Sent to me by a friend.....

Update from Lt Co Kennedy

Friends and Family--------An update you may not get from the media.

The last two days have been the hardest two days this battalion has faced in over 30 years. Within the blink of an eye the situation went form relatively calm to a raging storm. You've known that since arriving there has been violence; attacks have been sporadic and mostly limited to roadside bombs. Your husbands have become experts at recognizing those threats and neutralizing them before we are injured. Up to this point the war has been the purview of corporals and sergeants, and the squad they lead.


Yesterday the enemy upped the ante.


Early in the morning we exchanged gunfire with a group of insurgents without significant loss. As morning progressed, the enemy fed more men into the fight and we responded with stronger force. Unfortunately, this led to injuries as our Marines and sailors started clearing the city block by block. The enemy did not run; they fought us like soldiers. And we destroyed the enemy like only Marines can. By the end of the evening the local hospital was so full of their dead and wounded that they ran out of space to put them. Your husbands were awesome all night they stayed at the job of securing the streets and nobody challenged them as the hours wore on. They did not surrender an inch nor did flinch from the next potential threat. Previous to yesterday the terrorist thought that we were soft enough to challenge. As of tonight the message is loud and clear that the Marines will not be beaten.


Today the enemy started all over again, although with far fewer numbers, only now the rest of the battalion joined the fight. Without elaborating too much, weapons company and Golf crushed their attackers with the vengeance of the righteous. They filled up the hospitals again and we suffered only a few injuries. Echo company dominated the previous day's battlefield. Fox company patrolled with confidence and authority; nobody challenged them. Even Headquarters Company manned their stations and counted far fewer people openly watching us with disdain. If the enemy is foolish enough to try to take your men again they will not survive contact. We are here to win.


The news looks grim from back in the States. We did take losses that, in our hearts, we will always live with. The men we lost were taken within the very opening minutes of the violence. They could not have foreseen the treachery of the enemy and they did not suffer. We can never replace these Marines and Sailors but they will fight on with us in spirit. We are not feeling sorry for ourselves nor do we fear what tomorrow will bring. The battalion has lived up to its reputation as Magnificent Bastards.


Yesterday made everyone here stronger and wiser; it will be a cold day in Hell before we are taken for granted again.

no worries, bush has a lot more soldiers to send over...it's not like it's his life on the line.

"And I marched, and I fought
And I bled, and I died
And I never did get any older
But I knew at the time
That a year in the line
Was a long enough life for a soldier"
~1916~

I posted it because I knew you raghead lovers would be upset at the news about how our Marines are kicking ass over there.

Only the most idiotic are going to assume that if Marines are fired upon, they shouldn't, or won't, fire back.

So far I'd have to say that the media reports of the fighting haven't been far off the mark at all, at least from what I've watched and read.

By the way, thanks for continuing to use those racist epiphets, I admire your constancy. I'm sure if we ever go to war with the East you'll be sure to pull out those old classics like "chink" and "gook"...

Yep, we have our own resident redneck.

Interestingly enough,..
a link appears to 'somewhat' exist between Mental Illness and US Soldiers in Iraq..

Indirectly, it could explain Sixgun's continued use of "racist epithets"

and to help Sixgun, in case he didn't understand the word...
and the apparent link between Mental Illness and the War on Terror...

I don't think this neccessarily proves anyhting other then superior strength of military force.

Just because you cna anihilate the entire populous of a country, does not mean that you're winning by captuing the insurgents.

Neon

i'm more depressed that our president keeps sending more and more of our young people over to die...the war on terror has become a fight for iraq...i think they should change that title it to a fight for survival.

Weren't the troop numbers decreasing until very recently?

Anyway, given that, as the letter says 'The news looks grim from back in the States,' this does raise the point that victory on battlefields is not the important thing now. Good, obviously, but subordinate to stability and security. A massively destructive firefight that the US wins (which of course it would) would still be a massive setback. I guess that looks a little unfair from the front line, but that is the way that it is, and also the way that it should be.

not to mention all the countries now pulling their troops, aren't there like only two, maybe three countries that will be there by time summer comes around?

more americans to die for...what is keeping iraq about anymore? Obviously it wasn't for the oil, gas prices are so high now...hmmm...well, i haven't seen any more terror on american soil...so the idea is to keep the terrorists in iraq taking pot shots at our soldiers so bush can make a big deal about how much "safer" america is from terrorists...to bad it isn't safe from him...

You guys miss the point.

We are drawing the Islamic terrorists into Iraq where we can kill them.


BTW, Islam is a faith, not a race.

Yes, but the epiphet 'towelhead' is a slur towards those of Arabic descent, thus it is a racist comment.

SEMPER FI MACK!

GO 4th! I can personally attest to the fact that ALOT of fire fights and gun play are not widely reprted by the media. I was a peace keeeper in the former Yugoslavia in the early part of the last decade. There i was in 4 fire fire fights, numerous raids and other applications of the Infantrymans trade, fuck me I even witnessed a battle between some Nowegian Leopard tanks and Yugoslavian T80's they didnt last long. So none of this was reported in the media.

I liked the quote that the war was the area of the corporals and SGTs and the squads they lead. FUCK YEAH thats how wars are won with a bayonette with some guts behind it. See you soft civies who have never expeirenced military life let alone active duty. Now Im not a war junkie, I have night mares weekly about things i've seen. But I will demand respect for those who have the parts to sign on the dotted line and go to fuckin shitberg and kill those who would try and kill them. When the bullets are flyin ideology goes out the window Ill tell ya that.

My thing in this whole Iraq war, is the war is no doubt a cluster fuck from the word go and is a good publicty stunt for Bush. BUT!!!!! Im with the guys and gals on the ground who have to do the shit job thast none of you would ever want to do. You ever had to burry rotting corpses? no well let me tell ya you dont want to.

SO SUPPORT YER FUCKIN TROOPS!

I support them whenever they have to fight, but I don't see how that means I don't have to bury rotting corpses. Although I suppose I haven't buried any rotting corpses lately, so perhaps that's because I'm supporting the troops. Hmmm...

I burried the rotting corpses of women children and the elderly all because they were deemed to be ethnicly cleansed THEY were MUSLIMS. They Lived in the wrong village, THEY were killed by thugs not soldiers, it was soldiers who cared for them in death. It is SOLDIERS who left their families and had to dig a mass grave and cover them with lime, it is SOLDIERS who wake up in the middle of the night gasping a silent scream and can never escape the sight and smell of an event like that.

I say to some of you CAN YOU DO THAT? COS I DID

All Im sayin Arty is that this is the kind of job soldiers have to, and have always had to do that civillians will never fully understand even my writing this will fail to make a dent in how people view the profession of arms

Quick question, Dirge: what were your initial reasons for joining the armed forces? (which branch? I assume you were enlisted?).



I am interested in joining the Navy, and have started the application process for Officer. I am opposed to the Iraqi war, but I do realize I will have to follow orders, and will (however, I will most likely be stationed in D.C. or Virginia, due to the field I'm seeking entrance to).

Good question!

I was always interested in the army from childhood and my family has a long history with The Calgary Highlanders, My grand fther seved with them in WWII, my father in in the 60's and 70's and then me in the 90's. It is the same for my uncle and cousin, who I served with for most of my career. The Calgary Highlanders are an Infantry unit with a long and distinguished history in cluding 44 battle honours in 2 world wars, numerous peace keeping deployments and humanitarian missions. AND it is only a reserve unit!

I was always an enlisted man as was my cousin I attianed a final rank of Master Corporal, equivalent to a juniour SGT in US terms