Soldier's Diary/The Last 24 Hours In Iraq

[Jonathan_Ferguson]

That Holden Commodore is along way from home.

[PacToy]

Originally Posted by Jonathan_Ferguson

That Holden Commodore is along way from home.

I guess they call them Opels here. Pretty popular car too.

We have a bunch of IP sedans with these door stickers. LHD Lumina LS

[Noah]

I assume you are talking about the red thing in the forefront of the picture......looks like a good thing to make a bomb out of.......

fill it with explsoives and there you have it...

[brownbear]

there is something red on the rims....... ?? Looks like a valve stem.

[Campfire]

Originally Posted by PacToy

Today was mail call and we didn't get anything again. Well, we did get four boxes for two of the Marines and a couple of letters. We are going on our 3rd week of lack of mail. We don't know why either. Could be a lot of reasons but I haven't got your box yet. I am definitley looking forward to it. No worries as I really believe a lot of our mail is in theater for us. We are just so far away from everything and everybody it takes a little bit more time to get to us. Don't worry, it will get here even if we have to go get it ourselves.

Hey there Randy! Sorry about that, I guess paying extra for "First Class" didn't help. One is on it's way, and another is getting packed. Maybe one of those sniffer's picked up on the chew. It's got a few trinkets for those kids in it, you should have fun.

take care and keep dodge'em

[PacToy]

Originally Posted by brownbear

there is something red on the rims....... ?? Looks like a valve stem.

Good eye, brownbear. You got it.

[PacToy]

Originally Posted by Campfire

Hey there Randy! Sorry about that, I guess paying extra for "First Class" didn't help. One is on it's way, and another is getting packed. Maybe one of those sniffer's picked up on the chew. It's got a few trinkets for those kids in it, you should have fun.

take care and keep dodge'em

Hey Jeff,

No reason to be sorry. Heck, I/we are just glad to at least know something is on the way. Paying 1st Class does help getting boxes in theater. From that point on it is a hit or miss kind of thing. Just depends on how the convoys and air transports move from the time anything arrives in theater.

I don't think we have sniffers that are trained chew sniffers. I think that would be counter productive to the USMC if they did. About half the USMC chews.

Things for the kids are always welcomed. We always fill our pockets with candy and the like for the kids that come through this area. I would say most if not all wave and say hello to us. We could have a bad day as a whole but at the end of the day we always have good kid experiences to talk about.

Thanks for sending some packages , Jeff. We really appreciate it and are looking forward to receiving the packages.

[Noah]

so why are the red valve stems a "flag"....?

[brownbear]

Originally Posted by PacToy

Good eye, brownbear. You got it.

so what is it? I can't see the reason behind it.....

[PacToy]

Let me clarify as I didn't do a very good job of it in the previous post.

The valve stems are not read. They are normal.

The indicator is that there are red marks painted on the rims.

Why is this a flag/indicator? It is like flashing a gang sign back in the States. It tells the bad guys that "Hey, I'm a bad guy too".

Different colors means different things. Some colors even indicate that the car is a VBIED so the locals will stay clear of it.

[Noah]

Originally Posted by PacToy

Let me clarify as I didn't do a very good job of it in the previous post.

The valve stems are not read. They are normal.

The indicator is that there are red marks painted on the rims.

Why is this a flag/indicator? It is like flashing a gang sign back in the States. It tells the bad guys that "Hey, I'm a bad guy too".

Different colors means different things. Some colors even indicate that the car is a VBIED so the locals will stay clear of it.

did you shoot him and then ask him questions........sounds like the right thing to do...

[semlin]

in 1988 one of those things painted with leopard spots shadowed me at 4 o'clock for about 10 km after i stopped at a designated rest stop as i was driving the old bamburg/berlin corridor highway through east germany and took some photos of a wartburg parked there. made me feel like i was in a le carre novel.

[PacToy]

05-20-07

It has been a busy busy for us the last couple of days. With every chance I got to slow down for a second I would stop and check my email and mud. It is kind of like my personal pressure relief to come and see what family and friends have to say.

Two days ago we hired the Palestinian refugees to do some work around the area. They worked hard and did a pretty good job. They all came out in their best clothes and they looked pretty spruced up like it could have been their first day on the a new job back in the US.

Yesterday we did a crew served weapons shoot. It is basic Marine stuff but we do these shoots to stay sharp on our skills, make sure the weapons are functioning properly and to practice our EOF drills on vehicles. Over here the weapons and gunners will have to be ready in about 2 seconds to engage vehicles or all is lost in some cases. So we train and train and then train some more. The fun part of this shoot is we got to shoot working, never been shot before trucks. We would liked to have had moving target trucks but I think that would have been difficult to find drivers for, eh! Either way, we shot them full of holes and our skills are still sharp.

After the shoot and weapons maintenance we had a BBQ American style for the Iraqis we work with. After we got everything set up and ready to go for our guests arrival, we played some football and softball amongst ourselves and the terps while a MP3 played music and the BBQ smoke drifted around us. It all brought back the good memories of being back home.

Back in the saddle today. We had Warning Orders and Op Orders with gear and equipment inspections. We are heading out tomorrow for the newest up armor to be installed on our last remaining HMMWVs that are without the latest and greatest. Then after the install we are taking the same vics (vehicles) into some of the hottest areas of Al Anbar province for a recon of a area that will soon be the AO of one of our sister teams. Some of the routes are code black. Which means only combat patrols authorized to travel through. It should be good times!

