Anyone speak Arabic?

[Twicepardoned]

Well guys it's been fun but not as much fun as I would like. Hopefully I'll have more money when I come back and actually get to meet some of you rather than just talk online. Either way I guess I'll still be driving an offraod vehicle for the next 15 months! hahaha HMMV for life! =)

Yeah yeah yeah, I'm heading to Iraq in September.
I have been out of active service now for almost 4 years but did the dumb thing are had an extended IRR service... So they took what they could get. I've been inserted into a group heading to Iraq... it sucks because I always imagined that I would most likely end up covering someone state-side while they went to Iraq. Oh well, I know it's tough for everyone. I guess I just wish I was the 19 yr old single kid who signed up. Not a 26 yr old married guy with 2 daughters... makes it harder to up and go.

Anyway, not here for pity or sympathy but it sucks anyway.

 

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

it sucks hat you will be leaving your family for the stay, but THANK YOU for your service. It is guys like you that make the sacrifice so the rest of us can stay here and bitch

 

[IndyXJ]

Thank you for your service!

 

[WB9YZU]

No sprecken zee Arabik, but I fancy you will when you get back :doh:

Nah, they take much older than you and insert them in hot zones. IIRC the cut off age is around 45 now.

Many folks are turning 2-3-4 tricks over there.

I wish you well! Stay safe and come back home!

 

[MisterFubar]

Bah, it's not that bad over there. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Dustin_Z]

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

I do speak some arabic, and I have regular access to a native speaking translator (now an officer in the US military)

Anything you would like to know?

Have you ever tried Rosetta Stone? Worked awesome for me

 

[XJ Stryker]

Been there twice make sure you have a laptop and a good wifi card. most of the camps there now have wifi hotspots.

SKYPE is also great for talking on the phone through your computer. Just get ya a decent headset with a speakerphone like 1 cent a min nless gas effected them too lol. Skype also has webcam stuff too when you are chatting, although most haji nets are too slow for it.

hmmmmm One cool thing about it is while you are there you can pick up a few jeep parts and when you get back and see what all you bought it will be like christmas again lol.

Stay safe man and I hope to see you on the trails when you get back.

 

[stewie]

i learned a little in my two trips to the sand box. durring the second stay, one of my NCOs got me addicted to . I ended up spending most of the deployment money I got (not as much as others since I was an unmarried E4) on buying my XJ and doing lift and tires.

X2 on the Christmas comment above. Have the family stash the Jeep parts you order in the garage and even wrap some of them up for you to tare into uppon your safe return.

Thanks for your contunued service.
James

 

[alwaysready]

My BIL also just got orders to go over he is heading to washington or something for 30 days then straight to the sandbox.
funny thing was he wasnt supposed to go till march but last week they gave him a promotion to (drawing blank)___ and this week they call him and tell him your leaving in a week for the 30 days..then overseas
Well good luck to you, and thanks for your service, Use those nice paychecks for jeep parts at least youll have time to order stuff and not be standing around waiting for it..
Good luck stay safe.

 

[dj's 2000 xj]

Be safe. My buddy went in a couple years ago and went into a crash course in Farsi, he now rides high in the sky intercepting communications. I picked up a little from South Park. Dirka dirka, dirk dirka mohammed jihad. j/k Take care and Thank you.

 

[Twicepardoned]

Sorry, just got back to checking this.

it sucks hat you will be leaving your family for the stay, but THANK YOU for your service. It is guys like you that make the sacrifice so the rest of us can stay here and bitch

I appreciate the words of encouragement but I'll be quite honest I'm not sure at all how fighting in Iraq is making people any more free here. I feel similar about Vietnam although we had significantly more casualties then.

Ultimately I am a believer that men who want to be free fight for thir freedom... they don't beg for it. The Colonists of early America decided to be free, they fought...
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson

When I apply that logic to Iraq I have to wonder "If they hated the oppressive Saddam then why weren't they fighting him when we arrived?" Iraq is a waste of time. If freedom is the key and we are trying to unlock doors for people, then we need to at least go places were people are literally fighting for freedom.

I supported the destruction of Saddam and still do but the occupation of that country is ridiculous.
If we leave Iraq and it goes BACK to a regime like it once had then who cares... Obviously nobody there cares enough to fight for their own freedom, or at least not enough of them.

How is a difficult question, but sooner than later is the answer as to when we should be ending the 'war'... I think 'occupation' is a better word.

 

[Twicepardoned]

Been there twice make sure you have a laptop and a good wifi card. most of the camps there now have wifi hotspots.

SKYPE is also great for talking on the phone through your computer. Just get ya a decent headset with a speakerphone like 1 cent a min nless gas effected them too lol. Skype also has webcam stuff too when you are chatting, although most haji nets are too slow for it.

I will be sure to do that.
I am currently in a bind actually. It turns out that I am no longer elligible for my MOS because of some problems I acquired at the end of my Active service. I was Articled 15'd and apparently stripped of my Secret CLassification. SO now they are trying to figure out if I am eligible to go with this unit. If that is the case then I might have to retrain MOS... Hopefully that happens because I'd unlikely make it to theatre.

 

[wilson1010]

The Colonists of early America decided to be free, they fought...
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson

The majority of American Colonists supported the British and opposed the Revolution. Like now, the sheep were happy to follow the easy path to the slaughterhouse. Visionaries, like our Revolutionary War hereos knew there was a better path. Thank God we are not controlled entirely by the fear based opinions of the uninformed.