Yardstick

I really should dive back into this. It's cool to see little parts of this live on in other's mods lol.

Thank you for the info. Now I won't feel compelled to spend my leave sitting on BFC hitting f5!

That varies unit to unit. The units that I have deployed with (4-64 AR and 3-15 IN, 4BDE, 3ID) used the "arms room" concept. We had enough M150 and M68 for each squad leader to tailor his squad how he saw fit. If I wanted to I could have have run nothing but M150s or M68s or a mix of the two. Additionally we had EOTech, Leupold MK4 CQ/T and Trijicon RX30s. I can't think of anytime since 2004 that I have not had ample variety of optics, lights and lasers available. I would hope BFC is basing the optic availability off of the current MToE.

Good point.

I agree. The textures look awful. I really hope they get sorted out.

After about 10 tries, my solution involved the scenario editor and an M7.

Are we taking bets on whether or not this sorts out the Tiger II's textures?

Thanks for the support, guys. I should be home in a matter of weeks and I plan on getting my mod on after I settle back in. Bil's icons came out great and really lend add to the atmosphere. Thanks again.

Thanks for updating this, I've been kicking the idea around but have been way too busy.

Thanks, I've meaning to get around to that, but I've been kinda busy.

I'm digging the half face half flag, very CMBOish

Nagatron. Nice mod, btw.

I think that may be a graphic card issue. I noticed at lower settings the lines are more visible. You could try switching the MOLLE textures as described HERE. Good luck.

You know what's awesome? You have yet to refute any of my points. All of those quotes are out of context. Well played, sir. Do you work for MSNBC or Fox? -OUT.

And you are incapable of having an insult free argument. Grow up. btw, feel free to look me up if you ever end up in GA.

Baghdad cir 2007 was a war zone, I was there. It may be "their" city, but JAM chose to take up arms against us and the GoI. Seeing first hand the effects of sectarian violence and ethnic cleansing has kind of made me lose all sympathy or remorse for the likes of AQI and JAM. Plain and simple: though they may not have been actively engaging CF, the weapons they possessed, combined with their posture, proximity to CF and the level of activity in the AO makes them a threat. Read the 15-6, read the sworn statements, it all paints a much more clear picture of the chain of events that lead up to this. @StalinsOrganist: The Iraqi Army has RPGs (and uniforms coincidently). They are the only "good Iraqis" authorized to do so. I cannot go into the specifics of ROE but I can tell you that possession of an RPG is a big no-go with us and the GoI. Read the 15-6, read the sworn statements, the s#!t was hitting the fan in that AO, CF were trading lead with JAM all over Sadr City. Hell it say so in the 15-6, "since Bravo Company had been in continuous contact since dawn." It looks pretty clear to me. Also, contrary to your belief, everyone in Iraq does not carry a gun and Iraqi police are as corrupt as they come. re: "the report said US troops under attack", the AWT assumed that the individuals that they were engaging were attempting to ambush a CF patrol that was already engaged. Read the 15-6, I can't say it enough. I could careless about the right or the left, they are equally full of crap. To be honest, when I'm deployed, what people "back home" think is the furthest thing from my mind. Once you are "in-country" the only thing that matters is your squad and your platoon. And yes, I think wikilinks, collateralmurder, et al are a bunch of tools.

The clearing element was a part of a larger operation tasked with clearing Sadr City of JAM and AIF. They had been in continuous contact since dawn. Crazyhorse ambushed the would be ambushers. Where is the problem? The journalists were with JAM. JAM had RPGs. Do you think they were planning on not using them? Do you think the journalists didn't intend to get some Pulitzer winning shot of a burning Bradley? I shed not a tear, they sealed their on fate when the decided to party with JAM. I feel like we are going in circles here. @Dietrich re: "the Haditha incident", those guys were idiots and deserve far worse than they got.

From the AR 15-6: Continuous contact since dawn. The had been taking SAF and RPG fire since dawn, the operation was one huge movement to contact. How is that not a "fire fight"? I do take issue with the statement "there was no information leading anyone to believe or even suspect that noncombatants were in the area." In any type of COIN scenario there are always going to be noncombatants in the area. Always. @BigDuke: You didn't really just use CMSF as a point of reference on the BFVs survivability did you? It's a video game, guy. BF.C even said they were forced to guesstimate the armor values for the Abrams and the Bradley. In addition to that, it's a freckin' video game. I have a hard time believing that you would feel comfortable denying air support to TIC based on something like "oh, it's only RPGs, they should be fine." Edited to add: Well, the sworn statements are finding their way onto the internet. CLICK ME. I would suggest we all take a look at them if we want to continue this discussion and formulate informed opinions rather than spewing conjecture. YMMV.

Looks like an RPG to me. Hired guards or not, an RPG is a serious no go. CLICK ME here is a copy of the findings of the 15-6. I'm sure the uncensored version will find it's way onto the net soon.

Thank you. To answer your question, yes. As far as I know we are still there in an advisory role.

Negative. I watched the video and made my decision based on that. Watch the full video, look for traffic on the roads. The only thing moving in that muhalla is the black van. Show where I am wrong. At this point, it is safe to assume that we are both set in our opinions. I think we should agree to disagree and leave it at that. Thanks for keeping this civil.

It's pretty obvious in the video. No helmet, no vest, nothing proclaiming "press". I don't believe for a second that they were innocently cruising around their neighborhood. At the time, mind you this is Sadr City at the height of the surge, their 'hood was a really, really dangerous place. If you watch the full video you will notice a distinct lack of vehicular traffic. You will also notice that the same van that dropped the journalists off is the one that returned to do CASEVAC. I'm sure the AWT factored that in prior to zapping the van. One more thing, the poo seriously hit the fan on that street corner. Who takes their kids into a situation like that? They were aiding enemy combatants, that is not something you do with your kids in the car. The AWT on the other hand, sure, they were eager, they didn't want the only surviving AIF to escape. I'm sure they saw it like this: If that guy could have been captured he may have yielded some decent intel that would drive future operations. If they couldn't capture him, then they could at least prevent his escape. Were they eager? Hell yes and rightly so, they felt that they were protecting the TIC and preventing US casualties. Anyhow, the RPGs and AKs are irrefutable.

This. Either way, the journalists were "embedded" with JAM, they weren't wearing their press corps PPE, PRESS placards or anything that would ID them as such. They played with fire and they got burned. As far as the wounded children are concerned, their parents are solely responsible.

First responders, as in ambulance with paramedics. If the van had been marked with the red crescent it would not have been engaged. First Responders is really the key phrase in the sentence you quoted. Also, as MSBoxer pointed out, the same van appears to have dropped off some of the individuals prior to the engagement.