Good for you, glad you are still blogging. At least for now. I assume this is a "see how it goes" kind of scenerio. Should we all wave at MI? I bet they will enjoy reading this as much as everyone else does. Toys can be cool. Anything to relieve the boredom I guess. Too bad he wasn't filming in the direction the shot was fired from, maybe you'd know exactly what the deal was then. stay safe
Hi there! I came across your blog via some links from Smash. THanks for giving us the "bird's eye view" of what is going on over there. I also read a couple other blogs from soldiers over there. My cousin is in Iraq, hopefully coming home next month. Keep writing...your one of my daily reads now. Thank you.
I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK!!! The other comments before mine are great. Never laughed so hard; i was so relieved to see that you had written SOMETHING even if it was NOTHING!! I noticed others also noticed it was nothing too. :-) You logged on while I was visiting one site and typing in another. Wrote American Soldier too personally. He's redeploying soon. To Paw: cb will feel better about writing as time goes on, I know it's hard to follow him on a blank map!! :-) Been activity in your area lately. Been so worried about you too. SMILE FOR THE CAMERA!! It'll come as you relax - you're doing a great service for the service. They should know that by now. Anyway, saw the servicemen who are going to Athens to compete in rifling, shooting, etc., and they said they are doing it for the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and if they get a gold, it'll be dedicated to you guys.
WHOO!! I AM SO RELIEVED.. even if you didn't give us your normal pull in the people-type writing style we've become used to but we understand, it will take time for you to let it all out again. I like that your wife posted, too. Cool.
Just stumbled onto this blog and was amazed. You write so genuinely. My ex-husband was deployed to Iraq for almost a year and, even though he wrote me nearly every day, he never told me anything. This at least gives me SOME idea of what he saw. I appreciate you writing this. And, one punk rocker to another, keep the faith.
"The other day, we went somewhere, and did something" Classic and a chuckle
"When I first got to Iraq, those sounds would alarm me, and I would think to myself, "Oh shit! People are trying to kill each other," but now when I hear them, I think "Huh. I wonder what's going on there." ROTFLMAO Classic.
I checked the blog last thing last night and first thing this morning like you're my son and I haven't heard from you. Can you imagine how many visits you got in the last 36 hours?
Retrostats.com has a free counter you can install in your side bar if you want to try tracking hits again.
Yeah, I was checking like every hour or so to see when you were gonna post again. This morning: nothing. This afternoon: whoohoo!
LOVED the "went somewhere, did something." Way to stick it to 'em! I disagree with anyone who thinks this post was "nothing" compared to previous ones. Same rapier wit, sarcasm, and brutal honesty: When I first got to Iraq, those sounds would alarm me, and I would think to myself, "Oh shit! People are trying to kill each other," but now when I hear them, I think "Huh. I wonder what's going on there."
Ha American! Now I have you! I now know you recently went somewhere and did something! Your whole plan is revealed....
A scumwad insurgent
I heard a story about the fighting in Afghanistan. Some SF guys were apparently listening in to the Taliban, and the Taliban knew it and were jeering at the Americans. The SF has the Northern Alliance shoot some arty at the dug-in Taliban, who responded over the radio by saying something like "you infidels suck! That missed us by almost 300 meters! Ha!" The SF guys: "Drop 300, fire for effect." No more Taliban on the radio after that.
Hey...just adding my voice to the "thank you for posting and letting us know you are still there.
For my part, I alledgedly signed on to this imaginary blog from my hypothetical office that I travelled to by transedental air ways somewhere on the west coast.
BTinFortWorth: I get the impression that MI isn't watching to censor him but because they are fellow soldiers in Iraq and are FANS. That greeting from CB seemed genuinely friendly, much like he would give to a transportation unit that he knew was reading, or an aviator like the helicopter crew chief who posted.
Ww keep hearing crap like "enemy sniper fire" from the MainstreamMediaCrapheads - as though they even had an inkling of what a "sniper" is - except (for them) a guy, hiding behind a pile of bricks with an RPG - sorry, Bwaaahha! Not a sniper. What idiots.
StrykerAunt, in response to your question (on the previous post):
A battalion commander is usually (read: always) a lieutenant colonel. A brigade commander is a full colonel.
