BF2S Forums Paper I wrote about my time in Iraq

*scrolls past poem*

Hmm... I read some of it (the real parts), seems like an interesting read.

ghettoperson wrote:

It's very interesting. Doesn't really read like you though, sounds more like some liberal hippy. Changed your mind slightly since you wrote it?

How so? I've always been anti-war. The economic ideology came after I wrote that though, yes.

ghettoperson wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

ghettoperson wrote:

It's very interesting. Doesn't really read like you though, sounds more like some liberal hippy. Changed your mind slightly since you wrote it?

How so? I've always been anti-war. The economic ideology came after I wrote that though, yes.

You don't seem to come off quite that way on here. Maybe I don't read your posts closely enough, I don't know.

Ahh, I think I know why. I think that war should be an absolute last resort for any nation. But, if you are going to fight a war you need to remove the gloves and let the military do what it's supposed to do. The Rules of Engagement that we were forced to fight under when I was there led to many deaths. They tried turning a military designed to fight into a police force and it led to a lot of frustration. When the entire country walks around with AK-47s openly it's difficult to know who the good guys are and who are the bad guys. Forcing our soldiers to wait until fired upon is a death sentence in many cases.

I'm anti war in general and I think the Iraq invasion was unjustified. But, once you're committed you have to see it through for better or worse.

Last edited by JohnG@lt (2009-10-15 08:48:13)

ruisleipa wrote:

Interesting and nicely written. Apart from a few spelling mistakes

I r engineering major, not engrish major

rammunition wrote:

too long, shit song at beginning is a put off

Shrug, I liked it at the time. This was written about 3 years ago.

So I ended up reading the whole thing. An interesting conversation you had with your Commander...! But it's always good to read about stuff like this from a down to earth perspective.

Also Gurkha's (or Gorkhas) are from Nepal and serve with either the British or Indian Army.

And it's spelt Crescendo

Jeez guys, give him a break about the spelling, no one pulls that shit on here. It's not like he's having it published.

JohnG@lt wrote:

rammunition wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

Shrug, I liked it at the time. This was written about 3 years ago.

3 years ago??? no updates since?

I can barely remember the names of the people on my team, let alone individual events that took place. Why dredge up old memories again? After I wrote the paper I guess I blocked it all out and haven't really thought of it since.

Understandable.

Mekstizzle wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

Mekstizzle wrote:

So I ended up reading the whole thing. An interesting conversation you had with your Commander...! But it's always good to read about stuff like this from a down to earth perspective.

Also Gurkha's (or Gorkhas) are from Nepal and serve with either the British or Indian Army.

And it's spelt Crescendo

The story I was told was that they faced a British officer in India and were so impressed by his courage that they chose to fight for him. Also, something about mercenaries not being allowed on the shores of England so they are stationed on the Isle of Man or something.

They're not classified as mercs iirc, I've never heard anything about that. I think it was the other way round also, the British were impressed with their courage etc..

The wiki has more info if you're interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurkha

Again, it was just the story I was told when I was there. British colonial history in India is not my forte

In fact, it's limited to the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell

Last edited by JohnG@lt (2009-10-15 09:04:01)

JohnG@lt wrote:

If anyone is curious...

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16720502/Iraq

lmk what you think

Edit - Oh, a warning, it's 17 pages long.

yeah read parts of it, sounds good love the intro

Must say - what was with your battalion commander?

JohnG@lt wrote:

In fact, it's limited to the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell

those books rock!