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| Iraq |
| Soldiers Boating on Iraqi Lake |
| 2006-10-12 |
| Go see the photos at the link - some might find it comical! “We serviced the engine to make sure everything ran,” said Staff Sgt. Phillip Kitchen, team chief, Service and Recovery Section, Dragoon Troop, 2-9 CAV. “The prop that was on it when we got it was destroyed, so we had to re-do the prop; sand it down, grind it down, make it better. The boat had a hole in it so we had to patch the underside of the boat so that it wouldn’t leak in.” In getting the boat on the open water, and not the fast-moving river during previous operations, there were a few kinks that will need to be worked out. After taking over operations from the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry when the unit redeployed to the United States in August, the Hunters wanted to authenticate the tool before handing it over to its eventual replacements. “We’re validating both the maintenance readiness of it and the functionality of the boat out in the lake to prove that it’s actually a task that we need to (hand) over to the next unit,” Buehler said. Earlier in this deployment to Iraq, the Hunters conducted similar operations on the Tigris River while at Forward Operating Base Wilson. For many, this wasn’t their first time cruising the waterways of this mostly desert country, but most relished the change from the norm. “But when it comes down to it, it’s fun to get out on the water and do something different than a regular 1114 patrol,” Lartigue said. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #10 There is a very fine line between fishing and just being drunk on a boat (or on the banks). And I speak from experience: that line is repeatedly crossed on any good fishing trip. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-10-12 14:08 |
| #9 I go fishing a lot, I just don't go catching very often. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2006-10-12 12:15 |
| #8 The religion of bass fishing is the real ROP. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-10-12 11:43 |
| #7 Why do I suspect that very shortly that Iraqi lake is going to be populated with bass? At least judging from some of the military bases down in the US south, there are a goodly number of followers of the religion of bass fishing in the ranks. And they regard a large body devoid of bass as being not entirely right. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-10-12 11:27 |
| #6 Wonder if they'll end up stocking the lake with bass. ;-) |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-10-12 11:13 |
| #5 I wonder if they fish with grenades. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2006-10-12 10:53 |
| #4 It's an institutional-bias thing. For decades it wasn't 'career enhancing' to be in riverine units and other oddball/small commands. One had to get experience in ASW platforms; fire support and gator-freighters are necessary evils. The Navy leadership was against small/cheap/littoral, because 1)the enemy was the Soviets on the open oceans, and 2) you go with small and cheap, Congress is gonna want to fund only that. Hopefully the attitude is changing. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2006-10-12 09:59 |
| #3 The Army has riverboats. The Navy doesn't like to get its white coats dirty in rivers. |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-10-12 09:19 |
| #2 Somehow I think we should be able to provide them with something better, lol, such as the Zodiacs that the Port Security guys tools around in here stateside. I think Shipman retired that boat a decade ago - when he got that new-fangled fish sonar thingy, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-12 08:31 |
| #1 Water-borne infantry is the Marines' function; are they going to let the Army onto their turf (so to speak)? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-10-12 08:14 |