A Quite Disturbing Photo

A happy face smiles back from the scope of a U.S. Army sniper's rifle, during a mission searching for insurgents in Mosul, Iraq, Monday, Nov. 22, 2004. U.S. and Iraqi forces in Mosul have been working put down an uprising launched by guerrillas who seized police stations and other sites.

Miltary folks have some of the most fucked up gallows humor imaginable, and frankly that is nothing compared to some stuff I saw.

My unit in the 'Nam.

2 turnin' 2 burnin'?

2 turnin' 2 burnin'!

;-)

Same in the jets, too.

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thanks

It could be ironic, who knows. "And saying that these sick fucks enjoy killing" might be a bit of a a harsh/blanket statement. I do think that when you are in the heat of battle, you had better find a way to "get into it". My grandfather and his buddies sure did, in WWII and Korea.

and have to live with it.

I'm certain this poor soldier is just incredibly demoralized. Maybe he's lost a lot of his buddies in this senseless war - maybe one he's not sure he should be fighting in. :(

Your statement makes me ashamed to post here.

to not make the mistakes we made before.

Some say the Vietnam vets were treated badly, some say that was mostly a myth. At the least they were largely ignored when they should have been acknowledged for serving their country, albeit in an unjust war.

We don't know what it's like in there. I keep going back to the guy in the VVAW who threw his medals in 71, one of the guys in the Kerry documentary. They showed a picture of him from the war, giving the thumbs up over a dead Vietcong soldier. It was almost exactly like the photo we all know from Abu Ghraib, very eerie. Looking back, he certainly was pretty angry and upset about what had happened and what he did.

It's the war. This is what war does to people, especially guerrilla warfare. That's why it should never be taken as lightly as the current administration takes it.

I suppose I'm speaking out of turn. I've never seen it either. Just listened to those who have.

Do you know much about sniping and the ability to compartmentalize that it takes to do it?

.

Thanks

Have a Nice Day!

1. the sniper would get a psych eval stat. You do not want snipers who are section 8 material. See the Warren Commision report.

2. the sniper would require a surgical consult, to remove the scope from his colon, because you endanger your unit and yourself with a stupid stunt like that. Why not just wear a hunting vest, or a carry a boombox?

to be honest..

Good weapons never die I guess.

Not as nice as the M-40, but not bad either.

I thought they used a Bolt Action Remington .308.

Is the device with a wire a range finder. At first it looked to me like a laser designator used in exercises. The Smiley face would be rather suspicious most Snipers like to hide.

I appreciate dark humor, which I've found particularly helpful in dealing with the worst times of my life. At my father's wake, for examples, I kept cracking one-liners, to the the delight of my friends and the chagrin of my relatives!

it's pretty common, said the wife of an Army vet.

and the killing in the mosque in Falluja. But this is just ironic (and very human) without more context.

He has to mentally survive that hell. Cut him some slack. It's a sticker on the scope cover.

Disturbing is what happens on the *other* side of that gun.

sick.

having to look through that scope at someone, you know your gonna kill, and knowing that you could get killed at any time, humor is probably the only thing keeping them sane.

give the guy a break.

.... to interpret this picture.

Personally, if I were charged with doing what these guys have to do, and living under the shadow of death 24/7, I'd take whatever comfort or humor I could get.

within this country and you are first to go and not on reserve. What is the punishment for breaking your contract and leaving after the
armed services broke their contract with you? Is it still desertion if they misuse you or lie to you?

DUer Vets attest on this thread, you really gotta be there in that hell. Now I've never been in the military either, but take another look at the smiley face, it's face UP only in the up position which means in the down (covered) position it's UPSIDE DOWN. That tells me this particular soldier took the effort to make sure this thing was smiling AT him when he had to use his weapon. I'd think that was a sign that this is meant for HIS protection/enjoyment/coping NOT directed at others.

That or I could be totally wrong.

That's f***ed up!!!!

but it isn't as bad as the one that had a rosary on the gun...