I Don't Support the Troops

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by truthseeker

I'll bet!!!

What ever you do, or which branch of service you choose to go in, I strongly suggest that any promises made to you by the recruiter, are put on paper and signed by the recruiter BEFORE you sign on the dotted line and take the Oath.

I can't stress that enough. In fact I'd burn a copy of my post and give it to the recruiter, so that he/she knows you know someone who knows...ya know?

v/r

Joshua
CWO (rank)

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

Ty Luna,

Firstly - the US is not 'in control' of Iraq. Outside of the green zone is a no-mans land that is utterly lawless. The US can only operate there at all through superior weaponry and technological ability but is still prey to insurgency on a daily basis. My point is that outside this zone the US does not exist in any sense as a controling partner in governing greater Iraq. Outside the green zone the US are only targets. US withdrawl is not a withdrawl from Iraq but a withdrawl from a heavily fortified enclave. It would make no difference to the Iraqi people if they were to leave today.

Tao_Equus,

I'm not sure where you got that information from, but it is far far from accurate. There are three provinces where most of the trouble stems from. The rest of the country is not in a state of anarchy, not be a long shot. The local tribal leaders and clerics have things in very good control. Even the drained marshlands are coming back quickly.

The trouble you and I see are in the areas where the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish turkmen all come together. And I think you will find that out of the 150,000 US military deployed throughout the region, only 10,000 are in the three provinces in question. Outside the "green zone" as you put it, hardly any US military pesonnel have become casualties due directly to the conflict.

You are correct in stating however that the US is not in control of Iraq...the Iraqis are. But you are in error, when stating the Iraqi people could care less whether the US was there or not. As for the US being everywhere, again you are correct in the fact that they are not. The British are doing just fine handling their areas of responsibility, as well the Poles and other coalition forces.

These are the facts, not speculation or a "pipe dream". Again please note I stated the "majority" of the problems in Iraq are within the noted three provinces.

I also point out that post WWII, there were more US casualties in Germany and Japan, for the first several years after, than there has been in Iraq of the same amount of time (by a ratio of 8 to 1), due to "insurgent" activities.

The favorite flavor of death by the post WWII "insurgents"? Decapitation via piano wire stretched across a road way, or IEDs planted on the side or in the middle of the road. And of course there was always the sniper.

just a thought or three.

v/r

Q

[China Cat Sunflower]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

Gee Tao and Chris, I don't hear you speaking other languages other than english, nor do I see you two making command decisions, whether popular or not, nor do I think this is worth any more thought.

Well, I do speak French...but only in snatches.

Chris

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

Well, I do speak French...but only in snatches.

Chris

Funny, crude but funny.

v/r

Q

[juantoo3]

Kindest Regards, Truthseeker!

Originally Posted by truthseeker

Um hum.

Went to see a recruiter last night. Very interesting.

Best of wishes to you, I wish you the best in your endeavors!

[Tao_Equus]

Thx for your response Quahom,

I stand by the essence of what I said in my earlier post. I have spent the last hour or so googling and trying to get up to date figures. In vain. This to me only adds to prove the fact that the news coming out of Iraq is almost 100% stage managed. The lack of an independent free press in that country allows the US and coalition to say what they want with impunity. And as I pointed out earlier the US appears to operate a shoot to kill policy on independant journalists trying to bring us some real facts. In this they are no different to the insurgent kidnappers and beheaders.

As for the Brits in and around Al Basrah they just lost another 5 trops in a helicopter shooting. The relationship with the local community is reported to be at its worst and deteriorating. They are not welcome.

Making any kind of comparison between WW2 and Iraq is crass and adds nothing to the debate.

with respect,

David

[truthseeker]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

What ever you do, or which branch of service you choose to go in, I strongly suggest that any promises made to you by the recruiter, are put on paper and signed by the recruiter BEFORE you sign on the dotted line and take the Oath.

I can't stress that enough. In fact I'd burn a copy of my post and give it to the recruiter, so that he/she knows you know someone who knows...ya know?

v/r

Joshua
CWO (rank)

Thank you so much, Quahom. As a matter of fact, I took a practice test and they were all over me because they are telling me the score is high. And I know that their job is to recruit, but I'm interested in the benefits - which requires my own fleet of cheerleaders and self motivation. I was thinking that to ask something like that would be unrealistic so it was giving me some small doubt. I really appreciate you telling me that.

If you don't mind, why should I want to join the Coast Guard instead of the Army, or the Navy, or the Marines, or the Air Force?

[truthseeker]

Originally Posted by juantoo3

Kindest Regards, Truthseeker!

Best of wishes to you, I wish you the best in your endeavors!

Thank you, Juan. That means a lot when your family is telling you how stupid you are.

[Tao_Equus]

Truthseeker

With respect....listen to your family!!

