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Wrong Dalk. Dundalk is a dying sprawl of Baltimore full of pain and heroin. I spent much of my youth there.
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Feb 23, 2023 15:23
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bulletsponge13 posted:Wrong Dalk. No poo poo, I grew up in Butchers Hill, and we all were glad that we weren't by Dundalk Marine Terminal.
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Feb 23, 2023 16:44
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Humbug Scoolbus posted:No poo poo, I grew up in Butchers Hill, and we all were glad that we weren't by Dundalk Marine Terminal. Ha! I spent my first few years in Baltimore living right by the O'Donnell Heights projects in the city, then bounced around the Dundalk/Essex area. Turns out, Baghdad felt much safer. Not because of the guns and armor, but because it made sense, where it felt like back home everything was arbitrary pain and fearful neglect.
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Feb 23, 2023 16:54
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bulletsponge13 posted:Ha! I spent my first few years in Baltimore living right by the O'Donnell Heights projects in the city, then bounced around the Dundalk/Essex area. Probably much better food and coffee in Baghdad, too.
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Feb 23, 2023 17:13
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BIG HEADLINE posted:Probably much better food and coffee in Baghdad, too. One of the biggest shocks of my life was someone recommending this bougie little place called Joanna's Cafe in Dundalk. loving great food and coffee, though.
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Feb 23, 2023 17:28
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BIG HEADLINE posted:Probably much better food and coffee in Baghdad, too. I will forever miss eating random Baghdad Street food. That's where I learned that sketchy means tasty. Plus, it was so abundant- back here, we will have food truck festivals- that is the norm there, just a street of random food vendors. God drat, just made me nostalgic for the old market that I need to write about.
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Feb 23, 2023 18:21
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Baltimore has loving amazing food. Blue Moon, Obrycki's, Bo Brooks, Faidley's. Hausner's is closed now sadly.
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Feb 23, 2023 18:35
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bulletsponge13 posted:I will forever miss eating random Baghdad Street food. That's where I learned that sketchy means tasty. Plus, it was so abundant- back here, we will have food truck festivals- that is the norm there, just a street of random food vendors. I got into a rabbit hole of youtube videos on Baghdad street food. After being raised on CNN footage of Baghdad in the mid 2000s, it is startling for me to see it as a very normal bustling city. Did deployed soldiers get a lot of chances to experience the local culture? It obviously isn't Okinawa but towards the tail-end of the American military presence, were there less restrictions or did you mainly stay in the compounds unless on patrol?
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Feb 23, 2023 19:10
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Fragrag posted:I got into a rabbit hole of youtube videos on Baghdad street food. After being raised on CNN footage of Baghdad in the mid 2000s, it is startling for me to see it as a very normal bustling city. Did deployed soldiers get a lot of chances to experience the local culture? It obviously isn't Okinawa but towards the tail-end of the American military presence, were there less restrictions or did you mainly stay in the compounds unless on patrol? Varies widely by unit, time, and place. Some units forbid it, some encouraged it, most just kind of had a hands off approach. My unit policy was it was building rapport, learning the territory, and being human. So long as security was set, and there were no pressing issues, we were allowed to buddy up and go grab a sandwich, or give a local cash to grab us something. The kids did their own version of Uber Eats, coming up, offering, then returning. The early days, when we were closer, it was easier and we had more freedom- we 'patrolled', but it was mostly driving around, being seen, and being around. In the early war, there was a lot of opportunity. As the war progressed, troops encountered less opportunities to experience it in situ, because we bunkered up into bases and rolling pillboxes further from communities. Early days? People would bring us treats. We lived in the neighborhoods we worked. America then made the Soviet mistake of focusing on sustaining an occupying force logistics with an desperate aversion to possible casualties. Instead of countering the enemy, we focused on keeping casualties out of the papers. Then patrolling became the drive from A to B looking to find an IED, so fewer opportunities for troops. Some bases- most encampments larger than a Company- all would have vetted local vendors normally selling stolen PX poo poo and Bootleg DVDs, but some had local food stands- or so I was told. I was extremely lucky- I got less than I wanted, but more than I deserved. I feel gross, but I'll plug it anyway- Last year, I began writing some of my experiences for the forum. If you aren't familiar, you might enjoy it. Fair warning- it's scans of hand written stories, like a mentally challenged Civil War journal! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4002076&pagenumber=9&perpage=40 E- Baghdad was wonderful after we stabilized and the 'war' was over, and it began returning to normal. A lovely, low slung city full of vibrant noise and colorful characters. It was always hectic in a controlled casualness. Every neighborhood felt almost like a Kansas small town- the same, but not. I would get angry when people would bash the place- bitching is fine, but how could you hate the place? It was a dirty mess because of us, and the people still seemed to carry themselves with a dignified joy I don't see as much here. bulletsponge13 fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Feb 23, 2023 |
