The best part of the job....

When asked: "CI-Roller dude, what do you enjoy most about your jobs?" That would have to be the chance to shoot so many weapons over the years. There are a few that are my all time favorites. Anything that shoots full auto and I don't have to pay for the ammo is good...but there are some that are better than others. Like the MP-5. The M-2 Browning .50 cal is another one I like. Remember gun safety anytime you are handdeling a firearm. Always treat them as if they are loaded. If you own a firearm, take a safety course if you have not had one. Most people can learn a lot from taking a course by a professional. I've seen many shooters who thought they could shoot because they had a gun.... Only hits count.
Yeah, I support the second amendment.
And for my good friend, Sgt Grumpy who's in the IZ now (http://sgtgrumpy.blogspot.com/) don't trust anyone but your partners. Always double tap, do tactical reloads, keep your weapons clean at all times, and make it home.

He was driving what?

From the Soldier side: Anyone who's been "outside the wire" in Iraq has seen one of these. It's an Iraqi Taxi. They are white and orange, usually a Toyota, but I've seen other brands.
Once we were helping out a unit who'd just arrived in Iraq. I can't really say what help we were giving them, but they had one local who claimed some insurgent was driving a white and orange Toyota. The new unit didn't know that was about the most common type of car in the area we were in.
They sent out a patrol and on their list of wanted people was this guy driving a white and orange Toyota.
They brought in 7 people the first day out. Until we explained to them that the Iraqi Taxis were white and orange. oops.
This will be a good Thanksgiving for me...I'm home with my family. But I have several friends in Iraq who'll be eating KBR chow this year. Good luck guys.

Update to this issue: Someone e-mailed me and wanted to know where this picture was taken. Between Dec 2004 and when I left Iraq a year later, I was sent on so many missions all over Iraq that I lost track. I think it's Al Asad. I was based in Baghdad, went to Fallujah, etc etc. If I list all the places I went with and without my team, too many people might guess who I am.
FNU, LNU.

Morons as Leaders, We survived Iraq anyway

From the Soldier side: Some e-mails I got about my last entry... made me have flashbacks to my year in Iraq. Although I'm in the California Army National Guard and I deployed as far as Kuwait with my Calif. unit, once in Kuwait, a Regular Army unit grabbed a bunch of us.
At first I thought this would have been a good thing. However, I quickly learned that the "new Army" is nothing like the good old Army I had served in years before.
The unit I was attached to was run by blithering idiots. From the Battalion Commander down to the Company level. I was so happy when my team got sent out on long missions and got to work with cool people like the USMC.
How stupid was this Regular Army unit? The first sergeant wanted us to have stand up formations outside every morning--- and we were only 100 meters from the camp wall. On the other side of the wall was Baghdad.
My first self appointed mission when I took over as the NCOIC of the teams was to make sure the company "leaders" didn't poke their noses into what our teams did. Our teams were very special and the company was only supposed to get us beans and bullets. They didn't do very well on the second part and had no idea of the tactics required to move about outside the camp.

Oh well, I could go on for hours.

Non-Deployable Chickens

From the Soldier side: Here's a funny thing. A long time ago when I was in the Regular Army, I figured I'd have to go fight a war somewhere sometime. It never happened and I was discharged. Years later I joined the California Army National Guard. The first years were normal-- I went to earthquakes, floods, fires and drug interdiction missions.
Then Nine Eleven happened. I knew I'd have to go somewhere and do something...so what did I do when my enlistment was about to run out? I re-enlisted for 6 more years. Why? Because I'm a dumbass.
Since Nine Eleven I've run across many people in the National Guard and have heard of many active duty Army soldiers who have done everything they can to not get deployed. They claim injuries, family problems and all kinds of crap to stay home. The part that really upsets me is many of these people have not and will never deploy and THEY STILL GET PROMOTED!
I've been deployed twice for a total of 24 months. It screwed up my job and my family, but I still did my duty. In my opinion, these non-deployable pukes should be kicked out if they have not deployed at least once. And if they won't deploy, they should not get promoted. We now have lots of good soldiers who've deployed and have real world experience in our jobs who can lead very well...they should get promoted.
That's my rant for the day. Have a good Veteran's Day and don't forget who it's brought to you by. -D.

