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First off, Captains don’t command platoons. Neither Army or USMC. 2nd or 1st Lieutenants do. Of course, he wouldn’t know a Private from a General anyway.
Second, platoons aren’t slit up between theaters of operation. That’s about as smart as putting your living room three states away from your kitchen. Platoons may be split up within a company, but not between theaters, unless that’s some of teh “Change” he keeps talking about.
Lastly, there is no need to use captured enemy weapons to arm the men in your unit. A grunt has his personal weapon at all times, issued once he reports in, and ammunition resupply is rarely a problem. The idea that a unit would deploy without enough small arms for its men is laughable, if it weren’t so idiotic. Unless that is your knowledge of the military is limited to leftist talking points about underedumectaed robots being stuck in Eeerak.
So, unless B Hussein is talking about a SF unit (not likely, since they operate in 8-10 man teams), who armed themselves with Krapishnikovs, because of where they were operating (a common practice for them, since they are very often “outside normal supply channels”), Bambi is talking out his ass. Or he fell for a steaming load of bovine feces spewed by an IVAW type, or an outright poser. Either way, it speaks volumes about his potential as a Commander in Chief.
(Thanks to Mike M for the link and H/T to Hot Air.)
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and of course, this only goes challenged at the Rott, by my favourite Marine Crunchie, and a few other blogs i suppose. Doesn’t matter what we think; that is taken as gospel truth by his acolytes.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 AMUsing
We got it at the Sniper as well.
:em93:
And since Black Jebus is anything but versed in the ways of the military, he fell for the load of bovine excrement hook from some Jesse MacBeth type, line and sinker.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 AMUsing
(I posted this under “Bummer” but it fits better here.)
He’s a penis with ears. Wears a necktie so the foreskin won’t slide over his head.
I’ve got a JSOC buddy who carries an AK when he plays in the litter box. So what that it didn’t come from Uncle Sam’s armory. It’s not like he doesn’t have access to American arms. Judging by the last pic I saw of him, an M4 would have been… well, out of character. My guess is the Clueless Clown from Chi-town™ saw a picture, or one of his Cuban/Che Flag toting advisors briefed him on how “ill-equipped” our troops are, then he made the rest of the shit up.
I HOPE B’Hack will CHANGE his mind about careers. Tsar of Dog Catching in Chicago comes to mind. Much better suited for that level of responsibility. He could bring much needed HOPE to the Bush-oppressed strays by making sweeping CHANGEs.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 AMUsing
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:54 AMUsing
Mr. Limbaugh, call your office, please. We have another sighting of a “Phony Soldier.”
Either that, or a highly placed Presidential Candidate is lying and pulling “facts” out of his ass. Course, he’s a Democrap, so # 2 is a distinct possibility . . .
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:54 AMUsing
He might just be behind the times instead of stupid, because didn’t some of our troops back in Vietnam prefer the AK-47 to the M-16? It was easier to clean or something.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:59 AMUsing
Door Number Three: He’s an anti-military lying sack of shit who will do or say anything to dupe his way to the Whitehouse.
“Monte, I’ll take what’s behind Door Number Three…”
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 AMUsing
I’ve heard stories about the condition of captured jihadi small arms……
they can shoot ‘em but they don’t seem to be able to clean them……I’m pretty sure that our guys wouldn’t to tote those dusty rusty POS’s……
watch the clip again and take note of that lunatic smirk on hitlery’s face….
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 AMUsing
MICHELLE O: “What are you reading, dear?”
BHO: “Just catching up on Military History, sweetness. Reading about the Korean War. By the way,
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 AMhow many hordes in a Chinese Platoon?” :em98:
Using
Remember Gen Schwartzkopf’s evaluation of another hussein’s expertise?
..”He is neither a strategist, or schooled in the operational arts. nor is he a tactician,nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier, but other than that, he is a great military man..”
