Afghanistan Sitrep Of Sorts

[Boats]

Just heard this morning that Rumsfeld has been charged with Crimes Against Humanity for the issues involved in the handling of the POW's we are holding. A German official is filing this in court for Rumsfeld to be tried in the Hage. Now that is strange.

This could have long reaching ramifications. I'm not sure that anything will come about from this statement that I heard this morning but it could present some interesting issues later on down the road.

[MARINEVET]

Yeah Boats...probably hang us out to dry on this issue...I mean the terrible manner in which we treat those "prisoners" down in GITMO...ya know...torturin'm with electrical shock, stretchin'm on the rack...gouging their eyeballs out with screwdrivers and "sawin'" their heads off with semi-dull knives while they're still alive...OH...WAIT...maybe I have that a little mixed up with regard to who's truly committing the horrible crimes against humanity...?!?!?!?!?!

Whaddah buncha crap!

Raining like hell here...cooled way down...dusty/sandy ground now a quagmire of mud...!

Semper Fi from the Sands (and Mud) of Kandahar,

[revwardoc]

Instead of Gitmo they shoulda put those ragheads in the nastiest state prisons in this country; like Rahway in NJ, Pelican Bay in CA, Cedar Junction in MA, etc. THEN they could complain about inhumane treatment...if they survived.

[colmurph]

Wayne, I'm abosutely flummoxed and flabbergasted that you hauled your ancient ass over there! What the heck got into you?
My kid is up in Balad with 5th SFG if you ever get up there. His name is Jim and he's the Group Chaplain. Maybe he can hear your last confession or something or smack some sense into that bald old head and send you home safe and in one piece. What's wrong with being the VA rep in Onslow County?.

Seriously. Keep your head low and take care old friend. I really wouldn't want to attend your funeral.

I was at a Veterans Day bash at the Union League in Philly on Friday the 10th and ate lunch with Pete Schoomaker. I used the time wisely to lobby Gen. Schoomaker to try to get my kid assigned as the Deputy Command Chaplain of USASOC after this (6th) tour. The USASOC Chaplain wants to send Jim to get a Masters in Ethics and then back up to a leg billet at West Point to teach Ethics to the Cadets and be a "Politically Correct" Chaplain to the Cadets, who will never utter the word "Jesus" in a non-denominational service. Jim wouldn't last a week in that atmosphere. He wants to stay with Special Forces and stay on Jump Status. The troops love him because he takes the same risks they do. (He's been known to go "Down Range" with them and he's been seen to carry a weapon to "Protect his boys".

Try to get up to meet him. He'd be pleased to meet you and I'd be happy too. I've told him about you and how we met on line.
He's got a lot of respect for "Old Time Marine Recon". I think he has even read the book that mentions you and "Finger" from your Vietnam days. I'm afraid I can't compare, the only claim to fame I have is that I still hold the "Land Speed Record" at Ft. Bragg. (127 in a 55 mph zone on a motorcycle).

[MARINEVET]

Ahhhhhh Murph me lad...wuz wonderin' when you'd come up on the net?!?!?!?!?!

Long story...wuz gonna PM ya, but maybe others would be interested in how this all came about.

You and some of the others open here may remember a couple/few years back when a young Army LTC named Al West got into some hot water because of his "interrogation techniques"...he cranked off a round from his service pistol near the head of an Iraqi detainee who Al suspected of having info critical to his battalion's mission. The Iraqi sang like the proverbial Magpie, and Al got all kinds of good intel out of him.

Sadly, another soldier (use of LC "s" intentional) ratted Al out and the Army went after him. The interesting twist to the issue was, however, that Al had been the Army Liaison Officer to II Marine Amphibious Force (II MEF) a couple years before, and was very well-liked/well-known to his many Marine "Brothers" in the Camp Lejeune, NC area. We came out of the woodworks in his defense to include contributing to a "defense fund" for him. As it turned out (and when the Army brass saw all kinds of Marines coming to Al's defense), he was "allowed to retire." I think I shared a lot of this with you and some others who'll read this, via EMail back when it was ongoing,.

Fast Forward to a year ago when Al went to work for the company we both now work for. He really lit these folks up over here in The 'Stan and was quickly promoted to become a Team Leader (of the team here in Kandahar). I had quit my County Job and was working for both Blackwater (in the UAE...some SOF/SOC gigs) and Texas A&M (TEEX/NERRTC) doing some WMD Exercises...was enjoying life...working when I felt like it.

Al and I were in touch via EMAIL...he sending regular SITREPs...and...I mentioned that I still got antsy, from time to time, to "get back into the game"...at which point, he made me an offer I simply couldn't refuse...to become his Corps Operations Mentor (Advisor) to the Commander of the 205th Afghan National Army (ANA) Corps...Southern AO...and...when a Buddy can use your help...welllllll...you and the others open here know how that goes....

And YES, MizMarlene thinks I'm more than a little nuttz too for coming over here but she knew right off that I'd tell Al YES.

IF you've read my other posts on this "tour," you know I am most distressed at the way this war is being fought! Just so unsat w/re to the senior leadership involvement...the NATO play (which is almost laughable)...really gets to me at times...! BUT, someone has to stick it out and give it a good try...might as well be me for as long as I can hang on...contract up end of June07.

