Kriegsmier

When you sign up for the military, a variety of things can happen. Sometimes they send you to military bases around the world (the US has its own bases on virtually every western country, among others) or you could be sent to Iran, Afghanistan, or Iraq. You have no choice. Once you sign up, you effectively sell your soul to the US military --- for a certain amount of time. To be honest, "world peace" is nothing other than wishful thinking. Violence is critical to human evolution and is an innate trait of every human being; it's survival of the fittest. It's unfortunate, but violence will always exist so long as violence can solve our problems. However, with that said, this does not mean that countries should not practice peace and goodwill to all nations; Blessed are the Peacemakers, after all. Sigh. No, you can't be sent to Iran. We are not in Iran and won't be for a while if ever. Again, its easy to talk one way when you havn't been put in situations like this. The amount of firepower gets you pumped up, adrenaline...you say things like this and you act like this. Welcome to human nature. Its impressive honestly. Not saying it makes it right or wrong, but it gets your adrenaline flowing i promise you. You are right, most over there are kids. So blame video games. Its what most base their actions on. Hell, all the turrets in the trucks are controlled by gear sticks and game controllers these days.

What? No. You sign up for the military but you are told to go somewhere like that. Its a deployment, you have no choice.

So your agreeing with this killing when its obviously a camera on a tripod? MAybe you should actually watch the video. Heck, those could have been my relatives or something. Guess I'll never know. Also, why did they have to shoot at that van? Please tell me that cause I'm dieing to know. Sorry its not "obvious" So why are you in iraq again? Because I'm told to? lol Do you seriously think anyone in their right mind wants to go to that crappy piece of earth? Its not a vacation. I don't care if you are from there, its terrible there. Its depressing almost. Ever thought this is how they deal with this stuff? Regardless of if its right or wrong, its tough. They laugh about it. Been there done that. You make it a joke to take your mind off of the situation. The reality of it is, is you people are stringing these guys up as poster boys for terrible examples of humans when really they have no choice of going over there and just do what they have to do to get back. That doesn't have to be only self defense. Every job over there, you just do it so you can go home.

Cocky? Eh. Someone said it. Thats why they are soldiers. Look back in history, most of the great armies hand selected the people for certain traits. Some people just can't hack it and only a special breed is prepared for war. So yes they can be cocky, confident, work well under pressure, be mentally stable to handle what they see, etc. Honestly I wouldn't expect you to understand because you've never been there or had that kind of rush. Do I think they took this to far? Yes I do. Do I think they were right and had a valid reason for engaging? Hell yes. Ignorant statement. The guy with the 'RPG' was actually a Reuters journalist with a camera. Seriously? You must not be looking at the same person as me. That is definitely an RPG, he props it on the ground at one point. Its way to long and skinny to be a camera or an AK. And whats with him kneeling and peeking around the corner? That was when the US was under real threat. You're doing it now because of oil. Another ignorant statement. Oil? Really? Be real. Where is it then?

I see weapons in that video. An RPG to be specific. Which is not legal to own. Each man can own 1 AK47, but no RPG. An RPG in a group of individuals...accessories? Its just like you being there if you friend committed a felony, even if you are standing away from him watching. You have to remember, 2007 was a big year in the war. One of the most deadliest for US troops, and a major troop surge. A lot of stuff was going on and the rules of engagement were still very open unlike they are now. One RPG can take down an Apache, one guy with the camera can put out a lot of propaganda. I will say, I do not think they should of re-engaged the van picking up wounded. But up to that point I see no problem. Ignorant statement.

They will serve both purposes, shooting and then hanging. Cheap? Eh, relatively...at least the way I look at it and compared to most of the black rifles yes. For a lot of people no i doubt they are cheap. $500-600 range each.

They don't make them, but you can easily buy them surplus. Still shootable. This one is fully functional and can shoot pretty much any normal .30-06 round. I actually have another one ordered and on the way as well. :D

How about this? One of the greatest battle rifles of all time, and possibly THE greatest US battle rifle of all time thus far. This arrived at my house today...M1 Garand. [hide] [/hide]

Probably, but they are quite heavy compared to the M249s. You get issued weapons at each station you go to. I got one at bootcamp, and then one at my unit i'm with now. They are all serialized and you must remember your serial number. No you cannot purchase your weapon after you get out, the government won't sell you and full auto weapon. Used to be able to purchase your military weapon after service during WWII and before that, but now...no.