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Feb 23, 2023 19:47
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bulletsponge13 posted:I will forever miss eating random Baghdad Street food. That's where I learned that sketchy means tasty. Plus, it was so abundant- back here, we will have food truck festivals- that is the norm there, just a street of random food vendors. Fragrag posted:I got into a rabbit hole of youtube videos on Baghdad street food. After being raised on CNN footage of Baghdad in the mid 2000s, it is startling for me to see it as a very normal bustling city. Did deployed soldiers get a lot of chances to experience the local culture? It obviously isn't Okinawa but towards the tail-end of the American military presence, were there less restrictions or did you mainly stay in the compounds unless on patrol? I felt jealous at the time that 4th ID (the invading force that we relieved for OIF2) was walking around in soft caps, driving to downtown Baqubah and eating street meat, and showing each other their confiscated AKs and other guns. Meanwhile, 1ID came in and said PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL to everything, with full armor and Kevlar everywhere from day one, then we shot 4th ID's beer delivery guy while he was in line at the front gate for FOB Warhorse, and basically bunkered up while the insurgency caught fire and IEDs started going off everywhere. Probably a little bit of cause and effect there, but I can't be too mad because a) they actually fought the war to get to that patch of land, so I figure 4ID deserved some shamtime b) we were a foreign invading force in a war with a made-up pretext, so I can't blame the Iraqis for wanting to blow us up c) I was perfectly ok being a fobbit gently caress who went back a year later with way fewer stories than a warzone should give you, but also with all of my digits and relatively intact sleep patterns.
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Feb 23, 2023 19:48
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GD_American posted:I felt jealous at the time that 4th ID (the invading force that we relieved for OIF2) was walking around in soft caps, driving to downtown Baqubah and eating street meat, and showing each other their confiscated AKs and other guns. There was a weird dichotomy between the guys who arrived during our first tour (feb 03/feb 04) and after. The guys who came in after our return were all motards, hyped up on Bush bullshit and Toby Keith. They would get offended at the idea that the locals wanted to kill us, and then would get indignant as allowed when we pointed out that we would be insurgents if the shoes were switched. They learned, but they had an attitude about the locals that needed correction and guidance. They could never quite grasp that the war was their Red Dawn, even when explained in those elementary terms.
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Feb 23, 2023 20:37
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For all the poo poo that happened in Desert Storm, at least I never felt like I was an invader.
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Feb 23, 2023 22:37
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bulletsponge13 posted:There was a weird dichotomy between the guys who arrived during our first tour (feb 03/feb 04) and after. The guys who came in after our return were all motards, hyped up on Bush bullshit and Toby Keith. They would get offended at the idea that the locals wanted to kill us, and then would get indignant as allowed when we pointed out that we would be insurgents if the shoes were switched. They learned, but they had an attitude about the locals that needed correction and guidance. They could never quite grasp that the war was their Red Dawn, even when explained in those elementary terms. I think the worst thing to happen to the military in the region at the time, besides Paul Bremer lodging his head firmly between his own asscheeks, was that 1ID had a major case of invasion blueballs. We pre-staged most of 1ID's equipment in Turkey during the buildup to the invasion, and were going to deploy as part of the invading force as a northern front. Turkey's Parliament voted it down, and we had to go gather up all our equipment and ship it back to Germany. So by the time we hit the ground for OIF2, our division leadership had been stroking a warboner for 10 months and decided to show the rest of the Army how to soldier.
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Feb 23, 2023 22:47
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lmao I know the military is scrambling for recruitment and making all kinds of concessions to let in all kinds of people, but I just got a Marine officer recruitment flyer. I'm 99% sure I am aged out of absolutely everything Marines-related, and have been for several years. Or did the Marines gut their standards too? Or maybe the gubmint just has no idea how old I am, which is entirely possible too.
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Feb 24, 2023 00:34
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Dick Burglar posted:lmao I know the military is scrambling for recruitment and making all kinds of concessions to let in all kinds of people, but I just got a Marine officer recruitment flyer. I'm 99% sure I am aged out of absolutely everything Marines-related, and have been for several years. Or did the Marines gut their standards too? Or else they think you're old enough to have an 18-year-old kid by now.