Loosers

From the Cop side: I'm still amazed at how many people still think they can drive after they've been drinking. Maybe they went to a club or a bar, or stopped and had a few with dinner. Whatever the method, the problem is the same.
This photo is from a 20 something year old female who went to a bar with a couple of her friends. She and her friends had more than a few drinks. She thought she could drive everyone home.
Lucky, only the fire hydrant and the car suffered. She destroyed her car, the damage to the hydrant was about $10,000. The DUI fines, court cost, attorney fees, increase in her her car insurance will cost even more.

Captured cut up weapons

From the Soldier side: One of the best "jobs" I was on, was in Bosnia. It was beautiful country, nice folks, and lots of guns and explosives still floating around.
The photo is what was supposed to happen when weapons were turned into SFOR. I did read some news accounts of some ending up in other countries later on---even Iraq.

Guts

From the Soldier side: When asked: "CI-Roller dude, did you know any heros in Iraq?"
I have to answer with "I knew a bunch."
I my opinon, anyone who was willing to go out into Baghdad everyday just to do their job was a HERO!
We had a few who didn't want to go outside the wire, but we had a bunch more who did. This is one of the teams. Their faces are blacked out for Op-Sec.
What is a hero? Someone who does what has to be done when nobody else can or will do it.

The Lightening Taxi-Airborne thing....

From the Soldier side: (sorry I'm not doing more stuff from the cop side, but this stuff is more exciting.) My good long lost friend Sgt Grumpy is working his mission in Iraq now. (see one of the blogs below for the link). I pray he stays safe and does not become as grumpy as me.
Some folks asked why I "volunteered" for Iraq back in 04. I mean I'd just returned from one deployment and I was supposed to not have to deploy for a whole year.
Well, our Battalion commander really needed us. (yeah, he just needed bodies) He swore that: "If you go now, at least you get to go with your own unit." Wow, that sounded good. To deploy to Iraq with my buddies-- many whom I'd deployed to Bosnia with. Some I'd been with for over 4 years.
Then, as soon as we got to Kuwait, they gave a bunch of us to a regular army unit. Oh well...they were just as "ate up" as any Guard unit.

The reason I volunteered.... my wife was having PMS the day I needed to sign the papers. Just kidding. I felt it was my duty.

Too Much Fun!

From the Soldier side: When asked: "CI-Roller
Dude have you ever had a fun deployment?" Well, don't tell our command, but Bosnia was the most fun job I ever had. I couldn't figure out
how some soldiers who deployed with us
hated being there and were scared to death.
We did suffer from greedy, self serving leaders,
But my job was the best you could have in the
US Army.

The photo is one of our team members posing.

A Good Leader!

From the Soldier side:
The person who got me interested in writing a blog will soon be going to Iraq. His blog is http://sgtgrumpy.blogspot.com/
Sergeant Grumpy was deployed with us to Bosnia (SFOR 14) and is one of the best soldiers I ever worked with as well as being one of the best humans I know. He's the kind of guy who would do anything for a friend or a fellow soldier.
Sgt Grumpy's blog for today talks about leaders. It seems he had at least one good one. With all the humor we try throwing out, I can be honest about one thing...good leaders are very very hard to find. I'm talking about leaders, not managers. I my lines of work we need leaders...not desk jockeys.
A leader knows how to do the job and can do it better than those he or she is leading. A leader knows those who work for him or her and knows how to get those who follow to do the job.
The good leader has people who ENJOY working for the leader and would not want to work with any other.
This is something you can't learn in a school...you can learn how to do it better, but the basics are not learned.
Check Sgt Grumpy's blog....he's talking about a good leader. If you don't understand, then move out of the way and let someone else lead.