*
A Marine friend sent me the following e-mail received from a Force Recon Marine on November 11. Sorry for the long post–I couldn’t figure out how to post a short one and reply to it with the longer material.
Tom
Some words from a WARRIOR at the front. It’s not very long and full of reality.
Subj: A RECON MARINE IN AFGHANISTAN SPEAKS
The following was read on the Sully and Scooter (Radio KOGO in San Diego)Show on Nov. 17:
Just outside of Ab Gach, in the northwest panhandle of Afghanistan between Tajikstan and Pakistan, November 11, 2001.
Bizarre,
It’s (expletive) freezing here. I’m sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs at the base of the Hindu Kush mountains along the Dar ‘yoi Pomir River watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave. Stake out, my friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles. I also glance at the area around my ass every ten to fifteen seconds to avoid another scorpion sting. I’ve actually given up battling the chiggers and sand fleas, but them (expletive) scorpions give a jolt like a cattle prod. Hurts like a bastard. The antidote tastes like transmission fluid but God bless the Marine Corps for the five vials of it in my pack.
The one truth the Taliban cannot escape is that, believe it or not, they are human beings, which means they have to eat food and drink water. That requires couriers and that’s where an old bounty hunter like me comes in handy. I track he couriers, locate the tunnel entrances and storage facilities, type the info into the handheld, shoot the coordinates up to the satellite link that tells the air commanders where to drop the hardware, we bash some heads for a while, then I track and record the new movement. It’s all about intelligence.
We haven’t even brought in the snipers yet. These scurrying rats have no idea what they’re in for. We are but days away from cutting off supply lines and allowing the eradication to begin. I’ve said it before and Ill say it again: This country blows, man. It’s not even a country. There are no roads, there’s no infrastructure, there’s no government. This is an inhospitable, rockpit (expletive) ruled by eleventh century warring tribes. There are no jobs here like we know jobs.
Afghanistan offers two ways for a man to support his family: join the opium trade or join the army. That’s it. Those are your options. Oh, I forgot, you can also live in a refugee camp and eat plum-sweetened, crushed beetle paste and squirt mud like a goose with stomach flu if that’s your idea of a party. But the smell alone of those “tent cities of the walking dead” is enough to hurl you into the poppy fields to cheerfully scrape bulbs for eighteen hours a day.
And let me tell you something else. I’ve been living with these Tajiks and Uzbeks and Turkmen and even a couple of Pushtins for over a month and a half now and this much I can say for sure: These guys, all of em, are Huns. Actual, living Huns. They LIVE to fight. Its what they do. Its ALL they do. They have no respect for anything, not for their families or for each other or for themselves. They claw at one another as a way of life. They play polo with dead calves and force their five-year-old sons into human cockfights to defend the family honor. Huns, roaming packs of savage, heartless beasts who feed on each other’s barbarism. (Expletive) cavemen with AK 47’s.
Then again, maybe I’m just cranky. I’m freezing my (expletive) off on this stupid (expletive) hill because my lap warmer is running out of juice and I can’t recharge it until the sun comes up in a few hours.
Oh yeah! You like to write letters, right? Do me a favor, Bizarre. Write a letter to CNN and tell Judy and Bernie and that awful, sneering, pompous Aaron Brown to stop calling the Taliban “smart.” They are not smart. I suggest CNN invest in a dictionary because the word they are looking for is “cunning.” The Taliban are cunning, like jackals and hyenas and wolverines. They are sneaky and ruthless and, when confronted, cowardly. They are hateful, malevolent parasites who create nothing and destroy everything else.
Smart.
Pfft.
Yeah, they’re real smart. They’ve spent their entire lives reading only one book (and not a very good one, as books go) and consider hygiene and indoor plumbing to be products of the devil. They’re still figuring out how to work a Bic lighter. Talking to a Taliban warrior about improving his quality of life is like trying to teach an ape how to hold a pen; eventually he just gets frustrated and sticks you in the eye with it. OK, enough.
Snuffle will be up soon so I have to get back to my hole. Covering my tracks in the snow takes a lot of practice but I’m getting good at it. Please tell my fellow Americans to turn off their TV sets and move on with their lives. The story line you are getting from CNN is utter (expletive)and designed not to deliver truth but rather to keep you glued to the screen through the commercials. We’ve got this one under control. The worst thing you guys can do right now is sit around analyzing what we’re doing over here because you have no idea what we’re doing and, really, you don’t want to know. We are your military and we are doing what you sent us here to do. You wanna help? Buy some (expletive) stocks, America.
Saucy Jack, USMC
Replies
*
Thanks for the post, Tom.