It goes like this:
Second or First Lieutenant (2LT or 1LT): Platoon leader or executive officer for a company (XO - the 2nd in command). About 30 to 40 riflemen.
Captain (CPT) - company commander (called the CO) - approx 100-125, usually 3 line (rifle) platoons and a HQ platoon.
Major (MAJ) - no command positions in the infantry. Suckiest rank ever. They are staff officers or battalion XOs. They all want to be CPTs again.
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) - Battalion CMDR. Anywhere from 450 - 1000 men depending on the type of unit. Usually 3 line companies, a HQ company, and "slice units" in support such as engineers, arty, etc. They also want to be CPTs again, and often try to be.
Colonel (COL)(also called "full colonel" - Brigade commander. 2000-5000 men. 3-5 line battalions (usually 3) with slice elements such as a field artillery battalion, engineer company, etc.
Brig. Gen (BG) (one star) - no command positions, but you are general so it is not as sucky as being a Major, and generals don't do patrols anyway so it is all staff work however you look at it.
Major Gen. (MG) - division commander. Two stars. Almighty on high. Divisions can have from 12,000 to 22,000 - some Army divisions aren't at full strength such as the 10th Mountain division. Usually 3 line brigades, an aviation brigade, and support elements. The smallest self-contained fighting force (for now, the Army is seeking to make Brigades self-contained).
Lieutenant Gen. (LTG) - corps commander, 3 stars - 2 or more divisions.
General (also called "full general)(GEN) - chief of staff, Army commander, etc. 4 stars. Nobody ever sees them - not to knock them because they always have real medals and lots of purple hearts. The army is a warrior culture and promotes successful warriors.
That is as high as it goes. Five star "Generals of the Army" were only in WWII, and they are all dead. Gen. Pershing was a "General of the Armies" but never bothered to wear more than 4 stars so no rank was ever designed. He was the highest-ranked living soldier. Gen. Washington was promoted to General of the Armies in 1976 with a 1776 date of rank so that he would always be the highest ranking US soldier.
Hope that helps. I can do the enlisted ranks if people want.
"We went somewhere, and did something" may well replace "It was a dark and stormy night." LOL (if you need clarification on this, email me...) SO GLAD YOU'RE STILL BLOGGING!!! Stay alert. Stay safe.
CB, can you also tell us the best place for shooting you? Or, even better, if we tend to - excuse me, if they tend to fire high or low? See, when I shoot at you - I mean, when they shoot at you I - I mean they - don't like exposing myself if it isn't helping to kill you. I mean them.
Praise Allah - I mean God - for all you do to oppres... liberate us.. them. THe Iraqis.
Oh, and I think you should provide much more detail then "we went somewhere and did something." Perhaps you could even write about plans for a future op - when, where, who's going, etc. - all for literary purposes as well.
CPUmaster I know you didn't mean anything by it, but think about it. He can't and mustn't share things that benefit his enemies.
AH! now it deletes! ARRGH! eh. It's Tom Clancy...cursing me cuz I took his almighty name in vain. I mocked his books and his armchair-general'ing and thus now have some voodoo posting curse.
CB, I'm LMFAO. New friends at M.I. eh? That really is too bad, but I still enjoy your posts about something somewhere.
And your recall of the experience to your senses since you've been there seem quite normal, unfortunately, with time one will get desensitized. But you know what, I pray for you for the best adjustment when you get home.
My best to you, with admiration and respect --desultory
27 comments :
hey cb -- happy to read your post today. thanks.
Good for you, glad you are still blogging. At least for now. I assume this is a "see how it goes" kind of scenerio.
Should we all wave at MI?
I bet they will enjoy reading this as much as everyone else does.
Toys can be cool. Anything to relieve the boredom I guess. Too bad he wasn't filming in the direction the shot was fired from, maybe you'd know exactly what the deal was then.
stay safe
Hi there! I came across your blog via some links from Smash. THanks for giving us the "bird's eye view" of what is going on over there. I also read a couple other blogs from soldiers over there. My cousin is in Iraq, hopefully coming home next month. Keep writing...your one of my daily reads now. Thank you.
