On Combat

>>8517044
Wow I think soldiers are heroes now!

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>>8517044
>The truth of combat?
Rich old men send poor young boys to suck and fuck each others in hot steamy shit puddles for erotic fun.

>>8517044
/k/ will give you better answers (sometimes). Some guys have seen some shit, many more will try to act like they've seen some shit, most will just tell you war (not necessarily combat) is boring or a big party, depending on when they were in the Middle East.

There is no definite truth, I guess it all depends on the soldier's experience in combat. My grandfather was in the red army in WWII and the only military advice he passed down to my father was "never join the military, it is a waste of time"

>>8517044
Combat vet here baqubah Iraq 06-08. You can look up our exploits on the net. I've killed, had friends killed, been wounded myself ask away...

>>8517583

lmao great post. also shoenice is my role model.

>>8517976

was it difficult treating animals in the middle of a warzone?

>>8517044
That you can get used to anything, and shooting a man is much the same as starting a tractor on some level.

On the other hand - in a society where warfare is deemed necessary, but killing is also demonized, the social position of the soldier balances on the precarious line between lionization and pariahdom.

In part because you are expected to have a great sense of regret for having killed people - you are taught to feel this way.

In actuality, despising your enemy categorically makes killing them easier to deal with.

>>8517976
Were most of your casualties from IEDs?

Where the enemy arms, ak47, type 95 or other types of rifles?

Were most of the insurgants northern iraqi sunnis?

were there shia insurgents?

what was the average age of enemy insurgents?

how often did you conduct raids?

How often did your squad see combat?

Did enemies stay and fight or did they hit and run?

>>8517976
Have you read any Junger or any writers/films that you think capture the experience of war?

>>8517044
>82nd airborne
lel, sorry you couldn't tough it out through 72 hrs at cole range nigga

>>8518600
yes, most were killed from IEDs...i ran over a total of 5 but survived.

mostly cheaply made AK47s, RPKs, and RPGs. Prized weapons were those actually manufactured in Russia.

Most were sunnis from diyala area but we also had shia militias in our area also. Also had reports of Chechnyans and foreignors like Abu Zarqawi who was in killed in my AO (Hib-Hib to be exact). I walked around the rubble of his former residence.

Ages varied between prob 18-35...the older insurgents were usually the planners and bomb makers.

raids -- yes all the time. usually at night since it was somewhat safer.

we saw combat everyday outside the wire -- whether snipers, ieds, or occasional indirect fire from mortars south of buhriz.

the smart ones would hit and run...those that stood and fought usually died.

>>8518605
i haven't read Junger yet -- every soldier has his over personal war. My experience was much different from someone who never left the wire. If Junger speaks to the senselessness of actual combat, the fear, the adrenaline, the excitement (yes, there's pleasure involved), and the boredom then I think he captured the experience well. Underlying themes of conflict probably don't change that much. I'm glad I had the experience but it came at a pretty big price.