Randy Jones
02-27-2006, 08:53 AM
I hope you find my reports and articles entertainingly informative and mildly educational
Please, ,Support your brother's in arm's
Parents: This has an F rating and should not be read by anyone younger than 16. It is legal for marines to write about their thought's, but not their missions.
HAVING LOST A COUSIN ALREADY OVER THERE, I THOUGHT THIS MIGHT MEAN A LITTLE MORE TO ALL OF YOU THEN THE NIGHTLY NEWS. You think you have a stressful life, life got ya down, wasting your time belittling other anglers-guides - Sad indeed, try putting your life on the line, by the second that bullet tacks you between you eye's. Loved ones left behind, be thankful. Be GLAD ITS NOT ONE OF YOUR SONS OR DAUGHTERS OVER THEIR. If it is, god be with them.
My cousin's thought's from the front, off his post's. Peace be with you Nic!
Nic's Blogs can be read here http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=24538299
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Friday, February 24, 2006
what a night...
it's especially clear out tonight. the stars are brilliant in the sky, and i'm momentarily lost in thought. somewhere out there, a family is asleep. their doors are locked, the kids are tucked in, and someone is probably snoring. i'm going to change that. we're going to change that. if everything goes as planned, the first thing they hear will be the front door being blown open with a c4 charge. they'll sense somebody, many people in their home. and before they can figure out which way is up, before the women can huddle their precious children close, we will invade their house -- their home, and every room in it. a circus of noises will shred the quiet of the night. shouting, crying, sobbing, screaming, flashbang grenades, doors kicked in, all of it at once. i'm torn from my thoughts when our rolls over a speed bump. a steady breeze rushes over my head as we cruise towards the flightline. i'm sitting in the open back with my team. we're all jocked up. a few talk, no one really holds a conversation. i whisper a prayer and gaze at the bright sky. what a night.
when we reach the flightline, 40 of us stand by to board the helos. tonight we're using blackhawks. sweet. we take off in 5 minutes -- time to rock & roll. i insert a magazine and rack a round first in my .45 pistol, then my m4 assault rifle. always in that order. night vision: check. flashlights: check. infrared laser: check. radio comms: check. the rotors are spinning now; that's our cue. we board the helos and take off. i can't help but think of the movie black hawk down, and resist the urge to yell, "****in' irene!" i'm pumped.
we hit the ground. the doors slide open, and we're running. speed is critical. we close in on the target, and we glide. silence is key. swift, silent. deadly. i scan the rooftop, the windows, the bushes. billy slaps the charge on the door, moves around the corner, and detonates. BOOM! it's on. all 8 of us hurtle through a haze of smoke and debris. they're screaming already. we're shouting. a flashbang goes off 10 ft. from me. i don't even blink. jake and i take control of a room. 1 mother - 4 kids - 2 men - 1 teen boy. 16 wide eyes. no one is stupid enough to fight. i am 5 feet from the mother and her children, and their screams are distant. i don't care about them yet. "it-meht-ded! it-meht-ded! get down!" i'm yelling. the younger man and the teen are close to each other. jake is covering me; i grab them and shove them on their faces. i flex-cuff the man. i look into the teen's eyes. he's too young; i don't cuff him. i look at the woman and children. i let my weapon hang, take a knee, and offer them jolly ranchers from a pouch. someone told me that candy usually shuts them up. i make eye contact with the mother. "leht-hafoon. don't be frightened," i say. i am self-conscious. i know my eyes are too intense to convey kindness. i'm on an incredible adrenaline high. she's pleading with me. i see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. i don't speak her language, but i know what she's saying. "don't hurt us. don't hurt my babies. you're scaring them. stop this. stop!" i see this in her eyes. eyes that are too scared for tears. jake cuffs the old man, and we separate them from the women and children. we blindfold them and put them on their knees, faces to the wall. flashbangs are going off, the shouting and screaming continue. the house is clear now, we have control. total time from breach to clear: 1 1/2 minutes. we pass off the detainees and prepare to ruin someone else's night. we move to the next house. move. faster. it's a blur now. we blow the door right off the damn house and move in. the house is clear in another 2 minutes. bravo element pushes to the last building and clears it. i post on security at the door. i see movement in the shadows. i raise my rifle and sight in. my finger's on the trigger... wait. it's just a goat. finger off the trigger. breathe. it's time to go. we call in the blackhawks, grab the detainees, and move out to the LZ. 3 minutes later, 2 helos settle in front of us like a strange valet service. within moments, we're airborne.
what a night.
