By Jove! I think you're getting the hang of this place!
No matter what you have to do, live through this. All the details can be worked out later. You went over for the best and most noble reasons. The situation you find yourself in was not your doing. Your response is the typical, ageless response of nobility and self-sacrifice to bureaucracy and incompetence. Of all persons, we, our community, our civilization, or society NEEDS folks like you.
Our society may not admit it, though. Don't expect that they will. That would involve a courageous and painfill moral inventory. Nope, don't expect that. Not at all. You can expect that some, who went before, will see and understand. But they might be too busy wrestling the modern day alligators to give you more than a nod.
Well, Cheu hoy, keep it real, and hey, did you ever imagine it would be this much fun?
This website is privately operated and was designed to provide personal information, views and commentary about the author's experiences in Iraq and elsewhere. The images depicted and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the author and not those of any agency of the United States Government, expressly including, but not limited to, the Department of Defense and the United States Army.
The purpose of the website is to serve as a means of communication between the author and his family and friends. If it brings a bit of clarity to the American people about Iraq, the nature of soldiering, or war in general, that'd be pretty cool, too.
And no worries, Spooks. The author is not going to shatter the crystal vase that is OPSEC, because his CO proofs everything that is posted. He thinks the author is special, but in a very different way than Momma G thinks the author is special.
LT G's running Army translator
For those of you that don't speak grunting acronym:
Ranks: PVT, PV2- Private PFC- Private First Class SPC- Specialist CPL- Corporal SGT- Sergeant SSG- Staff Sergeant SFC- Sergeant First Class MSG- Master Sergeant 1SG- First Sergant SGM- Sergeant Major CSM- Command Sergeant Major 2LT- Second Lieutenant 1LT- First Lieutenant CPT- Captain MAJ- Major LTC- Lieutenant Colonel COL- Colonel GEN- Stars, stars, and more stars
Acronyms: OPSEC- Operational Security PLT- Platoon OP- Observation Post PL- Platoon Leader PSG- Platoon Sergeant CO- Commanding Officer; Company/Troop Commander FOB - Forward Operating Base AO- Area of operations NCO- Non-commissioned officer; general term for all sergeants' ranks JAM- Jaish al Mahdi AQI- Al-Qaeda in Iraq TOC- Tactical Operations Center IA- Iraqi Army IP- Iraqi Police SOP- Standard Operating Procedure QRF- Quick Reaction Force EOD- Explosive Ordinance Disposal
Military jargon: Jody- The non-military guy who is back home with the military guy's wife/girlfriend. Jody leads a simple, soft life, and vengeance upon him will be swift and merciless. Fobbit - A term used to describe soldiers who never leave the wire, also known as the FOB. Originally used as a derogatory term, it has evolved into a term most often used by fobbits themselves. Terp - Interpreter. General Order No. 1 - The base order for all deployed military personnel in Iraq that bans alcohol use, pornography, and a litany of other vices. Thanks a lot, Vietnam. You had to ruin the fun for everyone. Frago - A fragmentary order; the ever-evolving update and change to mission that serves as the ringmaster to the Army's circus. Charlie Mike- Continue mission. Mikes- Army cool-guy speak for minutes.
Miscellaneous: Anu al-Verona- The nom de plume for our current location in Iraq. Ali Baba - General Aranglish term for thief and villain. Dear John letter- A tradition as long as warfare itself: the physical manifestation of every soldier's worst fears. They vary in form and are sometimes riddled with excuses and rationalizations, but all essentially say the same thing: "Hey G.I., while you're at war, I got other things going on, because I'm not willing to put my life on hold for you. Loyalty is better served as a puzzle answer on Wheel of Fortune." Bitterness is a common emergence post-Dear John.
6 comments:
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
...
Maya Angelou
God Bless you and your men, Lt. G.
Love the music in the sidebar! Stay safe, dear soldier.
Here's a "still alive guy quote" to keep in mind when you're out beyond the pale:
"The breakfast of champions is not cereal, it's the opposition."
by Nick Seitz
Stay Frosty.
Unkletom
Livermore, CA
puppies are cute
By Jove! I think you're getting the hang of this place!
No matter what you have to do, live through this. All the details can be worked out later. You went over for the best and most noble reasons. The situation you find yourself in was not your doing. Your response is the typical, ageless response of nobility and self-sacrifice to bureaucracy and incompetence. Of all persons, we, our community, our civilization, or society NEEDS folks like you.
Our society may not admit it, though. Don't expect that they will. That would involve a courageous and painfill moral inventory. Nope, don't expect that. Not at all. You can expect that some, who went before, will see and understand. But they might be too busy wrestling the modern day alligators to give you more than a nod.
Well, Cheu hoy, keep it real, and hey, did you ever imagine it would be this much fun?
Thank You for your service.
Which is worse: bitterness or resentment? (Or are they the same?) Since Nietzsche said resentment that's what I'll say.
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