Dano
*OOPS! Just learned that the source of the message may be bogus. Check "Urban Legends" "rumors of war" site. Very sorry to pass on suspect information. It sure seemed realistic to this old Jarhead, though!Tom
*Sure sounded real to me.....Mebbe you can get Ms. Roman to delete it for you, I'm sure she would be happy to oblige.Dano
*recharging lap warmers???? sounds like an urban legend to me.
*Dano,Nah--Herself wouldn't delete any post of mine unless Tishhh told her to.Tom
*Sherman said it for all posterity - "War is Hell." Those of us who have been shot at can attest to his veracity. May be a fiction, but a darned realistic one.Don
*Check out this link...Peace.-Robhttp://www.snopes2.com/rumors/freezing.htm
*It may be a legend but it sure is interesting. I really do wonder how much of it is true, though, especially about the Taliban attitudes/mindset.
*Tom, I received the same thing via email last week. Thought about posting it here, but didn't...figured it wasn't quite up to snuff.I totally agree with you, though...the writing seemed good, the mindset seemed pretty accurate...just didn't seem right, though.
*Mongo, Why didn't it seem right? Mrs. TWC
*> Why didn't it seem right?That's a good question. I've been thinking about just that myself. The first time I read it, I thought "urban myth" all the way through.There's a subject line. The detail of being read on the "Sully and Scooter (Radio KOGO in San Diego)Show on Nov. 17" And then the further detail "Just outside of Ab Gach, in the northwest panhandle of Afghanistan between Tajikstan and Pakistan, November 11, 2001."There's too much detail to be authentic. All the way through.Rich Beckman
*i Sully and Scooter (Radio KOGO in San Diego) Show This was my tipoff. Never heard of these personalities (not that they don't exist--I'm an NPR junkie).
*First of all, there were several multi-syllable words, and they were all properly spelled. We're supposed to think a Marine can do that?I just went to the site that Robert linked to in his Post#4. I actually dispute the ammunition that the site uses to shoot this letter down:1) There are oral anti-venoms for scorpion stings. Not all have to be injected.2) The geographical reference also caught my eye at first, but then when I re-read it, I think it's plausible. The author wrote something like "Ab Gach, in the northwest panhandle...". Yes the panhandle is in the northeast portion of Afghanistan, and that first caught my eye as an error. But then after re-reading, I reconsidered...even with the panhandle beig rather thin, Ab Gach could be considered as being in the northwest portion of the panhandle. It's a little too slippery, but I can let that one slide.A couple of things that did catch my eye:1) Like others have mentioned, there is too much accuracy in the letter. Too many details. The details are technically and militarily correct, but I don't think any professional Jarhead worth his sauce is going to give away details like that.2) Scorpion stings. Scorpion stings are very rare in the winter, scorpions don't do a whole helluva lot in the cold. You really have to piss one off to get it to sting you. They are generally nocturnal, but pretty inactive on cold weather. I get the impression from Jack that they're hovering like mosquitos.3) Based upon previous experience, those soldiers that do take any kind of medicine, whether it be anti-venom for a bite or sting, or an injection for chem weapons, they are pulled from the fight. Usually they are taken out of action for 7-10 days. If symptomatic, they are typically removed and sent to Ramstein in Germany. More than one sting or dose of anti-venom? Then they are most definitely out of there...and usually sent packing, out of theater for the duration. A sting is nasty, but the anti-venom is pretty bad, too.4) Small point, but would he be writing a buddy a letter while on watch? Maybe. Is he on break? Maybe. However, I don't know recall too many field packs that include a pouch for letter writing materials. Just being picky here.Could the letter be real? Yes. Could the letter be false? Yes.It's an entertaining read, and I think the analysis is correct. The whole scenario just seems awkward to me.I just think a truly professional soldier would not write a detailed letter like that. And, I've always thought that the guys on forward recce are truly huge beings...definite pro's.I do think it was written by a Marine, though, and that's because the author appears to have first-hand knowledge of what transmission fluid tastes like.Sorry, Tom (and Mrs. Tom), but your dealing with an old flyboy on this end. All in good jest.
*OK, I'm out of touch. There is such a show.http://sdradio.net/15/sullyandscooter.shtml
*Seems odd to me that a marine under combat conditions would tell where he was, and even give the date. I'd lean towards thinking it was a fake. > Just outside of Ab Gach, in the northwest panhandle of Afghanistan between Tajikstan and Pakistan, November 11, 2001
*MONGO IN MUCH TROUBLE.Mongo mock Marines. Marines not like that. Marines know big words too. A-TEN-HUT! KILL THAT GUY!See?Mongo, You're points are well made. The message seems to me to be based on a real e-mail some Marine made to a friend, which got recycled over a month or so. FWIW, I get similar e-mails from old buds every day at work. But come to think of it, they're mostly from people on carriers and USAF bases in CONUS. My guess? Real e-mail to a bud, possibly embellished. Bet you didn't think Marines used words like "embellished", didja?TomWadjufly?