Do other one too, sitting ready to fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
little bundle of effing emotions
first, a disclaimer: i'm not a fan of online ranting and raving, but this will cost less than doing it over the phone from half a world away.
i feel like ron burgundy in the infamous phone booth. "i'm in a glass case of emotion!!" i've been in kuwait for two days, and i don't like the stagnant feeling of it. plus it's a black hole for time. ask anyone who's been here, and they'll tell you it's like sitting in the middle of nebraska for days on end. sans the wheatfields. moving on. a current list of all the emotions coursing through my veins: anticipation, anxiety, regret, fear, pride, wonder, anger, sadness.
anticipation and anxiety are proportionally hand in hand. i'd rather be doing than waiting to do, especially when i don't yet have a solid grasp of what i'm doing is going to feel like and be like for real.
regret is for putting my family through this, including my family in california. i've always known that my family worries deeply and constantly for me, but it never really hit home until i considered what it would be like to try and let my little brother go into combat without me by his side. i now think that my family could possibly possess an internal strength that i don't; i don't know if i could let him go from my arms at the airport. not knowing what i know about combat. this leads me to the next emotion,
fear. fear that one day i will have to let a family member go while i stay in the comfort of america. my days in the military are limited, but i just can't fathom letting a brother go while i stay. i know some of my brothers are going to be in iraq as soon as i get home and it kills me that i won't be going with them. thank God they have good leadership and experience among them (chuck, that's you.)
i have a lot of pride in what i'm about to do. my biggest secret to confess is that i used to have trouble looking myself in the mirror because i didn't feel like i was doing my part last time around. the last gig just didn't fit. this new job feels good. i stand taller and am able to be more humble having proved some things to my self during the past 9 months.
i wonder how i'm going to feel, whether i'll sleep well at night, or if i'll stay a reckless kid at heart, which of the dumb mother****ers in those houses are going to shoot and which ones are going to be aiming at me and whether or not i've got the quickest trigger finger and truest aim. i wonder if i'll be able to compartmentalize me feelings in and out of those rooms and houses. i wonder if i'll find focus and clarity and indifference. i wonder if i'll throw up.
anger. a good motivator. angry that i'm currently anchored in this black hole called kuwait, giving me time to think and feel these things. for now, i'd rather outrun them and get to work. thinking all this crap through in 7 months would be fine by me. i'm angry that these kooks over here still think they can beat us, just because they swore a little jihad or something. wake up and smell the cordite, man. we've been pounding your *** since day numero uno, and nothing's going to change. i've always hated stupid people. you guys are on the top of my list, and they've given me a gun with lots of bullets to cure your dumb ***. i'm just standing by, ****er.
i suppose sadness goes hand in hand with regret. if i had one wish, it would be to have my dream team here with me. chuck, jesse, chris, i know you already know i'm talking about you, but some other people might not. i'd take these guys over any one. there's not a doubt in my mind that if we had to, we'd march together, arm in arm through the fiery gates of hell singing an awful rendition of "i will survive," or "courtesy of the red, white, and blue," or some other moto tune at the top of our lungs and laugh about it. words cannot describe, nothing could ever measure, the amount of respect and love i have for these guys.
Please, ,Support your brother's in arm's
Parents: This has an F rating and should not be read by anyone younger than 16. It is legal for marines to write about their thought's, but not their missions.
HAVING LOST A COUSIN ALREADY OVER THERE, I THOUGHT THIS MIGHT MEAN A LITTLE MORE TO ALL OF YOU THEN THE NIGHTLY NEWS. You think you have a stressful life, life got ya down, wasting your time belittling other anglers-guides - Sad indeed, try putting your life on the line, by the second that bullet tacks you between you eye's. Loved ones left behind, be thankful. Be GLAD ITS NOT ONE OF YOUR SONS OR DAUGHTERS OVER THEIR. If it is, god be with them.
My cousin's thought's from the front, off his post's. Peace be with you Nic!
Nic's Blogs can be read here http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=24538299
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Friday, February 24, 2006
what a night...
it's especially clear out tonight. the stars are brilliant in the sky, and i'm momentarily lost in thought. somewhere out there, a family is asleep. their doors are locked, the kids are tucked in, and someone is probably snoring. i'm going to change that. we're going to change that. if everything goes as planned, the first thing they hear will be the front door being blown open with a c4 charge. they'll sense somebody, many people in their home. and before they can figure out which way is up, before the women can huddle their precious children close, we will invade their house -- their home, and every room in it. a circus of noises will shred the quiet of the night. shouting, crying, sobbing, screaming, flashbang grenades, doors kicked in, all of it at once. i'm torn from my thoughts when our rolls over a speed bump. a steady breeze rushes over my head as we cruise towards the flightline. i'm sitting in the open back with my team. we're all jocked up. a few talk, no one really holds a conversation. i whisper a prayer and gaze at the bright sky. what a night.
when we reach the flightline, 40 of us stand by to board the helos. tonight we're using blackhawks. sweet. we take off in 5 minutes -- time to rock & roll. i insert a magazine and rack a round first in my .45 pistol, then my m4 assault rifle. always in that order. night vision: check. flashlights: check. infrared laser: check. radio comms: check. the rotors are spinning now; that's our cue. we board the helos and take off. i can't help but think of the movie black hawk down, and resist the urge to yell, "****in' irene!" i'm pumped.
