What's it like over there?

[Cobra Freak]

I know some one on here has been to Iraq I forget how sorry about that. But I really want to join up the the army I have ever since I was like 5 and I was wondering whats it like over there. I really want to go and help the people over there.

Thanks,
CF :D

[ToneGunsRevisited]

[QUOTE=Cobra Freak]I know some one on here has been to Iraq[/QUOTE]
That's Frank a.k.a. Ender098.

P.S. But he went there as a Marine.

[seamusharper]

I imagine its not quite now like it was when I was there. I went over with OIF-01. That was in May of 2003, and I was there until November of 2003. That was a very intense and hectic time. I drove supply covoys from requisitioned air fields to forward moving units. All in all it wasn't too bad for me.

[Sonneilon]

yup, frank was there last year. The stories he tells, well, not your usual type of stories. ;)

[Cobra Freak]

[QUOTE=seamusharper]I imagine its not quite now like it was when I was there. I went over with OIF-01. That was in May of 2003, and I was there until November of 2003. That was a very intense and hectic time. I drove supply covoys from requisitioned air fields to forward moving units. All in all it wasn't too bad for me.[/QUOTE]

Wow you were there right when around the beggining of the war. Good thing you made it back ok.

[Cobra Freak]

I would like to here stories from anyone who was there. I really have my mind set on going there I always wanted to join the army eversince I was five. In Canada we don't have marines we just have the basics Army, Airforce and the Navy.

CF :D

[Sonneilon]

Well, seeing how Frank is an IT guy, i believe he was digging ditches when his machine cut thru power. That was one week. Another week, he busted thru a waterline. But he can tell you ALL about it. FRANK!!!

[ender098]

I was over there from July 2008 - Feebruary 2009. I was at Camp Al Taqqadum. I only got off base for about a week, laying a fiber optic line in on the Iraq Army side of the base across the street, Camp Habbaniyah. It was pretty quiet when I was there, more like Club med with Machine guns than a real war. But, as I said, I was never totally outside the wire. We did have some jackass down in Fallujah run a gas truck full of explosives into a police station. We felt the blast from 17 miles away. Other than that, it was rather uneventful. seamusharper could probably tell you more combat stories than I can. I can tell some stories about day to day life and cutting through power lines and water mains with a ditch witch!

Iraq is pretty much a done deal now. If you wanna talk about whats goin on now, Afghanistan is the hotspot. I'm supposed to be going in about 6-7 months. But things change. I may end up staying here!

[snipesfg17]

I fought in Iraq during OIF 1. I was in the artillery, so most of our impact was over long distance. I never got into a firefight over open sights, but was under indirect fire twice. My advice is to make sure your moral and political values are in line with the government that is prosecuting the conflict. If they are not, you may find a discrepancy between what you are being asked to do and what really needs to be done.

[roguetiger]

My nephew was there from day 2 of the war til Nov. He was with the 3rd Armored Calvary out of Ft Sill. He was driving the MRLS' and thier support vehicles. He said they came under fire once. They transported Delta Force in. Said they were hiding behind things while the Delta guys just walked towards the fire and firing shots. He was carrying a M-16/M203 and a M-249 w/scope. And he's only 5'5" tall. lol He gave a kid a US $1 once while there and got a bill with Hussein on it which he sent to me. He transported the weapons they found and took them to other places. He said he had some photos of buried Migs in the sand that Saddam had tried to hide. He was coming back from a transportation gig and his truck caught fire. He was putting it out and got hit in the face with the fire extinguisher by someone else. He was blind for a week. But he's doing great now. He's doing the reserves bit where he went to Qatar then got sent to Iraq for 2 weeks to help with a warehouse for medical supplies.

[seamusharper]

Needless to say there are a lot of stories from a lot of people. Some can be shared, and some cant. Yeah I was lucky to make it out of there. Some weren't so lucky, but thats whats asked of us.