraq, Mr. Bremer, if the contracts are all given to foreign companies! Or perhaps the numbers are this frightening because Ahmad Al-Chalabi is the one doing the books- he *is* the math expert, after all.

we seem to be talking about Baghdad in two different periods, I am talking about after the regime change, your are talking about when Sadaam was still massacering his citizens, Parts of BAghdad have always been pleasent, not all of it has, as I said before, the rest of Iraq is nothing like Baghad, you mean to tell me that Iraq had a higher standard of living that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, i think not. Show me some proof and I will believe you, but until then....

Well, you did not mention you were talking about Baghdad, however most of Iraq is third world, many people own goats, much of the population IS uneducated, most people do not own cars, aside form parts of Baghdad, Iraq is essentially a shithole, my friend showed me pics from when he was in Iraq with the 82nd ABN, he was in parts of Ramadi, and as I said, most people have goats, few people have cars, and it is very similar to the rest of Iraq, and google is probably not the best source to use for this.

Iraq is a shining beacon of technological prowwess and economic might compared to North korea.

we seem to be talking about Baghdad in two different periods, I am talking about after the regime change, your are talking about when Sadaam was still massacering his citizens, Parts of BAghdad have always been pleasent, not all of it has, as I said before, the rest of Iraq is nothing like Baghad, you mean to tell me that Iraq had a higher standard of living that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, i think not. Show me some proof and I will believe you, but until then....
Well, firstly, post-war doesn't matter. We're talking about this particular sniper, and unless he is three years old, he will have spent the majority of his life in "peaceful" Saddam Iraq.

As for standard of living, Israel is out. Israel is a first-world country that has received billions in aid and donations, all sorts of Western expertise and so on. It can't be compared. Nor is it a neighbour of Iraq.

Saudi Arabia's GDP per capita is grossly biased because of the oil wealth, that only benefits a small proportion of the population.

Here are some figures: http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/economics-business/variable-638.html
You'll notice that the Iraqi GDP per capita before Desert Storm was quite a bit higher than for example in Egypt, Syria or Jordan.

Iraq is a shining beacon of technological prowwess and economic might compared to North korea.

Yeah, but I think just about anyone is.

To give you guys a better idea of what Iraqi cities look like, here's a few pics I took out of the back of a Shithook when I was in Ramadi in '03 with the 3d ACR.

Pic 1 (http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a353/tuebor/overheadcity.jpg)

Pic 2 (http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a353/tuebor/Iraqihomes.jpg)

To give you guys a better idea of what Iraqi cities look like, here's a few pics I took out of the back of a Shithook when I was in Ramadi in '03 with the 3d ACR.
And, did everyone own a goat and a camel?

Shithooks, gotta love the fact that the its made out of alluminum, whenever I had to ride in one in Afghanistan, I couldnt keep the thought of a bullet going up my ass outta my mind.

Yeah, but I think just about anyone is.

To give you guys a better idea of what Iraqi cities look like, here's a few pics I took out of the back of a Shithook when I was in Ramadi in '03 with the 3d ACR.

Pic 1 (http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a353/tuebor/overheadcity.jpg)

Pic 2 (http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a353/tuebor/Iraqihomes.jpg)

Surprisingly nicer than a lot of places I've been.. :p

And, did everyone own a goat and a camel?

Certainly not. Camels were actually rather scarce in that part of the country, and sheep were the preferred livestock. However, most of the sheep were kept by people right on the edge of the city. The people who actually lived in Ramadi didn't tend to keep animals, except for the occaisional goat or sheep or something. Certainly not a high enough rate of ownership to make me think "Damn, they sure like their goats, don't they?"

Shithooks, gotta love the fact that the its made out of alluminum, whenever I had to ride in one in Afghanistan, I couldnt keep the thought of a bullet going up my ass outta my mind.

Yeah, I hate the damned things too. Luckily for me the only fire we took while I was riding in one was small arms fire, and a whole single round managed to actually hit the helicopter. I don't know where on the bird, but nowhere near anyone. But then, I wasn't in them much, I was usually on the ground.

Certainly not. Camels were actually rather scarce in that part of the country, and sheep were the preferred livestock. However, most of the sheep were kept by people right on the edge of the city. The people who actually lived in Ramadi didn't tend to keep animals, except for the occaisional goat or sheep or something. Certainly not a high enough rate of ownership to make me think "Damn, they sure like their goats, don't they?"
Thank you. You just settled an argument that could've carried on for a week or two. :D

Certainly not. Camels were actually rather scarce in that part of the country, and sheep were the preferred livestock. However, most of the sheep were kept by people right on the edge of the city. The people who actually lived in Ramadi didn't tend to keep animals, except for the occaisional goat or sheep or something. Certainly not a high enough rate of ownership to make me think "Damn, they sure like their goats, don't they?"



Yeah, I hate the damned things too. Luckily for me the only fire we took while I was riding in one was small arms fire, and a whole single round managed to actually hit the helicopter. I don't know where on the bird, but nowhere near anyone. But then, I wasn't in them much, I was usually on the ground.