He’s still right on both counts.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 AMUsing
Hard to believe this moron graduated from an Ivy League school. I hate the way
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 AMhe acts like ignorance is a virtue…
Using
Not really. Ivy Leagues are pumping out a lot of festering ignorami. I couldn’t believe half the inbred jackasses I went to school with! Calling them retarded would have been kind.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:57 AMUsing
Obama Heard Wrong
There is a lot about Obama’s story that makes no sense. Let us start with the opening line:
“You know, I’ve heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon–supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon. Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24 because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to Iraq.”
Well, captains command companies, not rifle platoons. A rifle platoon is normally commanded by a 2nd lieutenant, sometimes (if short handed) by a senior sergeant. So for starters, Obama betrays a woeful ignorance of military organization and the chain of command. Then he remarks that the platoon was under-strength because 15 of its men had been “sent to Iraq.” Sorry, the Army doesn’t work that way. Platoons are organic units, consisting of three rifle squads, a heavy weapons squad, and a headquarters section. You can’t break it up. It is the smallest building block in the infantry that can conduct fire-and-movement tactics.
So, no matter what, if the Army needed to shift men from Afghanistan to Iraq, it would have done so either by detaching the whole platoon, or, more likely, an entire company from its parent battalion, because a company is an administrative as well as a tactical unit, and believe me, the Army would sooner fight with one hand tied behind its back than create administrative hassles for itself. Maybe the captain was commanding something other than a rifle platoon–perhaps a company headquarters unit, or an intelligence or communications unit, or some other small specialist unit, but in that case, the loss of troops is not nearly as critical as Obama’s story implies. “High-Demand/Low-Density” specialists are always being moved around because there just aren’t enough of them to go around. Period. It’s a chronic problem not just in the military, but in civilian life as well. Obama went on:
And as a consequence, they didn’t have enough ammunition, they didn’t have enough Humvees. They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief.
The idea that our guys were scrounging weapons and ammo because they were short is ludicrous. How much ammo you carry is done on a “per man” basis in the infantry–each solder carries a “basic load,” which is backed up by reserve supplies at company, battalion, and above. It is possible to run out of ammunition, temporarily, in the midst of an intense firefight. Weapons like the M4 Carbine, the M16A3 rifle, and especially the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) can burn through ammo like fire through dry tinder. Since each man carries perhaps 200 rounds into a firefight (about six or seven magazines), he can easily expend it all in a matter of minutes (which is the reason the Army teaches fire discipline). If you can’t get a runner back to the company supply train, then things might get dicey, and if you’re out, and there’s a Taliban guy lying dead at your feet with an AK-74 and a full bandoleer of ammo, what are you going to do?
Moreover, U.S. soldiers have always scrounged, and have always admired the other guy’s weapons. In World War II, our guys picked up German MP-41 submachine guns and MG-42 machine guns, which were demonstrably better than their U.S. counterparts. In Vietnam, GIs seemed to prefer the rugged and reliable AK-47 to the high-tech M16 (while, perversely, the Viet Cong preferred the M16 because it was lighter and had less recoil). It would not surprise me if some U.S. troops “acquired” some ex-Taliban AKs–though they run the risk, especially at night, of being mistaken for the enemy because different types of guns have distinctive sounds.
To the best of my knowledge, no U.S. forces in either Afghanistan or Iraq ever ran out of ammunition for more than a few hours at most. When you consider that we were operating in Afghanistan at the tenuous end of a 8,000 mile supply line, that’s pretty impressive.
As for not having enough HMMWVs, that’s understandable, when you consider what it takes to get a HMMWV to Afghanistan and then to keep it up and running. Fact is, no unit ever has enough HMMWVs (in its own mind, at least), just as in World War II, no unit had enough Jeeps. Again, that we have managed to sustain our forces in Afghanistan so well is cause for congratulations not criticism.
Overall, I think Obama would be better sticking to his “message of hope”–hope that nobody will ever ask him to make any substantive statements on military affairs, ever again.