*The point of this Marine disclosing his location with such detail did also stike me as odd.I am with Beckman in having the "urban legend" feeling the whole wayt through the read. Also, the "buy stocks" message at the end seemed out of place somehow.I did like the letter although I am not very certain of it's authenticity.Pete
*SEMPER FI.!!!!
*Now how 'bout some Jar Head air wing stories from Subic Bay?
*Ah, the dilemma of the intell officer. Spent some time evaluating some Russian stuff as a retired military for corporate America. Asked me how much of it I believed. Told them "All of it, and none of it." Same holds here. Could be real, but highly embellished. Author obviously knew what he was talking about - hence TWC got schnockered. I was wondering about veracity till I got to place about scorpions. They aren't active in snow, & this grunt said he was in snow. I'm sure they live in Ashcanistan, but should be very inactive and wintering over under a rock this time of year. The desert variety is quite venomous, and I doubt that you'd put someone out drinking antivenom alone. Ask the Arizona folks about them, as well as the Desert Storm vets. The BIG black ones tend to be innocuous, but the little grey/tan/white desert varieties are BAAAAD news. That made me think legend. More than I had to that point. Also, knowing the USMC penchant and love of sniping, makes me wonder about truth. I'll betcha there are snipers all over the place. Open terrain, clear, cold air. A sniper's paradise. Still a great story.Don, Retired US Army
*Agree with Don about the snipes. As a former Jar with friends that were at New River N.C. with Marine choppers....during exercises snipers were one of the first guys they transported in with recon. They sighted radio operators and anyone wearing bars.
*What is the 50 cal. sniper rifle they got now. Uses a cartridge about as long as your hand! Must kick like a mule and/or wiegh a ton! I heard they shoot flat for about 1000 yards. Sounds like one hell of a weapon in the hands of an expert. Hope some one has one handy when binny sticks his head out from under the rock he crawled under!Mr. T.
*Don,You got it exactly. Real, but questionably authentic. No Matter.Intel is taking over the world (inside the Pentagon) these days. It's no longer: "Intel supports the warfighters", but rather: "Intel needs the following information from the front" (or rear)). This brings up the hot issues of HUNINT vs. UAVs, sending in Marines/Special Forces vs. sending well-heeled CIA operatives who speak various Arabian languages, etc.Lots of discussions on those subjects. Only two things I'm certain of: 1. Osama is going to be dead sooner or later, and 2. that won't be the end.I feel sorry for the parents of John Walker. He's gonna fry, too. Semper FiTom
*eff sitsteens 'n ay tins.But I'm a hogdriver through and through...I loved that plane...jess like me, big, slow, and ugly.Howboutcherself?
*TWC III, MONGO, What squadrons did you serve with?
*Rich, Mongo,VMAs all over the world. Light attack in support of grunts doing the hard work-flew A-4s and AV-8s, then a bunch of stuff at Pax River. You?Tom
*Tom, 1979/1981 vma(aw)242 West Pac, red flag, cope thunder. 1981/1983 vmaq2 Nimitz Float, West Pac. Plane Captain/Power Plant wrench. Some of the best years of my life! Still keep in touch with a half dozen Jars. "Yoo Marine? Wat yoo rank? I lup yoo ferst site! Yoo no cheet or I butterfly yoo!!" Enlisted at 17. Came home on leave after a few years in the fleet. College civs back on the block tried to impress me with frat stories....
*I was USAF, served a few years behind you. Flew in a few Copes and Red Flags...Red and Green Flags from '86 to '91, Cope Thunders...one in '86 and one in '88. Didn't see Subic at the Copes. We did Clark and Angeles City. Home of the Nipa Hut and other wild extravaganza's.
*Fiction.Spent nearly 21 years in the Army. Some of that with SF. Never saw scorpion anti-venom issued to anyone individually or even to a team medic. Doubt if policy would be any different in the Marines. In Saudi & Iraq in 1990-91 saw plenty of scorpions, yellow, black and red only during warm weather. When it got cold, they were tucked away hibernating somewhere where nobody would encounter them. Up high in the Hindu Kush in winter in below-freezing temperatures? Doubt it. Why anti-venom? Their sting won't kill you - only makes you pretty sore and perhaps sick if you're extra sensitive. One of my troops was stung playing around with one. He likened the experience to a severe bee sting.This guy's an imposter. Kind of like the PX heroes we used to see, whose chests spouted lots of unearned award ribbons when they went home on leave.ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!Mike O'Handley
*Mike, welcome here. Im glad you came over for a visit.see things have changed. In fact waadya drinking Ill buy this round.
*Ron, When you see Mike, just make sure to tell him not to shake the site moderator's hand...apparently there's a peculiar smell coming from the moderator's thumb.
