12 October 2006

B36 News - 12 October 2006

I think that one of the larger reasons that so many Americans think that the war isn't going well is because they've adopted what I like to call the "microwave mentality" or M&M for short. Some people call it instant gratification, but I like to keep things simple and easy to understand so that the M&Mers don't have to waste time thinking about it for it to make sense.

Think of it like this: you grab a Crispy Crust Hot Pocket out of the freezer, toss it in the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes and presto, you've got dinner. What the M&Mers do is apply this same logic to pretty much everything else including war; grab some troops, toss them into Iraq, set the timer and presto, you've got victory. What's so deceptive about this is that it's almost true. Take out the step where the timer is set and you've got it.

Perhaps a short review of what happened to other countries after we beat them militarily would help M&Mers understand how well we're doing:
Germany - 10 years from the end of combat ops to sovereignty despite having previously had an elected government. US troops still present.
  • 8 May 1945 - Surrender
  • 23 May 1947 - Establishment of West Germany Government
  • 5 May 1955 - West Germany is sovereign
  • 12 October 2006 - US troops still present
Japan - 6.5 years from the end of combat ops to sovereignty, never previously had elected government. US troops still present.
  • 2 September 1945 - Surrender
  • 3 May 1947 - Constitution is ratified
  • 28 April 1952 - Japan is sovereign
  • 12 October 2006 - US troops still present
Iraq - 3 years from the end of combat ops to elected government despite decades of tyranny. US troops still present
  • 1 May 2003 - End of combat ops against Iraq
  • 15 October 2005 - Constitution is approved
  • 8 June 2006 - Democratically elected government is seated
  • 12 October 2006 - US troops still present
Patience M&Mers, we're doing good over here.

IED Hunters
Raise your hand if you'd like to go looking for IEDs today. Anyone? Here's what SSG Ramon Martinez says about that,
“I want to go out there and find bombs,” said Martinez, a native of Yuma, Ariz. “It’s our job to look for, and contain, bombs. We get hit hard sometimes, but we still continue to sweep. We take it upon ourselves to look at every little thing.

“You get an attitude that comes from (terrorists) trying to blow you up. When (terrorists) put an IED out there, I’m gonna find it! That’s my contribution to this war.”
At the time this story was written, SSG Martinez had personally survived 19 IED explosions and his battalion was responsible for finding 310. It's reported that when SSG Martinez returned to his FOB he backhanded Chuck Norris who then sobbed like a little girl.

SWIFT, Iraqi Style
SWIFT was the secret program that the US used to track terrorist finances right up until the NY Times made the world aware of it. The spies of WWII wish they had it so easy as the American media.

Well the Iraqis conducted their own version of the SWIFT program on 9 October when they shut down a hawala, an informal local financial system for banking and money exchange. Bad guys were laundering money and using it to get their hands on weapons that would be used against us.

But wait, that's not all! This particular operation was kicked off because local Iraqis provided tips to the good guys. This is how it's supposed to work.

11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Have you ever seen someone rush from stoplight to stoplight, only to have you pull up right next to 'em as they hurry up and wait. Time is a funny thing. No matter how hard you push it,stretch it, or rush it,it can't be changed. A timeline for the end of the war? When it's done. It takes time. M&M mentality doesn't work. And as for time, when you get back home to your family, enjoy every second of it.

15:04  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for keeping us up on the good stuff, B36. I so needed this after the past couple of weeks ~

19:25  
Blogger dcat said...

^..^ Love it Bandit! Thanks!

22:28  
Blogger thad lucken said...

yes, solo, but then there's that one light that DOES stay green and your headlights vanishing in my mirror. Its not a completely bad thing, it just has to be regulated by some logic.

As with almost everything that theocracy breeds, the lending practices if muslim "banks" are beyond the scope of regulationa nd tied up with hatecrime worries by accoutants. hence banning sharia in the US, but the pc idiots can't see that.

why are arab countires so broke even though they sit on the biggest reasure in the world.

sin

23:26  
Blogger LoveMyTanker said...

Super post! Thanks for continuing to blog and for your service.

01:08  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another great post B36! I will definitely have to post those stats on my blog because it just needs to get out there...so easily they forget. Our troops are still in Korea, too!

02:16  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The German Occupation Ribbon was still issued to the US Berlin Garrison until 1991 when the Soviets agreed to withdraw and WWII officially ended for Germany.

Land liaison offices and observers from the four-powers were stationed in the official unoccupied zones thruout Germany and discontinued in 1991...

Officially we were doing phase IV in Germany from 1945-1991. Same phase we are currently doing in Iraq (since May 2003).

Of note: Japan-Russia WWII is still not officially settled (Kuril Islands dispute).

04:22  
Blogger Mike H. said...

It's always seemed to me that if you were in it for the long haul then it was going to take a little bit of time. It seems that it hasn't barely started yet and this is going to be the status quo for a long while.

06:20  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"It's reported that when SSG Martinez returned to his FOB he backhanded Chuck Norris who then sobbed like a little girl."

LOL! Thank you for a good laugh to start my morning.

More importantly, thank you for this blog. I've been reading it for about four months now but just now thanking you. Sorry about that. I would bet there are many more like me that are grateful but haven't taken the time to post a quick thanks. They are there and they do appreciate it.

16:35  
Blogger MarksMomma said...

John Ryan,
For me personally, this vote will tell me is how well, or more accurately how poorly, the media has covered the war. Remember that unless a person has been here, all they know is what the news tells them.

Every time I see a troop take off his helmet or take the armored plates out of his vest with bullet strikes on them I want to get down on my knees and thank each and every American tax payer for helping save that troop's life.

17:38  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

B36, thanks but i did not back hand chuck Norris, asked to move or i would kill him.
I’m currently training your future troops in Ft. Leonard wood Mo right now.

03:09  

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