Posted by Stuart Koehl on February 22, 2008 11:25 AM
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 PMUsing
Fox News’ Major Garrett just reported that the ‘captain’ is out there and is saying, “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it”. He does want to remain anonymous, though.
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:16 PMUsing
I ran out of a lot of things during my time in Viet Nam, but ordnance was never one ‘em. I had to eat ham and motherfuckers** a lot of times and didn’t have sterno to heat them, but I had plenty of C4, so I used that. Flew missions that lasted for days and fired hundreds of FFARs, and guess what? Never ran out. Fired wire guided missles too. Never ran out. Fired mini-gun cans of ammo through my M60s and guess what? Never ran out. Grenades? Never ran out. I carried 3 bandoliers of M16 magazines with me. I could have had 10 or 20 if I had wanted to lug them around.
Things I did run out of: Shaving cream, writing paper, and worse, the other kind of paper. Beer, fresh food, boots, socks without holes in them. Deoderant - not that it really mattered. Insect repellent - that mattered.
Nope, the Green Team kept me well supplied with guns and ammo.
B-HO is a tool.
**C-ration lima beans
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:47 PMUsing
,
Wish you had eaten more of them. Was in when president peanut was in office. They fed us C-Rats dated 1962-63 with a loud warning over the loudspeaker “don’t eat the tuna” lol.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:27 PMUsing
i believe in the “army captain”. i believe he’s a republican with a sense of humor. :em69:
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:28 PMUsing
Azygos when i was in the “rats” were dated in the ’40’s. did yours have Chesterfields with them?
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:31 PMUsing
Here’s the official
twirlclarification of B.O.’s remarks.Note that the claimed ammo shortage occurred in training, not in Afghanistan and that they weren’t forced to used captured weapons, they used them because they liked them, I guess.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:33 PMUsing
Obambi to lose a chunk of support……………………….
WASHINGTON(AP) Ralph Nader could be poised for another third party presidential campaign.
The consumer advocate will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday to announce whether he will launch another White House bid. Nader kicked off his 2004 presidential run on the show.
A spokesman for Nader did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Kevin Zeese, who was Nader’s spokesman during the 2004 presidential race, but is no longer working for him, said Friday that Nader has been actively talking to “lots of people on all sorts of levels” about the possibility of making another run.
Zeese said he could only guess what Nader might do, but added: “Obviously, I don’t think (”Meet the Press” host) Tim Russert would have him on for no reason.”
Peter Camejo, Nader’s running mate in 2004, said he won’t reveal Nader’s plans because he doesn’t want to upstage the announcement. But he said Nader’s overall philosophy on elections has not changed.
“You’ve got to keep running to raise the issues that are never discussed,” Camejo said. “There’s a whole series of issues that only a Ralph Nader would raise.”
Last month, Nader began an exploratory presidential campaign and launched a Web site that promises to fight “corporate greed, corporate power, corporate control.”
Nader’s appearance on “Meet the Press” was announced Friday in an e-mail message from Nader’s exploratory campaign. The message from “The Nader Team” urges supporters to tell friends and family to watch the show and requests online contributions.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 PMUsing
AND CLINTOON WILL COUNTERATTACK…………………….
Excerpt of Clinton Interview with Texas Monthly
Evan Smith: There’s been a lot of talk about what your campaign would do should it get to the convention. Would you commit today to honoring the agreement made earlier not to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations?
Clinton: Let’s talk about the agreement. The only agreement I entered into was not to campaign in Michigan and Florida. It had nothing to do with not seating the delegates. I think that’s an important distinction. I did not campaign–
Smith: The press seems to have missed the distinction if that’s the case. The talk is that you agreed not to seat the delegation.