[China Cat Sunflower]

TS,

What's your motivation for wanting to join the Army? If you have good ASVAB scores (it's a really easy test) and are just looking for bennies and a career or career starter I would suggest the Air Force. They've got the best facilities, lightest duty, best food, and you'll never even be close to the action. But if you're looking for war adventures I could see going into the Army.

All the best in whatever you decide to do.

Chris

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by truthseeker

Thank you so much, Quahom. As a matter of fact, I took a practice test and they were all over me because they are telling me the score is high. And I know that their job is to recruit, but I'm interested in the benefits - which requires my own fleet of cheerleaders and self motivation. I was thinking that to ask something like that would be unrealistic so it was giving me some small doubt. I really appreciate you telling me that.

If you don't mind, why should I want to join the Coast Guard instead of the Army, or the Navy, or the Marines, or the Air Force?

Well all the services are fine. And I work with them all on nearly a daily basis. Unlike the other four services who train for war and defense, the Coast Guard's mission is much more expansive. Though the fith branch of the US Armed Forces, and the smallest, it is also one of the busiest. The primary missions of the Coast Guard are Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, Marine Safety, Aids to Navigation, Ice Operations.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a military branch of the United States involved in maritime law, mariner assistance and search and rescue, among other duties of any coast guard. One of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and the smallest armed service of the United States, its stated mission is to protect the public, the environment, and the United States economic and security interests in any maritime region in which those interests may be at risk, including international waters and America's coasts, ports, and inland waterways.
It has a broad and important role in homeland security, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine environmental pollution response and the maintenance of river, intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation (ATON). It also lays claim to being the United States' oldest continuous seagoing service. The United States Coast Guard has about 40,150 men and women on active duty.
The Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus, meaning "Always Ready".
The Coast Guard began as the Revenue Cutter Service which was founded on August 4, 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. An act of the U.S. Congress created the Coast Guard in 1915, with the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Lifesaving Service. The United States Lighthouse Service was merged into the Coast Guard in 1939. The legal basis for the Coast Guard is Title 14 of the United States Code, which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." Upon the declaration of war or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the authority of the Department of the Navy. The Coast Guard later moved to the Department of Transportation in 1967, and on February 25, 2003 it became part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Here, this is a good link with lots of useful information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Coast_Guard

good luck!

v/r

Q

[China Cat Sunflower]

9-11: MIHOP or LIHOP?

Any thoughts?

Chris

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

9-11: MIHOP or LIHOP?

Any thoughts?

Chris

I don't know about that Chris. I think the same thing was said of Roosevelt prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Also, as new as the new presidency was at the time, I don't know if 180 days would be enough to orchestrate such an elaborate and destructive masquerade.

Plus, some of the theories are so astounding in and of themselves. Even Bin Laden expressed surprise that the towers collapsed entirely.

If anything, smug secureness in the US' being protected by the seas, and over confidence in our reaction times within our own borders, more or less contributed to our troubles.

my thoughts

v/r

Q

[China Cat Sunflower]

My position is that I just don't know, but I have some nagging unanswered questions about the events of 9-11. I've seen the photos of the pentagon right after it was hit. The impact hole is only about 16 feet in diameter, much too small for a large passenger jet. There is no aircraft debris like you would expect. No passenger body parts, no luggage, no wings, no wheels, nothing but part of an engine that can't belong to a 767. Then there's the manner in which the towers collapsed. Not one, but both towers coming down like a rigged demolition: straight down inside the property lines. Plus, WTC 7, barely damaged, either collapsed or was "pulled", but it also comes straight down in a controlled demolition-like manner just hours after the towers are hit. You can't rig a building for demolition that fast, and it doesn't make sense that it just collapsed from damage sustained. The only logical explanation is that it was pre-rigged.

Chris

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

My position is that I just don't know, but I have some nagging unanswered questions about the events of 9-11. I've seen the photos of the pentagon right after it was hit. The impact hole is only about 16 feet in diameter, much too small for a large passenger jet. There is no aircraft debris like you would expect. No passenger body parts, no luggage, no wings, no wheels, nothing but part of an engine that can't belong to a 767. Then there's the manner in which the towers collapsed. Not one, but both towers coming down like a rigged demolition: straight down inside the property lines. Plus, WTC 7, barely damaged, either collapsed or was "pulled", but it also comes straight down in a controlled demolition-like manner just hours after the towers are hit. You can't rig a building for demolition that fast, and it doesn't make sense that it just collapsed from damage sustained. The only logical explanation is that it was pre-rigged.

Chris

I was there though, and I watched the jet come in (sitting abreast of the pentagon on the route 1 Bridge). It was unreal, and unbelievable. Yet it happened...I had to pull over and get out of my truck to watch what was happening. And I still couldn't believe it. The amazing thing is that the plane hit the ONLY reinforced part of the Pentagon, that had just been completed. Apparently the reinforcement worked.

my thoughts

v/r

Q