I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK!!! The other comments before mine are great. Never laughed so hard; i was so relieved to see that you had written SOMETHING even if it was NOTHING!! I noticed others also noticed it was nothing too. :-) You logged on while I was visiting one site and typing in another. Wrote American Soldier too personally. He's redeploying soon. To Paw: cb will feel better about writing as time goes on, I know it's hard to follow him on a blank map!! :-) Been activity in your area lately. Been so worried about you too. SMILE FOR THE CAMERA!! It'll come as you relax - you're doing a great service for the service. They should know that by now. Anyway, saw the servicemen who are going to Athens to compete in rifling, shooting, etc., and they said they are doing it for the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and if they get a gold, it'll be dedicated to you guys.
WHOO!! I AM SO RELIEVED.. even if you didn't give us your normal pull in the people-type writing style we've become used to but we understand, it will take time for you to let it all out again. I like that your wife posted, too. Cool.
SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK WITH US!!
Finding you back online was the highlight of my week!
That was me, forgot to sign my name.
hugs,
~C
aka Cindy Callahan from Barrington, NH
originally from Woburn,MA
Just stumbled onto this blog and was amazed. You write so genuinely. My ex-husband was deployed to Iraq for almost a year and, even though he wrote me nearly every day, he never told me anything. This at least gives me SOME idea of what he saw. I appreciate you writing this. And, one punk rocker to another, keep the faith.
I also had to LOL over the somewhere, someplace bit. I'm just glad to see you posting and still showing a bit of that razor wit!!
I'm also surprised you're back so soon - I figured that was a least a weeks worth of reading in the other post!!!
You should be feeling pretty good about yourself! You've reached a lot of people, whether you meant to or not.
The other day, we went somewhere, and did something.
HAHA...i see our new limits are upon us! Keep up the good work dude!
"The other day, we went somewhere, and did something"
Classic and a chuckle
"When I first got to Iraq, those sounds would alarm me, and I would think to myself, "Oh shit! People are trying to kill each other," but now when I hear them, I think "Huh. I wonder what's going on there."
ROTFLMAO Classic.
Thanks for the report.
Thank you!
I checked the blog last thing last night and first thing this morning like you're my son and I haven't heard from you. Can you imagine how many visits you got in the last 36 hours?
Retrostats.com has a free counter you can install in your side bar if you want to try tracking hits again.
Consider yourself hugged and welcomed back.
CB--So glad to see you back!
Yeah, I was checking like every hour or so to see when you were gonna post again. This morning: nothing. This afternoon: whoohoo!
LOVED the "went somewhere, did something." Way to stick it to 'em! I disagree with anyone who thinks this post was "nothing" compared to previous ones. Same rapier wit, sarcasm, and brutal honesty: When I first got to Iraq, those sounds would alarm me, and I would think to myself, "Oh shit! People are trying to kill each other," but now when I hear them, I think "Huh. I wonder what's going on there."
Ah, life is bearable with CB back on the prowl.
I was expecting to see something like this:
Ha American! Now I have you! I now know you recently went somewhere and did something! Your whole plan is revealed....
A scumwad insurgent
I heard a story about the fighting in Afghanistan. Some SF guys were apparently listening in to the Taliban, and the Taliban knew it and were jeering at the Americans. The SF has the Northern Alliance shoot some arty at the dug-in Taliban, who responded over the radio by saying something like "you infidels suck! That missed us by almost 300 meters! Ha!" The SF guys: "Drop 300, fire for effect." No more Taliban on the radio after that.
What up Gilman World Supah Star,
Glad to see you are writing. Stay safe. We love you.
Your wife sounds amazing too. Tell her we are here for her. Soul mates, ah.... the beauty of love.
xxxooooooo
Hey...just adding my voice to the "thank you for posting and letting us know you are still there.
For my part, I alledgedly signed on to this imaginary blog from my hypothetical office that I travelled to by transedental air ways somewhere on the west coast.
If anyone asks, I wasn't here! LOL
This is a figment of your imagination.
Ciao for now!
"Put that toy away"
Heh.