Clinton: That’s not the case at all. I signed an agreement not to campaign in Michigan and Florida. Now, the DNC made the determination that they would not seat the delegates, but I was not party to that. I think it’s important for the DNC to ask itself, Is this really in the best interest of our eventual nominee? We do not want to be disenfranchising Michigan and Florida. We have to try to carry both of those states. I’d love to carry Texas, but it’s usually not in the electoral calculation for the Democratic nominee. Florida and Michigan are. Therefore, the people of those two states disregarded adamantly the DNC’s decision that they would not seat the delegates. They came out and voted. If they had been influenced by the DNC, despite the fact that there was very little campaigning, if any, they would have stayed home. But they wanted their voices heard. More than 2 million people came out. I mean, it was record turnout for a primary. Florida, in particular, is sensitive to being disenfranchised because of what happened to them in the last elections. I have said that I would ask my delegates to vote to seat.
Smith: So your intention is to press this issue?
Clinton: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. It’s in large measure because both the voters and elected officials in Michigan and Florida feel so strongly about this. Senator Bill Nelson, of Florida, early on in the process actually sued because he thinks it’s absurd on its face that 1.7 million Democrats who eventually voted would basically be disregarded, and I agree with him about that.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 PMUsing
It makes me want to sit in the audience of one of his rallies and when it comes time to field questions from the audience, ask him what he will do to help our soldiers who are running out of cans of bore evacuator and boxes of grid squares. :em95:
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:16 PMUsing
Yeah, Chesterfields and, IIRC, some had Pall Malls. Didn’t smoke so I gave them away. I remember some of the Cs were Korean War vintage.
Whatever vintage they were, they were nasty.
And about B-HO. He doesn’t say the Pledge of Alligance, he doesn’t place his hand on his heart during the playing of our National Anthem. How could he possibly be CIC? God help us.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:27 PMUsing
YES! :em69: :em93: :em93: :em69:
Somebody buy him a capuchino!
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:45 PMUsing
:em99: :em01:
He’d fall for it hook line and sinker too. Then a follow up, what does he plan on doing about the battalion flamethrower operators going into combat without asbestos suits?
We had a supply of left over c-rats back on Guam in 87 we used on field evolutions. I don’t know the vintage but they had Lucky’s. I was reminded of my Uncle’s generations take on the Luck Strike logo LSMFT (Lucky Strikes, Mighty Fine Tobacco); Lets Screw, My Fingers Tired.
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:07 PMUsing
…..and then tell him the Air Force are running out of Prop Wash, the Navy are running out of Parade Square keys, the Airborne haven’t had any streamers in years and the Medics are in short supple of Fallopian Tubes.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:09 PMUsing
…and shore line, and ceiling buffers, and packs of company frequencies, and bags of land lines, and etc etc
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:26 PMUsing
In fairness, The Obama-ton received all of his military education watching “Delta Farce” with Larry the Cable Guy.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 PMUsing
It seems this story is at least 4 years old, from the Spring of 2003. Gee, wonder what may have been going on then that would have re-prioritized some equipment? And the good Captain further explains that he had plenty of ammo in theater, and that it was only some parts for Mk-19’s and Ma Deuces that were hard to get. Doesn’t sound like anything new.
Until that is the Obamamessiah repackages it as new, and the drooling dhimmis lap it up.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:03 PMUsing
The last time we ran out of ammo for training was when slick Willie was in his first term, he got re-elected and I elected to retire and 24 years rather than staying for 30. The last three years I was in my SRB had a statement the requalification with service weapon waived. They didn’t say it was because we were out of practice ammo and we had vehicles just sitting because there was no money for repair parts. Yeah, I’d sure love to see another liberal piece of doo-doo without a clue about the military as the Commander in Chief. Hurray for the Chesterfields!!