Yeah, we took fire in one once, on an air assault mission, buddy of mine found a round in his pack when it was all over, hehe, never let em live that one down, when we got back to camp, the pilots were swearin about all the holes in their bird.

Thank you. You just settled an argument that could've carried on for a week or two. :D

To be fair, perhaps Long Beach Island's friend was a very urban type who thought that seeing 2 or 3 goats occaisionally meant that everyone had a goat.

Oh, and as for car ownership, while most people don't have them, a rather fair amount of them do. When we would do traffic checkpoints on a minor road in Ramadi we'd sometimes only search every 4th or 5th car due to the sheer volume of traffic. Eventually we cut down drastically on the day searches and focused almost entirely on night searches where there was less traffic, and the traffic was more likely to be of a less than friendly purpose.

Yeah, we took fire in one once, on an air assault mission, buddy of mine found a round in his pack when it was all over, hehe, never let em live that one down, when we got back to camp, the pilots were swearin about all the holes in their bird.

Hehe, sounds kinda like a Lieutenant I knew whose vehicle caught an RPG (which didn't detonate, thankfully), an RPG hit right outside his window (again not detonating), and when he was in the Chapel one night it was hit by an RPG. We eventually started calling him an "RPG Magnet". But since the RPG's rarely detonated, we weren't sure if we wanted to be around him or far far away.

To be fair, perhaps Long Beach Island's friend was a very urban type who thought that seeing 2 or 3 goats occaisionally meant that everyone had a goat.

Ah well, as I said, my friends in the 82nd, we all know how much they like to blow things outta proportion, unlike the 172nd ABN.



Hehe, sounds kinda like a Lieutenant I knew whose vehicle caught an RPG (which didn't detonate, thankfully), an RPG hit right outside his window (again not detonating), and when he was in the Chapel one night it was hit by an RPG. We eventually started calling him an "RPG Magnet". But since the RPG's rarely detonated, we weren't sure if we wanted to be around him or far far away.

When we first got to theatre, my 2nd leuitenant had the runs for about 4 weeks, we called him Brownie, because whenever we went outta base, bring along extra pairs of underwear, and would have to change about 3 times a day. He eventually stopped changing though, realized that it would be better to have shitty pants, that get shot while you got your pants down.

Thank you. You just settled an argument that could've carried on for a week or two. :D

That's cause the are used not only as EOD equipment, but as cannon fodder. :eek:

Well, firstly, post-war doesn't matter. We're talking about this particular sniper, and unless he is three years old, he will have spent the majority of his life in "peaceful" Saddam Iraq.

As for standard of living, Israel is out. Israel is a first-world country that has received billions in aid and donations, all sorts of Western expertise and so on. It can't be compared. Nor is it a neighbour of Iraq.

Saudi Arabia's GDP per capita is grossly biased because of the oil wealth, that only benefits a small proportion of the population.

Here are some figures: http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/economics-business/variable-638.html
You'll notice that the Iraqi GDP per capita before Desert Storm was quite a bit higher than for example in Egypt, Syria or Jordan.

The particular sniper was either Saddam army, and thus semi-professionally trained, or he was just a lucky guy who got lucky on 4 marines who let their guard down and then took the biggest price, a sniper rifle. It's a toss up to which one.

Yeah, but I think just about anyone is.

To give you guys a better idea of what Iraqi cities look like, here's a few pics I took out of the back of a Shithook when I was in Ramadi in '03 with the 3d ACR.

Pic 1 (http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a353/tuebor/overheadcity.jpg)

Pic 2 (http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a353/tuebor/Iraqihomes.jpg)

Huh. Looks like most other places, really, except a slightly different colour.

I hadn't expected that.

The particular sniper was either Saddam army, and thus semi-professionally trained, or he was just a lucky guy who got lucky on 4 marines who let their guard down and then took the biggest price, a sniper rifle. It's a toss up to which one.
Or he could've been self-trained. Or perhaps he was one of the people trained by the CIA in the '70s.

EDIT: I think I'll add this entry from the aforementioned blog:
*Snip*

You are quite right, reconstruction costs are inflated. But the reasons are understandable. A foreign company will inevitably accept burdens which Iraqi companies will not face.

- Paying even the lowest grade staff a salary of £50k, rising to £100k for managerial / specialist ranks,
- Paying private military contractors even more for protection,
- "Consultancy" fees (bribes)
- Insurance - probably the most expensive in the world,
- Importing own heavy machinery,
- Importing own building materials,
- Etc

And all this before they demand a premium for commercial risk.

Another thing to bear in mind is, building contracts are paid for on a milestone basis, not at handover. Typically, you earn HALF the money on a job just by presenting the final design. You get more for setting up the site, more for digging holes and pouring the foundations, and so on. By the time you have an empty building, you have made 80-90% of the contract fee.

At this point, if the security situation deteriorates, you bail out, and depending on the terms of the contract (eg client guarantees site access), it is the construction company that is eligible for financial compensation as a result of an inability to complete the project, not the client.

The bottom line? The Iraqis get an empty shell of a building for 10 times what it would have cost them to follow the job through to completion themselves, the construction company got 80-90% of the payments and if it ran its finances competently, a 10% margin. And because the milestone payments are in large part reimbursements for materials bought for that stage, chances are the stuff required to finish the job is still in another country, not even bought.