BTinFortWorth: I get the impression that MI isn't watching to censor him but because they are fellow soldiers in Iraq and are FANS. That greeting from CB seemed genuinely friendly, much like he would give to a transportation unit that he knew was reading, or an aviator like the helicopter crew chief who posted.
Ww keep hearing crap like "enemy sniper fire" from the MainstreamMediaCrapheads - as though they even had an inkling of what a "sniper" is - except (for them) a guy, hiding behind a pile of bricks with an RPG - sorry, Bwaaahha! Not a sniper. What idiots.
Stay safe!
-keith in mtn. view
StrykerAunt, in response to your question (on the previous post):
A battalion commander is usually (read: always) a lieutenant colonel. A brigade commander is a full colonel.
It goes like this:
Second or First Lieutenant (2LT or 1LT): Platoon leader or executive officer for a company (XO - the 2nd in command). About 30 to 40 riflemen.
Captain (CPT) - company commander (called the CO) - approx 100-125, usually 3 line (rifle) platoons and a HQ platoon.
Major (MAJ) - no command positions in the infantry. Suckiest rank ever. They are staff officers or battalion XOs. They all want to be CPTs again.
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) - Battalion CMDR. Anywhere from 450 - 1000 men depending on the type of unit. Usually 3 line companies, a HQ company, and "slice units" in support such as engineers, arty, etc. They also want to be CPTs again, and often try to be.
Colonel (COL)(also called "full colonel" - Brigade commander. 2000-5000 men. 3-5 line battalions (usually 3) with slice elements such as a field artillery battalion, engineer company, etc.
Brig. Gen (BG) (one star) - no command positions, but you are general so it is not as sucky as being a Major, and generals don't do patrols anyway so it is all staff work however you look at it.
Major Gen. (MG) - division commander. Two stars. Almighty on high. Divisions can have from 12,000 to 22,000 - some Army divisions aren't at full strength such as the 10th Mountain division. Usually 3 line brigades, an aviation brigade, and support elements. The smallest self-contained fighting force (for now, the Army is seeking to make Brigades self-contained).
Lieutenant Gen. (LTG) - corps commander, 3 stars - 2 or more divisions.
General (also called "full general)(GEN) - chief of staff, Army commander, etc. 4 stars. Nobody ever sees them - not to knock them because they always have real medals and lots of purple hearts. The army is a warrior culture and promotes successful warriors.
That is as high as it goes. Five star "Generals of the Army" were only in WWII, and they are all dead. Gen. Pershing was a "General of the Armies" but never bothered to wear more than 4 stars so no rank was ever designed. He was the highest-ranked living soldier. Gen. Washington was promoted to General of the Armies in 1976 with a 1776 date of rank so that he would always be the highest ranking US soldier.
Hope that helps. I can do the enlisted ranks if people want.
"We went somewhere, and did something" may well replace "It was a dark and stormy night." LOL (if you need clarification on this, email me...) SO GLAD YOU'RE STILL BLOGGING!!! Stay alert. Stay safe.
Yeah, CPUmaster.
CB, can you also tell us the best place for shooting you? Or, even better, if we tend to - excuse me, if they tend to fire high or low? See, when I shoot at you - I mean, when they shoot at you I - I mean they - don't like exposing myself if it isn't helping to kill you. I mean them.
Praise Allah - I mean God - for all you do to oppres... liberate us.. them. THe Iraqis.
Oh, and I think you should provide much more detail then "we went somewhere and did something." Perhaps you could even write about plans for a future op - when, where, who's going, etc. - all for literary purposes as well.
CPUmaster I know you didn't mean anything by it, but think about it. He can't and mustn't share things that benefit his enemies.
AH! now it deletes! ARRGH!
eh. It's Tom Clancy...cursing me cuz I took his almighty name in vain. I mocked his books and his armchair-general'ing and thus now have some voodoo posting curse.
CB, I'm LMFAO. New friends at M.I. eh? That really is too bad, but I still enjoy your posts about something somewhere.
And your recall of the experience to your senses since you've been there seem quite normal, unfortunately, with time one will get desensitized. But you know what, I pray for you for the best adjustment when you get home.
My best to you, with admiration and respect
--desultory
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