RE: [semi-OT] black hawk down?

i have	a comment here.

i was not in somalia, but i was in the	rvn as a combat soldier.

in a free fire zone, in the rvn, weapons had chambered	rounds, but
safeties were in the on position.

most  soldiers patrolled with their fingers outside the trigger guard to
avoid accidental shootings due to the safety being switched off by
accident or carelessness.

a conscious effort was made to keep weapons were pointed away from
friends at all times 

we did not  wear body armor other than a steel pot, but every where we
went we were walking weapons, ammo dumps, water points. 

we walked everywhere except for being  lifted into an lz or being lifted
out of an lz.

lol - and our testosterone  level did not inhibit our ability to think.

we planned and rehearsed, before  each patrol, knew  where  we	were
going, and what was supposed to happen when the shit hit the fan.

and we expected murphy (yes there was a murphy that far back) to stick
his ugly puss into the middle of anything that was ongoing.

best of all-we were not  rangers, airborne, special forces;  just grunts
who had been incountry and wanted to go home at the end of our tour.  

another point; training and rehearsals, info, etc, are all very
important all of the way down to private schitt.

but. . . .

the shock of actual combat,  however, is much worse than any training or
rehearsal can prepare  a soldier  for. 

 the actual violent death, or mangling of friends all around you is a
traumatic and  stunning event. 

even more so your own wounding.

everyone goes into battle thinking that the other  guy is gonna  get
hit, killed,  wounded, not me! 

some freeze up. some bunch up. a very, very few might run away	a blind
panic. and  but most, bless them, do exactly what they are supposed to
do.

in combat, a soldier fights for himself, his friends, his unit.
abstracts like patriotism, politics, etc, are from another planet and
are rapidly relegated to sometime, never.

just some thoughts, here and now.

dawgie