As for your Son Jim...remember you telling me he was heading back over. He's the kind of Chaplain Troops love...out there with them...pulling the same load...the kind of Chaplain they want with them...etc. We had a Chaplain in 2/4, in '66-'67 (and who now lives in J-Ville...his wife and Marlene are best friends)...and ol' Chaplain Gene carried a 12ga with Flechettes...always believing in the Golden Rule...but do it to them, FIRST...!

SHOULD I get up that way, I'll try to locate Jim ahead of time...would love to meet him.

As for Finger...he's doing great working for Armor Group in Texas...the PM for their firearms/shooting programs. He'd love to hear from you.

Hope this finds YOU doing well. I-Net connectivity here is very fragile so I'm gonna try to attach another flick (can't remember which ones I've shared with folks so far)...get the whole thing out into the electron field before the Net crashes because of the heavy rains we're getting. This flick will be of our "Terps" (Interpreter)...some very brave young men who continue to receive death threats from the Talibs because they work for us.

Semper Fi from the Muddy Sands of Kandahar,

[mcgrunt]

Just read " Robert's Ridge" . Hell of a read. There must be Rangers and Recon all over those mountains.

[MARINEVET]

Sgt McGrunt:

Wish there were Rangers and Marine Recon running the hills, but sadly, that's NOT the case...!

There are some SF types in the hill country...also some SOF types from NATO/other Coalition Forces, but not nearly enough!

As I've said in previous posts, we just do NOT have enough folks with "the right stuff" over here. I continue to say, give us a U.S. Army Air Assault Div and a U.S. Marine Corps MEB and we'll bring the Talibs to their bloodied knees in less than a year. Oh yeah...and again...gotta give our Warriors the OK to chase Talibs into neighboring Pakistan. Working with these forces should be U.S. Army Rangers and Marine Recon...mannnnnnnn what a team that all would make.

Semper Fi from the Cold & Muddy Sands of Kandahar,

[Beau]

saw your Thanksgiving pics ... great spread ... 130 in the shade in summer, let me invoke "better you than me".

So what do we, those of us old timers who have no skills to Contract ... how do we "support" this whole thing when you say that in Afghanistan our side is not carrying the battle as it should be ... ?

Tony Blair stated that Iraq was a disaster (some massageing of his statements) and he said Afghanistan is critical ...

BUT I WOULD TAKE IT, that we don't have a sufficent number of Brit Commandos there ... or Australian, or New Zealand, nor Filipino, etc ... who is running this thing ? who is selling the importance of it ? do they want to keep this thing going forever ?

Garcia ... you know I'm serious when I aint Beau

[MARINEVET]

Garcia (as in serious):

Yeah...hot as hell in the summer...blood thins out...then within a two week period the temps drop like a stone...! Ice on the mud puddles (from the rain)...wearing insulated clothing...still COLD!

As for the "we"...in "we should be doing more"...can relate to both "we" Americans" and "we" Coalition Forces. Whatever the case WE SHOULD be doing MORE! We have very few U.S. forces in the 'Stan. As I've said before (and you'll continue to hear it) we need a U.S. Army Air Assault Div and a U.S. Marine Corps MEB...some Rangers and other SOF types...THAT is what we need. The NATO crew could go home or do what most are doing now...sit around in main camp sites or FOBs...eat chow...walk around with guns strapped on...not doing a friggin' thing! Sure, some of them are out and about, but not nearly enuff!

Lot of angles in Iraq in motion that are not (yet) happening here. Just need to kill the Talibs here...not a lot of sectarian infighting...etc. There are some tribal flails that will always go on, but nothing like Iraq. So...KILL Talibs...strong point patrol bases...move troops in/out via rotor-wing assets...hit'm...leave...drop back in unannounced...AIN'T HARD TO FIGGER OUT...NO ROCKET SCIENCE involved here Sports Fans...! Most of the folks you read about "supporting the Talibs" only do it because there are not enough security elements to vouch safe their existence SHOULD they tell the Talibs to buzz off...sound familar...???...it should because it's very similar to how the VC worked the "good" villagers in Beet-nam..."do what we say or we'll kill ya"..."give us your son to fight with us or we'll kill ya"...to son..."Fight with us or we'll kill your family"...etc., etc., etc.

Power is out over on Camp Shir Zai (our work area)...here in the hooch doing some work/working some EMails/Chking this site/etc.

Gotta get some work done.

Semper Fi from the Cold & Muddy Sands of Kandahar,

El Lobo Viejo Griz de Kandahar,

[Beau]

Originally posted by MARINEVET Garcia (as in serious):

NATO crew could go home or do what most are doing now...sit around in main camp sites or FOBs...eat chow...walk around with guns strapped on...not doing a friggin' thing! Sure, some of them are out and about, but not nearly enuff!

Well, I guess thats one way to have a stalemate ...

I think I'll stay home on this one ... sounds too much like milling around the old Oakland Army Depot waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.

On a personnal note ... I found out that my unca Gene has a red blood count level that is bordering on Leukemia (I guess thats how they categorize things ... ). He was on a Duster in Korea (piccie) and I don't mean Bitnam ... and another personal note, I did about 3.5 hours of cleaning up other peoples litter this morning along my bike/road ... "Todd" has a roadside memorial along that stretch ... but I will continue this thing on ... because ... SOMETHING ACTUALLY GETS DONE ! Litter was there ... now gone ... no talk ... no budget analysis ... no meetings ... no contracts ... SOMETHING GOT DONE and on the 7th day (Sunday) Garcia looked at his work and said it is good.

Garcia