This is how it works if the company is honest.

Halliburton is just a scam in comparison - you won't even get an unfinished building.

EDIT: Off-topic, yeah, but this discussion is a bit more intelligent than the sniper rumour story.

*Snip*

You are quite right, reconstruction costs are inflated. But the reasons are understandable. A foreign company will inevitably accept burdens which Iraqi companies will not face.

- Paying even the lowest grade staff a salary of £50k, rising to £100k for managerial / specialist ranks,
- Paying private military contractors even more for protection,
- "Consultancy" fees (bribes)
- Insurance - probably the most expensive in the world,
- Importing own heavy machinery,
- Importing own building materials,
- Etc

And all this before they demand a premium for commercial risk.

Another thing to bear in mind is, building contracts are paid for on a milestone basis, not at handover. Typically, you earn HALF the money on a job just by presenting the final design. You get more for setting up the site, more for digging holes and pouring the foundations, and so on. By the time you have an empty building, you have made 80-90% of the contract fee.

At this point, if the security situation deteriorates, you bail out, and depending on the terms of the contract (eg client guarantees site access), it is the construction company that is eligible for financial compensation as a result of an inability to complete the project, not the client.

The bottom line? The Iraqis get an empty shell of a building for 10 times what it would have cost them to follow the job through to completion themselves, the construction company got 80-90% of the payments and if it ran its finances competently, a 10% margin. And because the milestone payments are in large part reimbursements for materials bought for that stage, chances are the stuff required to finish the job is still in another country, not even bought.

This is how it works if the company is honest.

Halliburton is just a scam in comparison - you won't even get an unfinished building.

EDIT: Off-topic, yeah, but this discussion is a bit more intelligent than the sniper rumour story.

Giving a certain amount of the work to local companies would be good though. It would get more done for less, and also stimulate the Iraqi economy further and help them develop the skills they need to continue the rebuilding when the Coalition is gone.

Giving a certain amount of the work to local companies would be good though. It would get more done for less, and also stimulate the Iraqi economy further and help them develop the skills they need to continue the rebuilding when the Coalition is gone.
Yeah, but that's altruistic. Few companies participating in the "reconstruction" care about the official policy. Even when the Iraqi people see the robbery taking place and lend their support to the insurgency, they don't care. They are in it for the money, and their shareholders, few of whom cared about American policy success or failure when they made their investments.

Maybe they did indeed get 'Juba' - although I thought he used a Dragunov, not an M40.

Either way, he was a soldier killed in action. I wonder if he and his observer will get a war memorial...

Maybe they did indeed get 'Juba' - although I thought he used a Dragunov, not an M40.

Either way, he was a soldier killed in action. I wonder if he and his observer will get a war memorial...

Insurgents aren't soldiers. Only another tastey critter that tastes like chicken and is meant to be next to Mashed potatoes.

Probably the only 'memorial' I am betting he got was a piss on by several marines.

Probably the only 'memorial' I am betting he got was a piss on by several marines.
Sore losers that they are. :rolleyes:

Sore losers that they are. :rolleyes:

They lost?

Appears to me they...'made out' on the whole deal, whereas someone else....

They lost?
Four of them apparently did. And I remember a certain incident in Haditha where a few more of them did.
Taking losses is not their strong point, as seems to be discipline and respect for the enemy.

You: "But he wasn't an enemy, he was just some Arab raghead insurgent!"

Well, he was good enough to give them a fight.

Four of them apparently did. And I remember a certain incident in Haditha where a few more of them did.
Taking losses is not their strong point, as seems to be discipline and respect for the enemy.

You: "But he wasn't an enemy, he was just some Arab raghead insurgent!"

Well, he was good enough to give them a fight.

Yup, the four marines at Ramadih lost. This one sheet head happened to pick a losing battle, and it cost him and his spotter everything-revenge came flying along at the speed of sound. And yes, he was just another insurgent.

What happened at Haditha will be decided on by a jury of their peers-the truth will out. Due process.

The rifle was the one formerly used by four Marines of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment who were killed on a rooftop in Ramadi June 21, 2004.

Is it a small artillary piece or what?
Why do they need 4 men manning it?:confused:

Is it a small artillary piece or what?
Why do they need 4 men manning it?:confused:

2 snipers operating 2 M40s/2 spotters spotting

Or it could have been 1 sniper, 1 spotter, 1 radio guy, etc.

Not sure HOW they had it setup or what the makeup of a sniper squad is.

2 snipers operating 2 M40s/2 spotters spotting

Or it could have been 1 sniper, 1 spotter, 1 radio guy, etc.

Not sure HOW they had it setup or what the makeup of a sniper squad is.
OK.
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It might not be 'Juba' and the guy they did get might not have been the one tto kill those 4 Marines he might have gotten that gun by other means...

OK.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It might not be 'Juba' and the guy they did get might not have been the one tto kill those 4 Marines he might have gotten that gun by other means...

The weapon was traced via it's serial number. It WAS from those marines. Now if the original guy who killed the 4 Jarheads was the guy who got capped....nobody knows.