US Military in Iraq - A British Soldier's View

[waikelemark]

Interesting read...

http://takimag.com/article/in_the_sh...#axzz1yBnicBRJ

"Everything was bigger with the Yanks: their soldiers, their food, and their imaginations..."

[Eagle9294]

I interacted with the Brits alot during the 1st Gulf war. Great guys. They were very interested in us and many of us in them. We were very respectful of the Brits and just mentioned we wanted to do the job and go home. They seemingly were in awe of us. Who are these Americans who have so much influence in the world? The Brits were good soldiers and did a great job out there. They destroyed their share of Iraqi armor. They would often come by our positions because they were attached to us. They loved our MREs. We would share with them. They actually had small grills and would fix steaks. They just did not have as much as us.

[socom6]

Reminds me of a little story about a RN officer attached to the USN in the Pacific during WWII. He wrote about how the US ships threw up walls of AA fire against enemy aircraft whenever they came near compared to the Royal Navy's 'economy of fire' when he was active in the Atlantic and North Sea.

One thing I can say about the British services and its their resourcefulness to adapt and make do with little, yet still maintain a very high level of professionalism and discipline.

The part about US soldiers being bigger.. I dunno, I saw some big dudes in England when I was there.

[LineDoggie]

Right now gonna throw the on this:

They were upset at France for opposing the war on terror, and after taking over Paris they wanted a victory parade in London before flying home


Someone went full retard halfway into the article...

[darth_renn]

I agree with LineDoggie. What American says this:

“It’s all ****ed-up, man, it all needs sorting,” he replied.

“Well, firstly, we gotta sort out I-raq, this **** should have been done years ago, then we go over to I-ran and do them, then all these A-rab countries all the way to Europe where we sort out France, who the **** do they think they are?”

The British guy forgot to put in some slang terms Americans actually use. Just say these sentences to yourself in an English accent and it doesn't pass the smell test.

[LineDoggie]

Plus why the Fuck would an American want a Victory parade through London? we would want something like that in New York or Washington. The Writer tried to jazz it up and failed.

[Dhood]

It seems like the writer does not understand who he is talking to. The Marine (or Soldier, I don't know which because he is using them interchangeably) he was speaking to was using hyperbole to talk ****. The author of this article does not understand this or doesn't care and is making them seem dogmatic patriots. Yet, he jumps to ridiculous conclusions using hyperbole, "

They were upset at France for opposing the war on terror, and after taking over Paris they wanted a victory in London before flying home. This is a sensationalist article.

[James]

Pfft. This isn't journalism.

[scttgillies]

This article sounds like a mix of differing stories. Some possibly factual, some made up in the mind of some nobody. But in reality, this article panders to what young soldiers think of the US Military. Differing mindset. Personally having worked with them, i find most of them extremely polite and affable, but like all armies, they have their share of blowhards. This article wouldnt look out of place on some young officers blog. Non starter.

[Eoin666]

what a crock............what's the author's obsession with the 'size' of the Americans, sounds vaguely dodgy to me

[happyslapper]

Just fvcking weird. That doesn't sound anything like the British Army I know.

I call bull****.

[bryant]

He called me “Sir” just in case I was an officer. He was polite and smart in dress, but I couldn’t get over his size. The British Army didn’t make uniforms that big; they didn’t need to. His looked custom-fitted as the cotton stretched over his hours in the gym. His rifle lay on the floor between his legs. We Brits were jealous of the M16—all black and dangerous-looking. Our rifles had a green cheek rest made of green plastic composite and a green plastic handgrip—it looked like a toy. All our special forces used the M16 because they thought it better, but for the Yanks it was standard issue.

Yup, that's some Grade A BS.

[marleynrs8]

I agree with LineDoggie. What American says this:

“It’s all ****ed-up, man, it all needs sorting,” he replied.

“Well, firstly, we gotta sort out I-raq, this **** should have been done years ago, then we go over to I-ran and do them, then all these A-rab countries all the way to Europe where we sort out France, who the **** do they think they are?”

The British guy forgot to put in some slang terms Americans actually use. Just say these sentences to yourself in an English accent and it doesn't pass the smell test.

Exactly, as an American I can attest to the fact that none of us would say anything "needs sorting." The only proper American slang here is saying man, where they say mate. Just a really bizarre and pointless article in general, anyways.