Article

2003-12-27 Iraq

The Leader of the Army of Steve -- Aug through Christmas happenings

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Posted by Sherry 2003-12-27 3:21:58 PM|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Great Post! Thanks very much. Where do we get such men and women of dedication? Hats off to the Army of Stevesâ¢.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2003-12-27 3:38:32 PM|| 2003-12-27 3:38:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 I'm about halfway through it right now. It's rocky going, especially reading about the attacks and roadside bombings, because I said goodbye to my son just an hour ago: he's on his way to Fort Dix, NJ, then Kuwait, then on to Iraq.

I have a hunch I'm gonna be doing a LOT of praying over the next year or two.

Posted by Dave D. 2003-12-27 4:21:47 PM|| 2003-12-27 4:21:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Good luck, Dave, and all the Irish blessings I know.

Posted by Matt 2003-12-27 5:21:25 PM|| 2003-12-27 5:21:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Great Post. I expect Col. Steve has a few books in him.

Men spat and narrowed their eyes in sideward glances. Uppity. They were getting uppity. Fine. I would solve this right now. I already had three casualties this day. I did not want anymore

I got a few extra candles Dave.

Posted by Shipman 2003-12-27 5:29:22 PM|| 2003-12-27 5:29:22 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 This is just an incredibly great post. AP, you're right, where do we find people like this?

Posted by Matt 2003-12-27 5:38:25 PM|| 2003-12-27 5:38:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 Fascinating stuff! Highly recommended! I hope Captn Steve puts together a book. It would sell very well.

Posted by phil_b 2003-12-27 5:48:57 PM|| 2003-12-27 5:48:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Sherry? First post? Good work!

Posted by Frank G 2003-12-27 5:53:00 PM|| 2003-12-27 5:53:00 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 I have a little info group that I e mail the interesting stuff to several times a week. LTC Steve's letter just left. His writing is matter-of-fact but riveting. There is just so much packed into his paragraphs. His descriptions of the intel, the background scenes, the actions take life in his writing. Phil_b, you are right. I see a book in his future. He has the prose and he has the content and depth.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2003-12-27 6:16:28 PM|| 2003-12-27 6:16:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 The more I read, the more I think the solution is to cordon Tikrit and Qwya, foce an evacuation, relocating them to disparate areas. Then pull a C-130 over and drop a MOAB on each. Obliterate the places. Flat. Then drop ICM and mine the area. Cordoned off for at least a year.

Put the evacuees up in several palces well away from their tribes, powerbase and weapons. Send them to the salt marshes and the Sunnis in the south.

Posted by OldSpook 2003-12-27 6:39:57 PM|| 2003-12-27 6:39:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 Finished it. Great post, Sherry, thanks for sending it our way.

Matt, Shipman... thanks.

Posted by Dave D. 2003-12-27 6:41:38 PM|| 2003-12-27 6:41:38 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 Great quote in case some of you didnt read the whole thing:

We had oft been criticized in our efforts to win hearts and minds. But how can you win a black heart and a closed mind? The people we were dealing with could not be swayed. Handing out lollipops meant nothing to them. They understood power and respected that. Anything else would be a chance to strike back at us.

Posted by OldSpook 2003-12-27 6:53:14 PM|| 2003-12-27 6:53:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 Frank G -- thanks for the compliment -- I don't post often... just when I find something about the Army of Steve. He's become such a hero around here!

I live just south of Ft Hood -- and sat at a railroad track one day - watching a looonnng train loaded with tanks, trucks, trailers, you name it, it was on that train, headed south to the coast -- Yea, the stuff the 4ID are currently using. With tears, I vowed to follow their fight, as lots of these folks have been customers of mine... and found Rantburg in the process.

Posted by Sherry 2003-12-27 7:18:49 PM|| 2003-12-27 7:18:49 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 They had an entire operation going with 57mm anti-aircraft shells. First, they removed the rounds from the boxes. Next they took a hammer and cracked the roundsâ seal with the brass caseâan indicator of their intelligence. Of course all of this works best while smoking.

JESUS QUACK!

And these idiots think they can win against an ANGRY America? They're killing THEMSELVES, no need for US to fire on them!

The only way we're gonna lose this war is if we lose heart. If we CHOOSE to give up, of our own free will. Other than that, these Gomers make Jim Nabors' character look like a friggin' genius! I've seen six-year-olds with more common sense.

Ed Becerra

Posted by Ed Becerra 2003-12-27 7:21:20 PM|| 2003-12-27 7:21:20 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 RTWT everyone!

We have learned a tremendous amount about how the press operates since we have been here. [Our normal embedded press] are largely very professional, are not afraid of risks, and they file accurate stories for the most part. ... We have also learned that the editors of their news organizations may never pick up the many good things that they file. A sense of frustration develops even among them when a story they worked gets bumped for the splash headline of âAnother Soldier killed in Iraq Today.â

something alert RB'ers have suspected all along.

Posted by Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-27 10:44:07 PM|| 2003-12-27 10:44:07 PM|| Front Page Top

01:01 phil_b
00:08 Ernest Brown
23:41 Charles
23:37 Anon1
23:15 Old Patriot
22:53 doc8404
22:51 4thInfVet
22:44 Glenn (not Reynolds)
22:19 Frank G
22:10 Alaska Paul
22:04 Alaska Paul
21:56 Alaska Paul
21:49 Alaska Paul
21:43 Dave D.
21:21 4thInfVet
20:38 Ned Almond
20:29 Shipman
20:24 Shipman
20:22 Glenn (not Reynolds)
20:21 Shipman
20:16 Frank G
20:04 Shipman
20:02 CrazyFool
19:58 Shipman