So if nothing else I should be back posting in about 10 days. I hope all the mudders will keep posting to the thread while I'm away. That way I can have some good stuff to read when I get back. Then at that time I can share my new experiences and pics with everybody.

And before I hit the Submit Reply button I better say hi to my sister. If I don't she will email me and criticize my spelling and grammar. Hi, sis!

1st pic) The Marines are paying the Palestinian refugees for their work. They were very friendly and a bunch wanted me to take a picture with them. Some even asked us to keep employing them.

2nd & 3rd pic) One of our target trucks. The resulting holes are from M240
(7.62) and M2 (.05 cal) machine guns. Their range was about 300 meters from us.

[PacToy]

1st & 2nd pics) Down time while we wait on the Iraqis to show up for the American style BBQ that we prepared for them. It was good times and very relaxing while it lasted.

3rd pic) Our HMMWVs lined up for tomorrow morning. All set and ready to roll. It will be a long and interesting combat patrol.

[beaufort-fj60]

Is the ground there covered with golfball sized rocks? or just inside your "base".

[Campfire]

Originally Posted by PacToy

05-20-07


.... It all brought back the good memories of being back home.....


So if nothing else I should be back posting in about 10 days. I hope all the mudders will keep posting to the thread while I'm away. That way I can have some good stuff to read when I get back. Then at that time I can share my new experiences and pics with everybody.

And before I hit the Submit Reply button I better say hi to my sister. If I don't she will email me and criticize my spelling and grammar. Hi, sis!

Please take care Randy, and we expect you to say hello to your Sister in ten days.
Ride on...

[HawkDriver]

Hey man, glad to hear you're doing good. Got yer PM yesterday just don't get a chance to check in as often as I used to. Cool pic of the kiddos from the turret, keep up the good work. And I'd love to arrange a ride for you and your buds if we ever make it out that way.






Take care brother,

Jeremy

Have a near on me.

[brownbear]

How much armour do the Humvees have? I imagine quite a bit...

Taker easy and keep safe!

[Dan_J-spec_fj62]

Hey Randy!!! Just wanted you to know Yuki and I check this thread every day!! Be safe and stay sharp! Keep the pix coming we love them!!!!

Dan

[splitshot]

Randy, Haven't heard from ya in a while, post up something so we all know everything's cool.

[calstyl2]

think he went into the field for about ten days

[lynlee]

Hi, Im Randy's Sister . Randy Has Been Out In The Field And Will Be Out In The Field For Ten Days. I Have Not Heard From Him Or Anybody From The Marines, So I'm Assuming He Is Ok. If I Hear Anything I Will Let You Guys Know.

[landcrusher909]

lynlee, thanks for the update we look forward to his post every day

[Noah]

Originally Posted by lynlee

Hi, Im Randy's Sister . Randy Has Been Out In The Field And Will Be Out In The Field For Ten Days. I Have Not Heard From Him Or Anybody From The Marines, So I'm Assuming He Is Ok. If I Hear Anything I Will Let You Guys Know.

thanks for the update

[DevilDogCruiser]

PacToy are you part of a MiTT team? Just thought I would ask, because I was just put into one .

[PacToy]

06-02-07

Well, I'm back. We made our successful tour of the greater Al Anbar Province. Our mission was to stop at one of the big FOBs and the newest and best up armor available fitted to our HMMWVs and then push on to recon a new AO for one of our sister teams.

At our first FOB we got new and reconditioned ECMs for the trucks. While that was taking place we did rehearsals for next push east. Kind of a really busy day at the first FOB. The we woke up at 0200 to push out the wire at 0400. Basically no R&R here but we did get to eat at a KBR chow hall.

As we pushed east to our next destination we got to see some things that are in the shade of green. Much better scenery than what we have around our AO. You know it is not always a good thing to travel through built up areas but on this leg at every built up area we had many villagers and kids running up to the road and waving at us. This made us feel somewhat motivated to stop and mingle but we had to keep pushing on.

So we get to our first big FOB where the new up armor was to be installed and fitted. Everything went well, no break downs, flat tires IEDs, or firefights. We turned the trucks into the up armor guys the next day and they asked about our routes that we took. We told them and they kind of giggled and said that with the routes that we took we were lucky we didn't hit and IEDs as the armor we had was only good against bullets. Oh, well, I like being good and lucky is always good too.

Now that we had our trucks turned in and our weapons cleaned we were ready for some down time. This FOB was huge, like a city with multiple bus lines and chow halls and PXs everywhere. Seeing how we have a lack of a chow hall per se our first order of business was to hit up the chow as often as we could. Goodness, having the opportunity to eat three chows a day was such a novelty we would go all three times a day even though we were not hungry. I liked the ice cream myself.

Our 3rd night there we got to go see Toby Keith on one of USO tours. It was a must see for some of us. Hearing Toby play his songs brought back good memories for me. I think I remembered almost every place and country I use to listen to some of his songs throughout the show.

Soon we were ready to go again and push on to our next destination. A good 6-7 hour drive along a known hot road. As usual we saw the past IED blast holes and usually the accompanying trucks parts. All military traffic has the right of way in Iraq so we got to travel down the center of the roads like emergency vehicles do back in most countries. However, we did come up on a IED threat and did get us stopped for about an hour or so. Seeing how I was lead vehicle driver I did get to see what was going on the whole time. It was neat to see that even in this century there are people still living centuries past on the river with their mud huts and sheep herds.

So we make it to our destination. Again everything is ok with the vehicles and Marines. This COP that we arrived at is home to one of our sister teams. As we dismount from the trucks a couple of our other sister teams show up. The resident team puts on a