I got fired from Recon. Well, we all did. They fired everybody and got new people to man the reconaissance platoon for our battalion. So, now I'm in Cco, Charlie company, 3rd platoon. I'm the weapons squad leader, so I got two M240B machine-gun teams working for me. This is so below my training and skills. I have been reduced to a damn babysitter.
On the other hand, I expent 4 and 1/2 years in Recon. I passed the tryouts 3 times, while everybody else averaged between a year and a year and 1/2 before getting sent somewhere else. I guess I can't complain, other than complaining on the Army's stupid rules that people have to be switched around to spread out the combat power.
So, I am no longer Stalker 2. Now I'm friggin Blue 4. Gay ass line companies' call signs are color coded.
Hey, at least you're not pink. Blue is a fine colour.
Sorry, but if it's just a normal duty rotation (which I assume you knew about in advance), I don't see any reason to complain. :huh:
Maybe you were not fired because you suck but because Weapons Squad, sucked.
did anybody else read the thread title and think "postal" ?
I thought you wanted to write that you've been fired AT.
While I disliked Recon units, I can understand your feelings, since Recon seems to be one of the few interesting activities in Iraq.
I wouldn't do it myself, but whatever rocks your boat.
You did have a long go of it in recon, so good for you on that. Too bad that you got switched out, given how much you like that duty. This new job will give you a chance to expand your overall unit skills and knowledge, won't it? So in that, I'd think it would be beneficial to your career.
Quote from: KRonn on January 21, 2010, 08:07:37 AM
You did have a long go of it in recon, so good for you on that. Too bad that you got switched out, given how much you like that duty. This new job will give you a chance to expand your overall unit skills and knowledge, won't it? So in that, I'd think it would be beneficial to your career.
Well yeah, its going to be benificial because nobody gets promoted to Sergeant First Class (Platoon Sergeant) without first being a squad leader in the line. The thing is that it is too easy to deal with bad soldiers in Recon. If a guy is a piece of shit and fail to perform, I just kick his ass back to the line. That's why Recon is so high speed, because you have to want to be there to be there. But in the line, there is nothing lower to kick the bad apples to. You have a soldier that fails to perform, and you can't just get rid of him, you have to actually re-train the guy, counsel him, babysit him, and if the guy is beyond help, article 15 and chapter his ass out of the Army, which is a long and tedious process.
So, when you have the time in service and the time in rank to get promoted to E-7 (Sergeant First Class), they are going to look at your service record, and if it says that you have been in Recon the whole time, they are going to assume, and rightly so, that you don't know how to deal with the shit in the line. That's why doing your "line time" is a must for promotion.
But then, I don't really care about promotion. I guess you can say that I don't really have a choice. It is just the way the army works. I have to be an squad leader in the line for at least 18 months.
Seige, I would like you to attend OCS, mainly because I like the sound of "Major Seigebreaker". Sounds like a GI Joe character. :smoke:
What's your current rank Seeb?
You'll never make field marshal with that kind of attitude.
Quote from: Neil on January 21, 2010, 08:56:52 AM
You'll never make field marshal chief judge with that kind of attitude.
FYP
Civil servants get rotated all the time too. But we usually stagger the rotations to retain the experience and organizational memory. We almost never transfer everybody out of the same unit at the same time.
Quote from: Viking on January 21, 2010, 07:59:15 AM
did anybody else read the thread title and think "postal" ?
Close. I assumed the psych eval results for Siege came back.
Quote from: Grey Fox on January 21, 2010, 07:57:24 AM
Maybe you were not fired because you suck but because Weapons Squad, sucked.
Well, that was the argument, more or less.
The CSM (Command Sergeant Major), came to us saying that the battalion was all fucked-up, that the line platoons weren't agressive enough, and that he wanted to spread out the recon platoon along the three line companies, a total of 9 platoons, to increase their combat power.
That, of course, is bullshit. You don't break up a platoon half way through a deployment, and the line platoons are not agressive because they are restricted by the rules of engagement. Every time we get in a firefight we get investigated, guilty of discharging our weapons without a tactical reason until proven innocent. That makes everybody hesitate when coming under fire. Two of the line platoons were shot at, and didn't return fire. A 3rd platoon did return fired, but failed to manouver and close on the enemy. They are not agressive because they don't want to end up in jail, bottom line.
Now Recon, every time we have gotten enagaged we have returned fire supressing the enemy, manouvering and closing in for the kill. The diference is that in recon we have better training, better equipment, especially optics to see who is shooting at us and who isn't, and a dedication for the fight even if it cost us. Recon is a family of like-minded people dedicated to the fight. Now, with these new platoons we have been asigned to, there is no family here, we are the new guys, these fuckers ain't gonna cover our asses when the shit hits the fan. So basicly, the one really good platoon in the battalion, have been diluted among the rest.
I think the moral is pretty low right now, all across the board. The ones that still want to fight can't fight, the ones that don't want to fight are asking why are we still here in Iraq, and the ones that are just tired of all this shit just want to go back home and get the fuck out of the Army.
Siege, that's pretty worrisome stuff, the conditions you point out. Hopefully it isn't that bad, but even so, it seems the US political and military leadership needs to damn well get a better handle on how the soldiers can fight and get the job done.
