31 January 2008

Are they trying to kill us, or what?



From the Soldier Side: Ok, what was my last mission I wrote about in Iraq? See, I forget stuff because I suffer from C.R.S. The VA doc said that there's nothing they can do for it....so if you know anyone who has C.R.S....help them remember stuff.

After our job in Mosoul/Telafar we got to hang out at the big PX in Baghdad and goof off for a few weeks. Did you know they have a Burger King there? Wow!

I didn't ask about any more missions so I think they forget we were there, until one day my Dumbass assistant team leader asked the boss: "Hey, when are we going on another mission?" I could have kicked him. The next day, we were on a Black Hawk to FOB Kalsu. Now, a FOB is a Forward Operating Base....which made no sense to me, since there was no "Front" in Iraq, we got hit from all directions...

So, FOB Kalsu sucked. There would only be one place I'd go later that sucked worse. The place had been run by the USMC, but a few weeks before we got there the Miss National Guard took over. I hope nobody from that unit reads this, but what a bunch of Knuckelheads (actually I don't give a shit if anyone from that unit reads this...it's the truth)

For every other mission I was sent out on, my team and I were given a pretty good places to sleep....but these guys stuck us in a crappy tent that had so many holes from mortar fragments, that when it rained, us and all our bedding was soaked...and it rained a lot when we were there. They had "KBR" chow, but it was not up to the high standards as most of the other mess halls KBR ran...it sucked.

The guys we were sent there to help out had little or no idea how to "chat" with the "customers" that were brought in. My team and I did several "chats" and were able to get lots of "stuff" but they didn't handle the "stuff" right and screwed up everything. That was frustrating as hell.

But, the one thing that really kept us excited was, every day sometime after lunch, some Hajji assholes would fire 2 mortar rounds into the camp. They always seemed to land where we had been the day before...kind of wierd. Sometimes they hit soldiers, but they usually just caused panic. I noticed the pattern, but it seemed nobody in charge had figured out what was going on...the Hajjis cowards would set up their mortar, fire 2 rounds, throw the tube in a truck and take off.

So, what do you think the response was? Well, about 15 minutes after the last round exploded, someone would hit a siren to let everyone know that we had been attacked. (trust me, if you didn't hear the mortar rounds explode, you must have already been dead.)...then everyone was supposed to run and hide in a bunker...if you could find one that didn't have a bunch of REMFS already hiding in it. Then...after about 45 minutes to an hour, they'd send up a gunship to go look for the shooters. Of course they never caught anyone....but we did...

To be cont.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was wondering when you would post. geez D, a sense of humor had to be a basic survival need huh?

CI-Roller Dude said...

Hope a sense of humor, no matter how wierd it was, was critical to not going crazy. But I still have CRS.

Anonymous said...

Common sense is a lost art isn't it?

Wow...I have CRS too...hmmmm. So far everything I've tried just makes it worse...nothing you can do but just go with it.

Anonymous said...

Someone told me I had CRS, but can't....
Maybe it was while I was MUS.
Army days. Could tell some great stories about my times but CRS.
Much rather read your stuff.
Glad you're staying home.
V/R Jim West

CI-Roller Dude said...

Jim,
I haven't seen the "V/R" since I last looked at my AKO e-mail....
When I drink strong coffee, the CRS goes away...
We need to hear all the storis from all the Vets...

Sergeant Grumpy said...

What the hell is CRS?

Man, I'll tell you where I am FOB Kalsu is a fuckin get-away. Our AF JTAC left us to go to Kalsu, cause he couldn't stand it here. We have no PX, no KBR, uh... oh no women, of course we are 'away from the flag pole' with all the attendant good that comes from that.

Man I can't wait to hear the rest of this. We haven't got hit again since we fired HE back at Hajji, but I really want to get a sniper team to lay in wait for these bastards.

CI-Roller Dude said...

The age old problem that hits many of us with old age:
CRS= CAN'T REMEMBER SHIT

WTF=WHAT THE FU--

and the good old SNAFU, FUBAR etc...