2 full birds and a light bird
January 24, 2007 5:03 PM Subscribe
The helicopter that was shot down over Iraq this weekend was carrying, among other high-ranking officers, the US Army's chief medical officer for troops in Iraq.
That's terribly sad. Colonel Allgood's predecessor, Major General Elder Granger, was one of the heroes of my story about the epidemic of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in military hospitals in Iraq that was FPP'd a few days ago. Those guys over there need all the medical expertise they can get. Prayers for the families of all the guys who died in this incident.
posted by digaman at 5:16 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by digaman at 5:16 PM on January 24, 2007
2 full birds, a light bird and 8 other guys who don't really matter anyway.
what the fuck?
posted by sergeant sandwich at 5:19 PM on January 24, 2007
what the fuck?
posted by sergeant sandwich at 5:19 PM on January 24, 2007
what the fuck?
Oh, hooah. Let's save some love for the poor EMs, huh? It's always the grunts that get it the worst.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:32 PM on January 24, 2007
Oh, hooah. Let's save some love for the poor EMs, huh? It's always the grunts that get it the worst.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:32 PM on January 24, 2007
(Incidentally, sarnt: where I come from, an O-5's a "light colonel," as opposed to an O-6, a "full" or "bird colonel." It's OK, last week I said cabernet sauvignon when I meant beaujolais nouveau. Happens to the best of us.)
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:37 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:37 PM on January 24, 2007
adam: i was referring to the title of the post, which you'll see if you scroll up. it's OK.
it sucks when people die in violent and unexpected ways. it strikes me as somewhat crass though, to tick off the high ranks of those lost as though it were some indicator of the importance of that loss, and the rest are just the leftover change. i dunno. maybe my bestoftheweb-o-meter is broken today.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 5:56 PM on January 24, 2007
it sucks when people die in violent and unexpected ways. it strikes me as somewhat crass though, to tick off the high ranks of those lost as though it were some indicator of the importance of that loss, and the rest are just the leftover change. i dunno. maybe my bestoftheweb-o-meter is broken today.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 5:56 PM on January 24, 2007
What's up doc?
Seriously though, I'm sure there are a lot more people gunning for the doctor's position than there are for the poor plugs getting smacked by IEDs on a daily basis.
posted by furtive at 6:04 PM on January 24, 2007
Seriously though, I'm sure there are a lot more people gunning for the doctor's position than there are for the poor plugs getting smacked by IEDs on a daily basis.
posted by furtive at 6:04 PM on January 24, 2007
.
(And .* for all the Iraqis who died today because of this invasion.) The last statement to be repeated Ad nauseam. And the first statement too, actually.
posted by NewBornHippy at 6:12 PM on January 24, 2007
(And .* for all the Iraqis who died today because of this invasion.) The last statement to be repeated Ad nauseam. And the first statement too, actually.
posted by NewBornHippy at 6:12 PM on January 24, 2007
thanx! may you die happy and snuggly, with a warm fish in your smock!
posted by sergeant sandwich at 6:37 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by sergeant sandwich at 6:37 PM on January 24, 2007
It was also carrying a friend of a friend. Fuck this war shit. Seriously. Enough.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:52 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:52 PM on January 24, 2007
"it sucks when people die in violent and unexpected ways. it strikes me as somewhat crass though, to tick off the high ranks of those lost as though it were some indicator of the importance of that loss, and the rest are just the leftover change."
Like it or not the military does do this. They spend around $200,000 to train a grunt, and quite a bit more to train a high ranking officer. It is sad for sure, and they are all humans, but if you were their accountant you would still have to point that out to the brass.
posted by sourbrew at 7:38 PM on January 24, 2007
Like it or not the military does do this. They spend around $200,000 to train a grunt, and quite a bit more to train a high ranking officer. It is sad for sure, and they are all humans, but if you were their accountant you would still have to point that out to the brass.
posted by sourbrew at 7:38 PM on January 24, 2007
Damn. Every death Over There is horrible, but when medics die, it just really gets me in the gut. They are heroes, all.
posted by davidmsc at 7:48 PM on January 24, 2007
posted by davidmsc at 7:48 PM on January 24, 2007
From the forgotten link:
Col. Brian D. Allgood, 46...