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Feb 24, 2023 00:44
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Dick Burglar posted:lmao I know the military is scrambling for recruitment and making all kinds of concessions to let in all kinds of people, but I just got a Marine officer recruitment flyer. I'm 99% sure I am aged out of absolutely everything Marines-related, and have been for several years. Or did the Marines gut their standards too? the perfect moment to pass on this youtube ad I was shown: 
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Feb 24, 2023 00:45
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McGavin posted:Or else they think you're old enough to have an 18-year-old kid by now. Can't argue with that logic! Lord Awkward posted:the perfect moment to pass on this youtube ad I was shown: 
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Feb 24, 2023 00:51
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We had a 59 year old E-6 in my NCO Academy class. He was a Hawaiian Air National Guard Technician, so they had a lot of weird rules and standards since technicians are both military & government civilian at the same time or someshit, I'm guessing that's why he was still in. Guy could barely pass the PT test, I felt sorry for him.
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Feb 24, 2023 01:04
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Jimmy Smuts posted:We had a 59 year old E-6 in my NCO Academy class. He was a Hawaiian Air National Guard Technician, so they had a lot of weird rules and standards since technicians are both military & government civilian at the same time or someshit, I'm guessing that's why he was still in. Guy could barely pass the PT test, I felt sorry for him. does the USAF stop the age brackets at 41 or do they keep going?
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Feb 24, 2023 01:15
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https://twitter.com/thebiggestyee/status/1628472789521821699
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Feb 24, 2023 01:29
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GD_American posted:does the USAF stop the age brackets at 41 or do they keep going?
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Feb 24, 2023 02:07
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Lord Awkward posted:the perfect moment to pass on this youtube ad I was shown: wheelchAIR ASSAULT!
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Feb 24, 2023 19:41
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Wrr posted:M14: Delusions of Grarandeur I'm stealing this for future use.
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Feb 25, 2023 07:27
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Wrr posted:M14: Delusions of Grarandeur Works poorly if you pronounce “Garand” like the man’s name.
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Feb 25, 2023 07:31
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Dick Burglar posted:lmao I know the military is scrambling for recruitment and making all kinds of concessions to let in all kinds of people, but I just got a Marine officer recruitment flyer. I'm 99% sure I am aged out of absolutely everything Marines-related, and have been for several years. Or did the Marines gut their standards too? I'm positive it's a fuckup. My brother once received an Army recruiting pamphlet in the mail--addressed to his Cadet mailbox at USMA.
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Feb 26, 2023 17:02
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That actually ties into the wrinkle I didn't mention: I'm old, but I'm also technically a university student. So I'm guessing it's just a blanket mailing to all university students. Pretty funny that military academies would be included, but hey it's easier to just hit the Check All option and call it good.
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Feb 26, 2023 21:59
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I kept getting mailings for nuclear submarine officer specifically when I was in grad school for physics.
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Feb 26, 2023 22:01
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Absurd Alhazred posted:I kept getting mailings for nuclear submarine officer specifically when I was in grad school for physics. I got those too, the irony being that 1. I didn't graduate and 2. I had already served in the USAF and was in no way interested in being on a Navy ship for 6-8 months.
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Feb 26, 2023 22:10
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I had an Army recruiter chase me back to my car, after I went to my city's joint recruiting office and couldn't find the Navy guy.
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Feb 26, 2023 22:31
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I had a Marine Reserve recruiter call and not want to take no for an answer despite me telling him I was already in the ANG for two years at that point.I can get you out of that bro!”, then something that sounded like “You’ll make so little you’ll qualify for welfare!”
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Feb 26, 2023 22:49
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Do you want cancer? Because this is how you get cancer. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpImX3dsKd4/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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Feb 27, 2023 00:41
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bulletsponge13 posted:Do you want cancer? Because this is how you get cancer.
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Feb 27, 2023 00:53
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Chipped tank paint mixed with exhaust-cooked bacon? 
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Feb 27, 2023 00:59
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I'm sure that NBC enamel bullshit they use is super cool for ingestion, too.
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Feb 27, 2023 01:02
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A bunch of us took parts of the metal wiring off of a hesco and used it to hold food over our trash fire. Then our medic yelled at us for probably ingesting heavy metals, but that made us want to do it more 
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Feb 27, 2023 01:31
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Somebody come up with a new acronym for CARC that implies “tasty”.
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Feb 27, 2023 01:58
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Crispy, aromatic, rich, carcinogenic.
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Feb 27, 2023 02:08
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bulletsponge13 posted:Do you want cancer? Because this is how you get cancer. In principle, turbine exhaust can be pretty clean, when compared to grilling on an open flame, but I would not want to ingest things coming out of that turbine when fed JP‑8 with all its additives.
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Feb 27, 2023 02:09
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Feb 27, 2023 02:10
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Posting just to remind myself of Pookbear's A bed pisser tries to get me to go die in Somalia thread that started here then moved to another subforumI think and the insane(ly long) pastebin that is the heart of the thread for bonus idiots content. My favorite: line 291-299 posted:Mr Blue
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