Have you ever taken a close look at your scope Seeb? :ph34r:
What is your goal anyway Siege?
Sure, you're just in the army to kill Arabs, not as a good career aiming for the top, but you can't do that forever; the government won't let you. Or will you go off and join private security when the US army decides to take you off the front line?
Quote from: Siege
Well, that was the argument, more or less.
Y'know Siege, reading your post I got the impression your platoon got into a "someone annoyed someone of a higher rank" situation.
Who got pissed at you lot? Did the battalion get some new officer recently?
I'm surprised that they have the guts to do this. You're a Jew with a gun!
Our "Recon" (scouts) were just tools with better scopes in my old battalion.
What I wish to know is who will take up the mantle and deliver Languish Street Justice to the arabs when Siegy ends his War on Arabism. :(
I would go ahead and do it, but since I can't perform it in any legal capacity (yet :shifty: ) I would probably get caught after in a best case scenario at most 10-12 deliveries.
Unless we set up some kind of rotating shift, I'm afraid the arab-killing gap may widen to an unacceptable degree. :mad:
Quote from: Slargos on January 21, 2010, 06:59:50 PM
What I wish to know is who will take up the mantle and deliver Languish Street Justice to the arabs when Siegy ends his War on Arabism. :(
I would go ahead and do it, but since I can't perform it in any legal capacity (yet :shifty: ) I would probably get caught after in a best case scenario at most 10-12 deliveries.
Unless we set up some kind of rotating shift, I'm afraid the arab-killing gap may widen to an unacceptable degree. :mad:
Sorry, I'll pass. I like the food.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on January 21, 2010, 01:18:58 PM
Have you ever taken a close look at your scope Seeb? :ph34r:
:lol:
Quote from: Viking on January 21, 2010, 07:59:15 AM
did anybody else read the thread title and think "postal" ?
Nah, I read it and thought "Damn. Does it mean he is less likely to be put in the line of fire?"
Quote from: Siege on January 21, 2010, 08:42:44 AM
The thing is that it is too easy to deal with bad soldiers in Recon. If a guy is a piece of shit and fail to perform, I just kick his ass back to the line. That's why Recon is so high speed, because you have to want to be there to be there. But in the line, there is nothing lower to kick the bad apples to. You have a soldier that fails to perform, and you can't just get rid of him, you have to actually re-train the guy, counsel him, babysit him, and if the guy is beyond help, article 15 and chapter his ass out of the Army, which is a long and tedious process.
So this is exactly what happened to you (i.e. having your ass kicked back to the line), right?
Quote from: Martinus on January 22, 2010, 03:22:30 AM
Quote from: Siege on January 21, 2010, 08:42:44 AM
The thing is that it is too easy to deal with bad soldiers in Recon. If a guy is a piece of shit and fail to perform, I just kick his ass back to the line. That's why Recon is so high speed, because you have to want to be there to be there. But in the line, there is nothing lower to kick the bad apples to. You have a soldier that fails to perform, and you can't just get rid of him, you have to actually re-train the guy, counsel him, babysit him, and if the guy is beyond help, article 15 and chapter his ass out of the Army, which is a long and tedious process.
So this is exactly what happened to you (i.e. having your ass kicked back to the line), right?
Indeed. I did last for 4 and 1/2 years, though, the longest run in Recon in this battalion.
Quote from: Alcibiades on January 21, 2010, 06:48:27 PM
Our "Recon" (scouts) were just tools with better scopes in my old battalion.
It depends of how the battalion commander uses his recon platoon. Some battalions even have an sniper section separated from recon/scouts. I have even heard of battalions that have used their recon element as PSD, and others that have used recon as a permanent QRF. In my battalion recon is a platoon dedicated to raids, air assault missions, and time sensitive targets. Last deployment we killed and captured more enemy combatants than any of line companies, and we are platoon, while they are infantry companies, each with 3 infantry platoons, 1 MGS platoon (Mobile Gun System - Strykers with the 105mm main gun), and the headquarters platoon that includes a mortar section and the company snipers (a 3 men sniper team), plus absorted pogs and worthless officers. We also paid a high price, with 30% of the battalion's cassualties being from my platoon, out of a total of 10 infantry platoons.
Bottom line, it depends of the battalion commander. My BC was a recon platoon leader back in the day, so he loved us and gave us the best missions, and the tools to acomplish those missions.
Also, you have to keep in mine that the line always, ALWAYS hate recon. They call us prima donnas and an lot of other shit.
So, how was recon used in your old battalion?
Quote from: Tyr on January 21, 2010, 01:24:58 PM
What is your goal anyway Siege?
Sure, you're just in the army to kill Arabs, not as a good career aiming for the top, but you can't do that forever; the government won't let you. Or will you go off and join private security when the US army decides to take you off the front line?
Goal? What goal?
I'm a childless sefaradi old soldier.
I live for the day, until my end comes.
And private security like Xe Services are crap. They pay a lot, but they are not out there fighting islam. They don't fight terrorists. I know most people have this image that they are mercenaries fighting our wars for money, but in reallity they are just glorified security guards, getting paid to protect some dude or some building.
Mercs are crap, they have always been, and are so more now than ever. At least back during the Cold War and in the early 90s there were outfits like Executive Outcomes that were actually doing something worthwhile back in Africa. But now? Just crap.