Military says it does its best to keep up equipment

[bemildred]

Read it and weep.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Blowing sand. Blistering heat. Shrapnel-spewing roadside bombs. The U.S. Army says it does its best to keep its hard-pressed vehicles and helicopters running despite these conditions, but soldiers say Iraq sometimes trumps their best efforts.
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Across the country, the brutal conditions can be seen on the Humvees on patrol with smashed or cracked front windshields or punctured doors and fenders where chunks of shrapnel have blown through. Worse, dozens of vehicles have been lost in attacks. Video clips of burning Humvees have become a staple of Iraqi insurgent propaganda DVDs.

The Army’s fleet of Black Hawk helicopters, which dates as far back as the late 1970s, requires lots of maintenance to keep flying. The helicopters’ engines and rotors suffer even more than land vehicles from blowing sand and the heat, and the craft are in higher demand than ever to ferry passengers trying to avoid Iraq’s ambush-prone roads.

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“We need more vehicles, more armor, more bodies,” said Cpl. Cody King, 20, of Phoenix, Ariz., of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.

QCTimes .com

[jmcgowanjm]

1. more bodies:12 Americans Killed In A Car Bomb Near Al-Qaim

Iraq Ablaze Over Weekend As Resistance Step Up Attacks During Ramadan
Oct 18, 2004
By Omar Al-Faris, JUS

Resistance fighters have stepped up their attacks
against American occupation forces and collaborators since
the beginning of Ramadan as many seek martyrdom in
the cause of Allah during this Holy month.

According to Mafkarat al-Islam, who have both offices
and reporters with resistance fighters inside Iraq issued
a statement over the weekend saying that getting news out
of Iraq is becoming increasingly difficult due to
“unbearable harassment by occupiers”. In fact,
resistance fighters have stepped up their pressure
on occupation forces and have launched more than 100
attacks per day since the beginning of the holy month
of Ramadan.

Resistance Fighters In Fallujah Pledged To Fight Till They Are Martyred While Fasting

Resistance fighter’s fire power forced American occupiers
to retreat about one kilometer from the expressway, north
of Fallujah.

High Casualties Reported In Ambush On Hait-Ramadi Road

On Saturday night, an American-Iraqi joint convoy was the
target of a well executed ambush by resistance
fighters. Mujahideen detonated four powerful explosive
devices that sent the convoy into disarray as it was passing by.
A unit of fifty resistance fighters then opened fire from
all directions for about 30 minutes. The initial
explosions destroyed 4 jeeps, 3 fuel storage tanks, 3
armored vehicles carrying trailers with 6 armored vehicles
on board, and 2 Bradley Tanks. Two additional
personnel carriers full of US collaborating Iraqi soldiers
were also destroyed. A total of twenty five American solders
and thirty four Iraqi collaborators were killed. Eight
resistance fighters were martyred.

http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=100016&list=/home.php

http://www.jihadunspun.net/intheatre_internal.php?article=100138&list=/home.php&

[tlcandie]

2. Who was the BRAIN behind all this figuring, etc. BEFORE

the shit hit the fan and put people's lives on the line? These people KNEW full well the shape of all this equipment, the age of it, and what the blowing sand would do to it!

They had poppy's war to know exactly what the sand would do to their equipment if they couldn't figure it out before then! I thought they had been practicing in the Mojave desert here, etc. BEFOREHAND for years to know the extent of the effects?

For the bodies, I guess they will just have to pull a rabbit out of a hat...

Very, very sad state of affairs.. tragic on the part of every life lost!
:cry:

[jmcgowanjm]

3. & the same is happenin' w/ US infrastructure

These suits, or generals, just worry about their
paychecks. or how the Ops look on paper.

The laborers, or grunts, have to fight thru
the management, or Lts, level (whose job is
to keep bad news from suits/generals) to
let suits/gens understand.

After a while the laborer/grunts just stop talkin'
and start takin' matters into their own hands.

BTW-reason 343rd had no escort was because
the mutineers of the 343rd were ordered to make the
suicidal drive through Latifiyah from their base 175 miles
south of Baghdad to Taji aribase 12 miles north of the
city because the main support base Anaconda, which is
much nearer, was under attack. Turns out I was right.
The logistics supply area Anaconda at Balad has been
attacked several times a day every day of this reprot, with 5-6
GI's being put away with every attack.

The 1st infantry division is supposed to secure Anaconda
but can't because it's trying to hold back the resistance
at Samarra. You can see how successful THAT's been
because even the convoys that manage to make it out of
Balad get hit at Samarra

http://williambowles.info/gispecial/gi_2b95.pdf

[tlcandie]

4. Since the military heads

and our government aren't going to pull the troops out... I guess more and more it will be left to them to refuse to do their jobs. Surely, there will be more once enough of them can see the truth of the matter.

I'm holding intent that they all see the TRUTH soon!!

[sidpleasant]

5. Sand in a desert country? Who could have predicted that?

/sarcasm off

[bemildred]

6. Jimmy C. could have told them. Operation "Eagle Claw". nt