OK, I admit that I really don't have that much knowledge of firearms: I know the difference between semi-auto and bolt action, but aside from that... But still, all if would take is for him to lose control of the gun(s), and some really bad stuff could obviously happen. But really, why take the risk, no matter how minor, and with military equipment wasting taxpayer-financed ammo, it really does seem stupid to me. The ammo is already paid for. Its in allotments so its not like you can take 10 boxes to the range, shoot 6 and sell the rest back. It doesn't work that way. All it does is just give more ammo back to the armory so most units just finish shooting it. And surplus ammo isn't THAT expensive, especially a small common caliber like 5.56mm NATO. First of all, I am Canadian, and yes, we are currently fielding troops in Kandahar. However, they are not "our troops" but soldiers deployed by both the United States and Canada. I agree, they should be able to relax. But playing with firearms is not the only thing that can enable them to do that. And are you really trying to say that it's acceptable to play with a weapon because you can take your finger off of the trigger? By that logic, there would never be an injury resulting from the use of an automatic weapon. If you've never been over there trust me, theres not much to do to relax. Especially when they are cutting back ammenities on bases and sending them home. It gets insanely boring over there, like...prison boring.

Football is best to watch and play. Baseball is slow and boring. Basketball is ok, but only College basketball never pro.

I don't see a problem with it. He was at a range and they probably had extra ammo. He's got good control of the weapons. Ever shot a 249 SAW? Its basically shooting an M16 on a continuous 3 round burst...its pretty weak compared to other weapon systems. Same ammo, same kick. The weapon is meant to be hand carried anyway. Weighs 22lbs each loaded, though with the boxes add a bit more. Meh. Its not as unsafe as it may seem. Much more impressive, 240's.

Ah yes, the AA12 automatic shotgun. Can fire FRAG-12 18.5mm fin-stablized high explosive armor piercing grenade rounds. [hide] [/hide]

Thats not real.

Terrible. Hello Bracket....goodbye Bracket. My Clemson team disappointed me again this year.

Boring? No way. That set the tone for the entire series of BoB. You gotta know who you are watching. You shouldn't read the book if you thought the first BoB episode was boring....the book goes into a lot more detail. I think this will pickup, but i'm not sure how much of a personal relationship they are going to form between us the viewers and the characters. Its supposed to focus on 3 Marines specifically. But even then, according to IMDB, none of the main characters appear in more then 6 of the episodes. We shall see. I'm excited being a Marine, a lot of the names in this are names out of Marine Corps lore. Like John Basilone and Chesty Puller.

Watched the first episode. Was good, but not as good as the first episode of Band of Brothers. Its already evolving to slow as far as introducing characters go. I have no idea who is who like I get with BoB. Also they were instantly dumped into the action, no build up. Hope it turns out good....but right now Band of Brothers still has the upper hand.

He had 2 on the right wing too. ;) Over Charleston SC. USS Yorktown in the background.

Some newer aged planes... C-5 [hide] [/hide] C-17 workhorse of the US Military [hide] [/hide]

Maybe you should read some more yourself first. Its all labels. Just to refer to the size of the car itself. A pony car is still a muscle car. Hence the word Pony (ponies are small). Muscle, Pony, etc....all started as labels to represent the size of the car. Pony cars are compact, muscle cars are mid sized cars. yeah sorry i accidentally burnt you btw your red neck is showing Really? Which part? I can't see it....or are you just assuming because I have South Carolina in my profile i am a redneck? You know what happens when people ASSume things. For the topic:

I don't understand how you think a Corvette is not a muscle car. It's been a classic American Muscle v8 since 1953. Unless you are referring to 1970's muscle cars... You can't compare technology from 1970 with today, and say that the newer class is better. Take some 1970's Imports and put them up against the classic muscle cars.. I really think someone's been playing a little too much Need for Speed. And watching to much Fast and the Furious...I smell rice burning, i think Shadowfax is cooking it.

Many weapon systems use a rail system, they are definitely not a sure sign of a SCAR.

Kinda unfair to assume every road is like a curvy mountain pass. American muscle cars can turn fine, and it goes back to who is driving it. I think it's safe to say most people driving euro cars like that have no idea what's under the hood past what the sales brochure list. American muscle cars now generally are owned by people that can go under the hood and tweak it themselves which generally implies they know how to handle the car. nah, doesn't matter who's driving, american muscles can't turn worth a [cabbage] and you know it and i'm sure the american girls turning 16 and getting their mustangs know exactly what's in the hood ;) I would hardly consider mustangs muscle anymore apart from the GT500 which a 16 year old wouldn't be getting. Ford has gone soft and economical.

Kinda unfair to assume every road is like a curvy mountain pass. American muscle cars can turn fine, and it goes back to who is driving it. I think it's safe to say most people driving euro cars like that have no idea what's under the hood past what the sales brochure list. American muscle cars now generally are owned by people that can go under the hood and tweak it themselves which generally implies they know how to handle the car.

More like they spend more time in a garage or show room....or totally destroyed because the rich person driving it doesn't know how to handle a fast car and just uses it as a status symbol.