we hit the ground. the doors slide open, and we're running. speed is critical. we close in on the target, and we glide. silence is key. swift, silent. deadly. i scan the rooftop, the windows, the bushes. billy slaps the charge on the door, moves around the corner, and detonates. BOOM! it's on. all 8 of us hurtle through a haze of smoke and debris. they're screaming already. we're shouting. a flashbang goes off 10 ft. from me. i don't even blink. jake and i take control of a room. 1 mother - 4 kids - 2 men - 1 teen boy. 16 wide eyes. no one is stupid enough to fight. i am 5 feet from the mother and her children, and their screams are distant. i don't care about them yet. "it-meht-ded! it-meht-ded! get down!" i'm yelling. the younger man and the teen are close to each other. jake is covering me; i grab them and shove them on their faces. i flex-cuff the man. i look into the teen's eyes. he's too young; i don't cuff him. i look at the woman and children. i let my weapon hang, take a knee, and offer them jolly ranchers from a pouch. someone told me that candy usually shuts them up. i make eye contact with the mother. "leht-hafoon. don't be frightened," i say. i am self-conscious. i know my eyes are too intense to convey kindness. i'm on an incredible adrenaline high. she's pleading with me. i see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. i don't speak her language, but i know what she's saying. "don't hurt us. don't hurt my babies. you're scaring them. stop this. stop!" i see this in her eyes. eyes that are too scared for tears. jake cuffs the old man, and we separate them from the women and children. we blindfold them and put them on their knees, faces to the wall. flashbangs are going off, the shouting and screaming continue. the house is clear now, we have control. total time from breach to clear: 1 1/2 minutes. we pass off the detainees and prepare to ruin someone else's night. we move to the next house. move. faster. it's a blur now. we blow the door right off the damn house and move in. the house is clear in another 2 minutes. bravo element pushes to the last building and clears it. i post on security at the door. i see movement in the shadows. i raise my rifle and sight in. my finger's on the trigger... wait. it's just a goat. finger off the trigger. breathe. it's time to go. we call in the blackhawks, grab the detainees, and move out to the LZ. 3 minutes later, 2 helos settle in front of us like a strange valet service. within moments, we're airborne.
what a night.
Do other one too, sitting ready to fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
little bundle of effing emotions
first, a disclaimer: i'm not a fan of online ranting and raving, but this will cost less than doing it over the phone from half a world away.
i feel like ron burgundy in the infamous phone booth. "i'm in a glass case of emotion!!" i've been in kuwait for two days, and i don't like the stagnant feeling of it. plus it's a black hole for time. ask anyone who's been here, and they'll tell you it's like sitting in the middle of nebraska for days on end. sans the wheatfields. moving on. a current list of all the emotions coursing through my veins: anticipation, anxiety, regret, fear, pride, wonder, anger, sadness.
anticipation and anxiety are proportionally hand in hand. i'd rather be doing than waiting to do, especially when i don't yet have a solid grasp of what i'm doing is going to feel like and be like for real.
regret is for putting my family through this, including my family in california. i've always known that my family worries deeply and constantly for me, but it never really hit home until i considered what it would be like to try and let my little brother go into combat without me by his side. i now think that my family could possibly possess an internal strength that i don't; i don't know if i could let him go from my arms at the airport. not knowing what i know about combat. this leads me to the next emotion,
fear. fear that one day i will have to let a family member go while i stay in the comfort of america. my days in the military are limited, but i just can't fathom letting a brother go while i stay. i know some of my brothers are going to be in iraq as soon as i get home and it kills me that i won't be going with them. thank God they have good leadership and experience among them (chuck, that's you.)
i have a lot of pride in what i'm about to do. my biggest secret to confess is that i used to have trouble looking myself in the mirror because i didn't feel like i was doing my part last time around. the last gig just didn't fit. this new job feels good. i stand taller and am able to be more humble having proved some things to my self during the past 9 months.
i wonder how i'm going to feel, whether i'll sleep well at night, or if i'll stay a reckless kid at heart, which of the dumb mother****ers in those houses are going to shoot and which ones are going to be aiming at me and whether or not i've got the quickest trigger finger and truest aim. i wonder if i'll be able to compartmentalize me feelings in and out of those rooms and houses. i wonder if i'll find focus and clarity and indifference. i wonder if i'll throw up.
anger. a good motivator. angry that i'm currently anchored in this black hole called kuwait, giving me time to think and feel these things. for now, i'd rather outrun them and get to work. thinking all this crap through in 7 months would be fine by me. i'm angry that these kooks over here still think they can beat us, just because they swore a little jihad or something. wake up and smell the cordite, man. we've been pounding your *** since day numero uno, and nothing's going to change. i've always hated stupid people. you guys are on the top of my list, and they've given me a gun with lots of bullets to cure your dumb ***. i'm just standing by, ****er.
i suppose sadness goes hand in hand with regret. if i had one wish, it would be to have my dream team here with me. chuck, jesse, chris, i know you already know i'm talking about you, but some other people might not. i'd take these guys over any one. there's not a doubt in my mind that if we had to, we'd march together, arm in arm through the fiery gates of hell singing an awful rendition of "i will survive," or "courtesy of the red, white, and blue," or some other moto tune at the top of our lungs and laugh about it. words cannot describe, nothing could ever measure, the amount of respect and love i have for these guys.