MetaFilter posts tagged with soldiers and military

Team Lioness - Female Soldiers in Combat in Iraq

nooneyouknow — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:49:13 -0800

Team Lioness is the name given to a group of female soliders, (and the documentary about them) who were some of the first women in modern American warfare to engage in frontline combat — something that is officially forbidden by the military. "The female support soliders were assigned to the 1st Engineer Battalion and they were recruited to accompany Marine units during raids. Originally, the female soldiers were there to search and detain any women they came upon and to guard the unit's Arabic interpreter. Over time, however, as the situation in Ramadi deteriorated, the Marine units transitioned into a more offensive role, baiting insurgents into firefights in order to draw them out. Until officers higher up the chain got spooked over the possibility of a female soldier killed in combat and quietly disbanded the unit, members of Team Lioness were often right in the thick of things, including some of the fiercest urban firefights of the Iraq War."

Winter Soldier

homunculus — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:15:30 -0800

Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan. "Like Vietnam vets did decades ago, a group of soldiers are poised to speak out about atrocities they say the U.S. committed in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Child Soldiers in Burma

homunculus — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:15:28 -0800

Sold to Be Soldiers: The Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Burma. “I can’t remember how old I was the first time in fighting. About 13. That time we walked into a Karenni ambush, and four of our soldiers died. I was afraid because I was very young so I tried to run back, but [the] captain shouted, ‘Don’t run back! If you run back I’ll shoot you myself!’” —Aung Zaw, describing his first exposure to combat

No web for you, Army Boy!

dejah420 — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:10:56 -0800

Soldiers may no longer use MySpace to communicate with family. The Defense Department will begin "worldwide" blocking access, as of today, to YouTube, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos, FileCabi, MySpace, BlackPlanet, Hi5, Pandora, MTV, 1.fm, live365, and Photobucket on its computers and networks, according to a memo sent Friday by Gen. B.B. Bell, the U.S. Forces Korea commander. Note that most soldiers deployed in war zones don't have access to any network outside of the military network.

"Of 10 governments worldwide implicated in the recruitment or use of children as soldiers, nine receive US military assistance."

chunking express — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:22:26 -0800

"Of 10 governments worldwide implicated in the recruitment or use of children as soldiers, nine receive US military assistance."

http://www.h-pep.com/icepaw.html

spock — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:01:00 -0800

I'm Coming Home (video/sound warning)

What it's like to lose a son in the Iraq war.

ND¢ — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:31:01 -0800

Never Coming Home is about the families of five young men killed in Iraq. Slate presents a short documentary that focuses on the bereavement of the parents, or in one case, a brother. This portrait of grief and sacrifice is brought to life through the use of still photography and the recorded voices of family members.

The journal of an American soldier.

insomnia_lj — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 09:36:47 -0800

The journal of an American soldier. Although it's typically my policy not to reveal the identity of people I know in Iraq, I am making an exception in this case. The journal above belongs to Michael Smith, a LiveJournal friend of mine who died in Iraq on Tuesday when an RPG hit his Humvee. Mike was 24 years old and leaves behind family, friends, and a newlywed wife, who he married in Korea shortly before he deployed to Iraq. As is tradition on LiveJournal, his last journal entry has become a memorial of sorts.

Through the eyes of the soldiers

bedhead — Wed, 15 Dec 2004 14:12:55 -0800

What do the soldiers see? We've been saturated with images from Iraq - from the media and from other sources. Under Mars has images from a different perspective - they were all taken by soldiers in Iraq. Some are wistful, some are painful, and some are just plain great photographs. There are a few that are kind of funny, too.

MTV Meets Military History Channel

joaquim — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 14:34:25 -0800

You got your Outkast in my Sun Tzu Weaponry, military, and war footage set to music. Although the author believes Enya did the song Adiemus, the target practice video is kind of interesting. I couldn't find any videos set to Peace Train, however.

Roadmap for the Prosecution

acrobat — Wed, 29 Sep 2004 05:29:50 -0800

Terrorising free speech. Al Lorentz is a reserve Non-Commissioned Officer currently serving in Iraq. His blazingly clear, succinct article on Iraq, titled "Why we cannot win", has raged over the wires (also at MeFi) since it was published on LewRockwell.com. Now, the military chain of command is considering charging Al with violation of Article 134 for making a statement with the intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection toward the U.S. by any member of the Armed forces. The military is also considering charging Al with violation of 1344.10, the conduct of partisan political activity, and violation of Standards of Conduct for unauthorized use of Government assets to create and email stories.

Pen Pal Soldiers

whatever — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 18:01:34 -0800

A group of pre-schoolers in Maryland got to meet their Army Reserve pen pal. Fourth graders in New York met their Army pen pal. Sixth graders in Mississippi mourn their National Guard pen pal.

