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| Iraq |
| US Marines set-up artillery base near Makhmour |
| 2016-03-21 |
| [Rudaw] The United States Marine who was killed in an Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (ISIS) rocket attack on Saturday was part of an American fire-base which had been set up near Makhmour. The Marine was killed when ISIS fired two rockets from their positions 15km away, one of which hit the base and killed him. His fellow Marines immediately returned fire hitting the ISIS position with artillery fire. The fire-base is home for a "couple of hundred" Marines who are living in tents on the front-line. There they have set up howitzer artillery guns which will defend Iraqi and Kurdish troops during the upcoming liberation of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... . Currently it serves as protection for the nearby base where Americans are training 5,000 Iraqi soldiers who are readying for the long anticipated operation. This is according to CNN which has learned, through a US defense official, that the Marines moved into the area around a fortnight ago having previously been based on the USS Kearsarge amphibious assault ship. The US coalition also announced on Sunday that in coordination with the Iraqi government they "assigned a detachment of US Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the support of the Iraqi Security Forces and coalition ground operations. The detachment from the 26th MEU will add to the Marines and sailors currently in Iraq." The Marines have nicknamed their front-line base "Fire Base Bell". |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #6 And who is responsible for protecting the Marine fire base? Probably threw it to the locals. Have we not been here before? Have we learned nothing since 1968 ? Couple of small differences. The arty unit was likely detailed off the Kearsarge as a temporary measure. No doubt national leadership decided it was 'inconvenient' to provide a security force, especially since the Misguided Children tend to be a bit... proactive... when guarding their own. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-03-21 14:20 |
| #5 Those are 'camp shoes', dude. 'Broken Arrow', B. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2016-03-21 11:26 |
| #4 Perhaps this is why the Army didn't get the job: Forward observer The 13F MOS was the only field artillery job that hadn't been opened to women. Officials wanted to make a decision about the 13F MOS alongside the infantry and armor specialties because forward observers often are embedded with infantry and armor units. Link |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-03-21 08:42 |
#3  . Currently it serves as protection for the nearby base where Americans are training 5,000 Iraqi soldiers who are readying for the long anticipated operation.And who is responsible for protecting the Marine fire base? Have we not been here before? Have we learned nothing since 1968 ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-03-21 08:08 |
| #2 While wearing Birkenstocks?....Flip-flops?.... |
| Posted by: AlanC 2016-03-21 07:53 |
| #1 While wearing Birkenstocks? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-03-21 03:17 |