Also killed were two CSMs...& a Corporal: Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker, 37, of Midlothian, Va.; Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown, 43, of Little Rock, Ark.; Lt. Col. David C. Canegata, 50, of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, 46, of Polk City, Iowa; Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller, 49, of Davidsonville, Md.; Col. Paul M. Kelly, 45, of Stafford, Va.; Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake, 43, of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, 29, of Decatur, Ga.; Capt. Sean E. Lyerly, 31, of Pflugerville, Texas; Maj. Michael V. Taylor, 40, of North Little Rock, Ark. and 1st Sgt. William T. Warren, 48, of North Little Rock, Ark.
posted by taosbat at 8:31 PM on January 24, 2007
Col. Brian D. Allgood, 46...
Also killed were two CSMs...& a Corporal: Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker, 37, of Midlothian, Va.; Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown, 43, of Little Rock, Ark.; Lt. Col. David C. Canegata, 50, of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, 46, of Polk City, Iowa; Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller, 49, of Davidsonville, Md.; Col. Paul M. Kelly, 45, of Stafford, Va.; Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake, 43, of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, 29, of Decatur, Ga.; Capt. Sean E. Lyerly, 31, of Pflugerville, Texas; Maj. Michael V. Taylor, 40, of North Little Rock, Ark. and 1st Sgt. William T. Warren, 48, of North Little Rock, Ark.
posted by taosbat at 8:31 PM on January 24, 2007
Support the troops, bring 'em home!
Still supporting Bush's misadventures? Is you children learning yet? No adjectives exist to express my revulsion for this war and it's promoters. May they suffer 40 hells. 40x40 hells.
posted by nofundy at 8:57 AM on January 25, 2007
Still supporting Bush's misadventures? Is you children learning yet? No adjectives exist to express my revulsion for this war and it's promoters. May they suffer 40 hells. 40x40 hells.
posted by nofundy at 8:57 AM on January 25, 2007
2 full birds, a light bird and 8 other guys who don't really matter anyway.
what the fuck?
Surely you can't be serious. Any officer, by definition, involves a significant investment by the military, and represents a valuable asset. When those assets constitute 2 fulls and a light, sure maybe the 8 other don't matter in perspective of the higher rankings, but the first 3 alone merit some General having his direction called into SERIOUS question, and the other 8 only offer more gravity to the inquiry.
posted by allkindsoftime at 3:11 PM on January 25, 2007
what the fuck?
Surely you can't be serious. Any officer, by definition, involves a significant investment by the military, and represents a valuable asset. When those assets constitute 2 fulls and a light, sure maybe the 8 other don't matter in perspective of the higher rankings, but the first 3 alone merit some General having his direction called into SERIOUS question, and the other 8 only offer more gravity to the inquiry.
posted by allkindsoftime at 3:11 PM on January 25, 2007
...and the other 8 only offer more gravity to the inquiry.
If you look at where the dead were from in my previous comment, you will see that as well as losing 2 Command Sergeant Majors, three distinct medical groups lost key people.
Virginia: Col. Paul M. Kelly, Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker;
Arkansas: Maj. Michael V. Taylor, 1st Sgt. William T. Warren, Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown;
U.S. Virgin Islands: Lt. Col. David C. Canegata, Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake;
Iowa: Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard;
Maryland: Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller;
Georgia: Cpl. Victor M. Langarica;
Texas: Capt. Sean E. Lyerly
Colorado: Col. Brian D. Allgood
posted by taosbat at 8:40 PM on January 25, 2007
If you look at where the dead were from in my previous comment, you will see that as well as losing 2 Command Sergeant Majors, three distinct medical groups lost key people.
Virginia: Col. Paul M. Kelly, Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker;
Arkansas: Maj. Michael V. Taylor, 1st Sgt. William T. Warren, Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown;
U.S. Virgin Islands: Lt. Col. David C. Canegata, Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake;
Iowa: Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard;
Maryland: Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller;
Georgia: Cpl. Victor M. Langarica;
Texas: Capt. Sean E. Lyerly
Colorado: Col. Brian D. Allgood
posted by taosbat at 8:40 PM on January 25, 2007
My post was not intended to imply that the loss of the officers was any more significant than the loss of the enlisted soldiers. My only reason was to draw attention to this incident. The loss of four field-grade officers in an single event is undoubtably without precedent in the current engagement. As such, I thought that it was FPP-worthy.
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 8:53 PM on January 25, 2007
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 8:53 PM on January 25, 2007
Well if we're going to get all bean counting about this then we should be equally upset about the $5.9 million Blackhawk...
No?
posted by schwa at 10:53 AM on January 26, 2007
No?
posted by schwa at 10:53 AM on January 26, 2007
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posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 5:04 PM on January 24, 2007