Thousandth U.S. soldier dies in War on Terror.

insomnia_lj — Wed, 07 Jul 2004 05:52:19 -0800

Over a thousand U.S. soldiers have died in the War on Terror. As of today, 872 soldiers have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 129 in Operation Enduring Freedom. Time for a moment of silence, perhaps, before sharing your reflections on the subject.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/06/29/iraq.reserves.ap/index.html

Postroad — Tue, 29 Jun 2004 11:05:48 -0800

Army to recall former military members It is good to be too old! "The Army is preparing to notify about 5,600 retired and discharged soldiers who are not members of the National Guard or Reserve that they will be involuntarily recalled to active duty for possible service in Iraq or Afghanistan, Army officials said Tuesday."

Support the troops!

konolia — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 17:02:41 -0800

Gmail 4 Troops! The idea of matching U.S. troops in need of a low-cost way to communicate with their friends, family, and other loved ones back home with those who have spare Gmail invitations is the brainchild of Wil Wheaton and Drew Olanoff. Gmail4Troops is their project, as a result of their inspiration. The sponsors here, including Whizardries and ISIPP, are here to help further and support Drew and Wil's project, and are honoured to be able to assist Wil and Drew, and to serve our troops serving overseas, and their loved ones back home, in this manner .

servicemen Iraq

thedailygrowl — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 22:16:49 -0800

One year later "It's easy to send soldiers off to war. It's a lot harder to face them when they come home"

An American in Mongolia

kablam — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 13:10:05 -0800

An American in Mongolia. A new breed of American soldier—call him the soldier-diplomat—has come into being since the end of the Cold War. Meet the colonel who was our man in Mongolia, an officer who probably wielded more local influence than many Mongol rulers of yore.

ticker tape

the fire you left me — Sun, 18 Jan 2004 09:54:49 -0800

500+ The U.S. military death toll in Iraq surpassed 500 this weekend, roughly matching the number of U.S. military personnel who died in the first four years of the U.S. military engagement in Vietnam.

Stop Loss Orders: It's not your President's National Guard...

y2karl — Tue, 30 Dec 2003 19:58:31 -0800

Army Stops Many Soldiers From Quitting According to their contracts, expectations and desires, all three soldiers should have been civilians by now. But Fontaine and Costas are currently serving in Iraq, and Eagle has just been deployed. On their Army paychecks, the expiration date of their military service is now listed sometime after 2030 -- the payroll computer's way of saying, "Who knows?" The three are among thousands of soldiers forbidden to leave military service under the Army's "stop-loss" orders, intended to stanch the seepage of troops, through retirement and discharge, from a military stretched thin by its burgeoning overseas missions. As Helena Cobham notes, They don't want to call it a draft but it sure ain't your father's "all-volunteer military" any more... Marine's Girl, Cobham's cause celebre of some time ago, writes about stop-loss here and here. See also Army reservists choosing to be citizens, not soldiers.

Labor Day's forgotten ones.

skallas — Sun, 07 Sep 2003 22:22:01 -0800

Labor Day's forgotten ones. "...there is one class of workers who are largely ignored during Labor Day celebrations, even as our country remains at war on multiple fronts: members of the U.S. armed forces."

hey mom and dad

specialk420 — Mon, 28 Jul 2003 22:39:52 -0800

"hey mom and dad"
a word from the front - i feel horrible for this guy and his family. why isn't he getting food, water and being rotated? where are all our taxpayer dollars going anyway?

Books Go To War

jdroth — Fri, 25 Jul 2003 13:22:23 -0800

Books Go To War Between 1943 and 1947, the Council on Books in Wartime published 1322 small-format books (4 in. x 5.75 in. — designed to fit easily into the pockets of service uniforms) for distribution to United States service personnel. These books were unabridged volumes spanning a variety of topics: popular fiction, humor, classic literature, music, psychology, war stories, etc. Because the books were distributed only to overseas troops, and printed on cheap paper (intended to be read, passed around, and discarded), they've become hard-to-find, the subject of museum exhibits and, in the case of the rarer titles, the object of collectors' desire.

The Cold War

wendell — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:22:54 -0800

Operation: Air Conditioner
It's about dropping our differences and getting together to support our troops and keep them cool.
Should I feel terribly guilty about giggling at some of the things on this web page? Like: "Together We Are: An Army of One" (Say what?) and "Here are some of the items that I buy and send besides air conditioners: Baby Wipes, Powder... Liquid Soap (I heard the bar melts)... Tiki Torches. Check out the Baghdad Weather Report near the bottom, and... wait a minute... "I’ve organized people to begin “Operation Christmas” and we need to start planning that in August." (So we aren't leaving anytime soon?)
And, while they seem to have enough power to run the A/C at the Army camp, electricity for the rest of Iraq is still gonna take some more money.

Operation Affordable Coitus

Ignatius J. Reilly — Wed, 18 Jun 2003 09:28:11 -0800

It's not exactly the same as being in heaven surrounded by virgins.

Sending the pregnant to fight Saddam

hairyeyeball — Thu, 03 Apr 2003 11:46:25 -0800

Sending the pregnant to fight Saddam: The dramatic rescue of GI Jessica brings up the issue [preemptive post justification]. This article has a nice historical overview of women's role in the military, in the form of a time-travel dialogue between today's soldier and a Vietnam era grunt.