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 PMUsing
I saw this one over at Rachel’s place too. The word is definitely getting around.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:44 PMUsing
You guys have this all wrong. He wasn’t talking to an American Army Captain. It was an Iranian Army Captain.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:49 PMUsing
It remains my fervent hope that the more Obama flaps his gums, the more folks will realize the true depths of his ignorance on the military, human nature, realpolitik and the economy. The guy is truly misguided, his ardent followers even more so. Yet you watch those fuckups blame everybody else for their failures.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 PMUsing
I was thinking the same thing, Crunchie, but I didn’t want to say anything because, over where I come from, it was a well-known fact that you guys always went in with everything including the kitchen sink, pr0n drive-in theatres, jacuzzis, arcades, bowling alleys and pizza parlors (a little envy speaking here
) , so I didn’t honestly know if what he described was abnormal for U.S. forces or not.
But I definitely was thinking “oh dear, your transportation broke down from time to time and you had to improvise. Poor babies. Waaaah! Hump it, you maroon! Oh, and that rare and expensive part didn’t make it through FedEx on time either so you had to make do for a short while? Damn, next thing you’ll tell me that the weekly shipment of DVD movies was three weeks behind what Blockbusters back home had!”
And as to scrounging the other side’s stuff… Er… Why the fuck NOT? For one thing, and all due respect to the venerable and oh-so-sexy black rifle, but if I had the opportunity to “leverage” an AK out there in those horrid conditions not exactly known to play nice with the rather finicky .223 poodle shooter, I’d be going “Hey! Free stuff! Neat!” Heck, it was hard enough to maintain control of our G3s on joint NATO maneuvers. Not saying that they tended to disappear a lot… much… but still.
At any rate, if you’re out there and you find some of the enemy’s shit that is still usable, you’d be a fucking moron to not use it. At the very least, it saves your own stuff until you run out.
Methinks that CPT Twinkletoes ought to grow up a bit, but that’s just me.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:32 PMUsing
Giving the enemy his ammo back? Yeah, back through his gun barrel strikes me as just fine.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 PMUsing
Heh.
Seems the Senate Armed Services Committee is asking questions…
I sent you the pdf, Boss…
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 PMUsing
I thinks the POS is just lyin’.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:15 AMUsing
When I was part of CMATT in OIF 2, we DID have an issue with getting our basic load in Kuwait (we had to go thru amnesty boxes). But the issue was not the availability of ammo, it was the fact that we were a brand new concept in terms of forming the new Iraqi Army. And unless you have specific Unit Identification in the Logistics channels, you are kinda ‘outside the loop’. Was annoying, but never a serious, life threatening situation. (Thanks to our Marine and Air Force brethren, who got us both .556 and 9mm ammo!! :em04: )
And several of us DID store our M-16s and carry the AK’s for several reason. Availability of ammunition was a consideration, but we wanted to carry the same weapon our Iraqi counterparts carried. (More trust building and showing the teams we weren’t afraid to use the same weapons we trained them on.) Besides, the AK is easier to clear, clean and dis-assemble/reassemble. Another reason is if you or a buddy runs out of ammo, you dont have to find someone with a similar weapon, they are all around you.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 AMUsing
Funny you should mention that. My first M9 qualification was in he-who-smelt-of-Lewinski-tang’s second term, and we were told that 9mm was in very short supply. So short that if we didn’t qualify the first go around, there might not be enough for a second chance. It wasn’t like we had the whole Division out there, just a Medical Company. The word was that 9mm ball was tight everywhere and we were (understandably) low priority. STILL, The Major, being the conservationist that he is, handed back several rounds after shooting 30/30 on the combat pistol range - and it was the first time I ever picked up or used an M9 or 92 Beretta. I was the only one in the Company to shoot a perfect score, a feat almost unheard of for an Army Doc. I owed my success to years of exercising my 2nd Amendment rights and CC permits in Texas and Georgia. Besides, if I didn’t shoot perfect, I would have never been able to show my face in Texas again! :em01:
Some mild gun prOn
Twusty M9 (Would have rather carried an HK USP in 9mm)
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:17 AMMy CC Gun - Model 629 S&W with 3″ Magnaport Combat Mini .44 Magnum Conversion
Sweeeeeet! :em93:
Using
One of the first 100 units imported. Since 1994, it’s been either on my left hip, or on my nightstand…
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:04 PMUsing
Dammit!