*Ouch! Tough audiance.OT - OF!!!Mike
*Welcome aboard, Mike.
*Thanks Mongo, just came by to browse and was attracted to the threads about the military. Ron, mine would be a triple-tall latte.OT - OF!!!Mike
*Mike, You're being treated nice. The RK treads are gone, but that was something to see. You've been welcomed.BobL
*
A Marine friend sent me the following e-mail received from a Force Recon Marine on November 11. Sorry for the long post--I couldn't figure out how to post a short one and reply to it with the longer material.
Tom
Some words from a WARRIOR at the front. It's not very long and full of reality.
Subj: A RECON MARINE IN AFGHANISTAN SPEAKS
The following was read on the Sully and Scooter (Radio KOGO in San Diego)Show on Nov. 17:
Just outside of Ab Gach, in the northwest panhandle of Afghanistan between Tajikstan and Pakistan, November 11, 2001.
Bizarre,
It's (expletive) freezing here. I'm sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs at the base of the Hindu Kush mountains along the Dar 'yoi Pomir River watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave. Stake out, my friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles. I also glance at the area around my ass every ten to fifteen seconds to avoid another scorpion sting. I've actually given up battling the chiggers and sand fleas, but them (expletive) scorpions give a jolt like a cattle prod. Hurts like a bastard. The antidote tastes like transmission fluid but God bless the Marine Corps for the five vials of it in my pack.
The one truth the Taliban cannot escape is that, believe it or not, they are human beings, which means they have to eat food and drink water. That requires couriers and that's where an old bounty hunter like me comes in handy. I track he couriers, locate the tunnel entrances and storage facilities, type the info into the handheld, shoot the coordinates up to the satellite link that tells the air commanders where to drop the hardware, we bash some heads for a while, then I track and record the new movement. It's all about intelligence.
We haven't even brought in the snipers yet. These scurrying rats have no idea what they're in for. We are but days away from cutting off supply lines and allowing the eradication to begin. I've said it before and Ill say it again: This country blows, man. It's not even a country. There are no roads, there's no infrastructure, there's no government. This is an inhospitable, rockpit (expletive) ruled by eleventh century warring tribes. There are no jobs here like we know jobs.
Afghanistan offers two ways for a man to support his family: join the opium trade or join the army. That's it. Those are your options. Oh, I forgot, you can also live in a refugee camp and eat plum-sweetened, crushed beetle paste and squirt mud like a goose with stomach flu if that's your idea of a party. But the smell alone of those "tent cities of the walking dead" is enough to hurl you into the poppy fields to cheerfully scrape bulbs for eighteen hours a day.
And let me tell you something else. I've been living with these Tajiks and Uzbeks and Turkmen and even a couple of Pushtins for over a month and a half now and this much I can say for sure: These guys, all of em, are Huns. Actual, living Huns. They LIVE to fight. Its what they do. Its ALL they do. They have no respect for anything, not for their families or for each other or for themselves. They claw at one another as a way of life. They play polo with dead calves and force their five-year-old sons into human cockfights to defend the family honor. Huns, roaming packs of savage, heartless beasts who feed on each other's barbarism. (Expletive) cavemen with AK 47's.
Then again, maybe I'm just cranky. I'm freezing my (expletive) off on this stupid (expletive) hill because my lap warmer is running out of juice and I can't recharge it until the sun comes up in a few hours.
Oh yeah! You like to write letters, right? Do me a favor, Bizarre. Write a letter to CNN and tell Judy and Bernie and that awful, sneering, pompous Aaron Brown to stop calling the Taliban "smart." They are not smart. I suggest CNN invest in a dictionary because the word they are looking for is "cunning." The Taliban are cunning, like jackals and hyenas and wolverines. They are sneaky and ruthless and, when confronted, cowardly. They are hateful, malevolent parasites who create nothing and destroy everything else.
Smart.
Pfft.
Yeah, they're real smart. They've spent their entire lives reading only one book (and not a very good one, as books go) and consider hygiene and indoor plumbing to be products of the devil. They're still figuring out how to work a Bic lighter. Talking to a Taliban warrior about improving his quality of life is like trying to teach an ape how to hold a pen; eventually he just gets frustrated and sticks you in the eye with it. OK, enough.
Snuffle will be up soon so I have to get back to my hole. Covering my tracks in the snow takes a lot of practice but I'm getting good at it. Please tell my fellow Americans to turn off their TV sets and move on with their lives. The story line you are getting from CNN is utter (expletive)and designed not to deliver truth but rather to keep you glued to the screen through the commercials. We've got this one under control. The worst thing you guys can do right now is sit around analyzing what we're doing over here because you have no idea what we're doing and, really, you don't want to know. We are your military and we are doing what you sent us here to do. You wanna help? Buy some (expletive) stocks, America.
Saucy Jack, USMC