Why don’t my images ever take? I use the buttons, I write my own HTML… nothing.
[No you don't. It's because you use that layme forum pseudo-HTML instead of Big Boy Real HTML
Fixed it for ya, Shmuel -- Emp.M.]
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 PMUsing
Actually, I was trying the gHeyTML from Photobucket as a last resort- but thanks for the zinger just the same, Liege.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:20 PMUsing
I aim to please, my friend :em95:
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 PMUsing
Since everyone seems to be piling on with the Gun Pr0n™, I guess I’ll add some to the stack…
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:43 PMUsing
CRUNCHIE
Mom told me LSMFT stood for “loose straps mean flabby tits”
I love that woman.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:43 PMUsing
WELL THATS NOT VERY SAFE, WHERE’S HER EYE PROTECTION?
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 PMUsing
ORWN, she just turns her head when she
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:47 PMhammers the cockcocks the hammer.:em93:
Using
BC
:em99: :em99: :em99:
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 PMUsing
Uber-sweeeet! I’ve shot the HK 9mm, but I own the HK compact in 40 S&W and the full-sized 45 ACP. Both are a real pleasure to shoot.
I was at the big Tulsa Gun Show on Saturday with my Marine-turned-civilian son (who shoots squirrels from 50 yards out, in the prone position, with a 40 year-old Glenfield single shot .22LR). 2000 tables!!! Was looking specifically for a Glock Model 20 (10mm Auto) Compensated but only found a plain one and had to pass on it. The boy spent the day fondling AR-15s and drooling on Barretts. Saw a nice HK Mk23 - Damn if that big boy doesn’t fit nice in my knuckle-dragging hands! After 5 hours of wanting pretty much everything I saw, I only bought some magazines for the Glock 29 and my SKS.
Sooo… If y’all want a heads-up on what the Major wants for his birthday (Gun PrOn Advisory in effect):
1) Model 20C Glock
2) Marlin 1895XLR in 45-70 Gubmint
3) Springfield M-14
4) HK Mk23
…and for my little boy:
5) A Barrett Model 82A1/M107 .50 BMG
February 24th, 2008 at 2:36 AMUsing
I have 11.5 years in the Army and 7.5 in the 160th SOAR remember Blackhawk Down. If you are in the Army in a Leg Unit you will have Lt’s as platoons leaders. Captains are over platoons and we only had about 10 enlisted in our flight platoon, so it just depends on what type of unit you are in.
For the most part he still didn’t know what he was talking about. And maybe he did and wasn’t suppose to. LOL :em04:
:em04:
February 24th, 2008 at 8:11 AMUsing
Try 9? magazines.. A soldier should have about 250+ rounds.. or in israel about 10 considering we use a double mag in the gun..(mag couplers are hot)
So about 290 rounds is going to dry up fast are u nuts ? what happend to the M203 ? he should have I believe 20-30 40mm to take out anything and everything.. what about the machine gunner? He should have 500+ rounds…
February 24th, 2008 at 9:10 AMUsing
I’m sure they’re pretty hardcore up there in Israel! We weren’t so much in Iraq. I just got back almost a year ago exactly. No way did we carry 20-30 40mm in a combat load!! If you live in the shit, then you probably throw some of it in the humvee, but other than that, you probably only carry about 6 in a combat load. The basic combat load for 5.56 was 7 magazines. But 5.56 to a soldier is like what a pistol is to a civilian: self defense. We mostly relied on the big guns to do the heavy lifting. 240B, .50 cal, a little MK19, some main tank rounds, and sexy 227mm GMLRS.
February 25th, 2008 at 3:59 AMUsing