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Wally Fairway

By Wally Fairway
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BearSchlong

BearSchlong 8084

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While the world deals with the coronavirus, there was an attack on US forces in Iraq
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/americans-killed-iraq-rocket-attack/index.html
Reports are 2 US soldiers killed, 1 coalition forces soldier and s number with serious injuries.
This is the base Wally Jr is at, and no word from him. Fucking fuck
Praying for y'all.

In about 26 weeks my son will deploy, then I get to worry.
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NeverMarryAStripper

NeverMarryAStripper 21898

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3 hours ago, Wally Fairway said:

Just heard from the boy, he is fine - not a lot that he said he could share.

Prayers for the families of those who were lost and those who were injured.
I thought I was ready for his deployment, but damn that was a long night.

Glad he's safe.  I imagine that's quite a relief for now, but not an end to your worries.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105095

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4 hours ago, Wally Fairway said:

Just heard from the boy, he is fine - not a lot that he said he could share.

Prayers for the families of those who were lost and those who were injured.
I thought I was ready for his deployment, but damn that was a long night.

Praise be, dude.  Seriously, I am much relieved, which surely holds not a candle to your relief.  Breathe deep, dad.

Shit, I'm worrying my ass off because my daughter is living in a foreign country during a pandemic....so I can only imagine how much more amped up your anxiety is.  Let's get his job done, and get him home.

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Praise be, dude.  Seriously, I am much relieved, which surely holds not a candle to your relief.  Breathe deep, dad.

Shit, I'm worrying my ass off because my daughter is living in a foreign country during a pandemic....so I can only imagine how much more amped up your anxiety is.  Let's get his job done, and get him home.

Thanks - at least my son has body armour and a sturdy lid for his head. 
It is tough because intellectually I know that even though there were several casualties yesterday and more were injured, it is still a big ass base and the likelihood it was him is small (probably not much more risk that driving, especially the way he drives), my gut kept saying my head was just an idiot and there is no way you can know it isn't him.
Seriously, one of the best phone calls I've got in a long time

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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Welp, this is getting old really fast.
Another rocket attack today on his base, the reports are no fatalities and only minor injuries, but communication has been cut off .... so waiting to here from him again.

Save you thoughts and prayers for others on this one, I'm going to deal with this in the most rational fashion - I'm starting to drink early, and I think I'm going to keep at it until he calls.
That seems like the best course of action, raise a glass, bottle or can an think of our troops.

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Not a cat

Not a cat 5652

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Is it assumed lran backed groups are behind the latest attack?  If so, what's the game plan for them- going through a pandemic digging mass graves while simultaneously poking the bear?  

I get that the leadership of Iran is not the most rational group when viewed from a western perspective, but this seems to go against the basic human instinct of surviving/hanging on to power.

 

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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Got a call about a hour ago, he's fine but this was his first attack in daylight. He was at work, another cluster of rockets none near him but he says a buddy of his was blown into a wall and some shrapenal just missed the guy. Come were down again for a few hours, it looks like that is SOP.

This one pissed him off, not sure why, but he wants to be part of the teams going out. Like they need a mechanic doing that.

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Armybrat

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22 hours ago, Not a cat said:

Is it assumed lran backed groups are behind the latest attack?  If so, what's the game plan for them- going through a pandemic digging mass graves while simultaneously poking the bear?  

I get that the leadership of Iran is not the most rational group when viewed from a western perspective, but this seems to go against the basic human instinct of surviving/hanging on to power.

 

No shit, those mullahs are desperately hanging on, but it would be a monumental task for the unarmed populace to overthrow them because the Revolutionary Guard fanatics & military have all the guns. /cr

The people’s only hope would be to flip the army.

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You don't know me

You don't know me 1161

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On 3/14/2020 at 1:46 PM, Wally Fairway said:

Got a call about a hour ago, he's fine but this was his first attack in daylight. He was at work, another cluster of rockets none near him but he says a buddy of his was blown into a wall and some shrapenal just missed the guy. Come were down again for a few hours, it looks like that is SOP.

This one pissed him off, not sure why, but he wants to be part of the teams going out. Like they need a mechanic doing that.

I spent quite a bit of time as a contractor in Iraq from 2005-2012.  You are correct that it's SOP, but back then it was only when there were KIA so that they could notify next of kin before anything got out.

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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It's been a month, so I thought I'd give you an update on my little pony soldier.

I don't think there has been an attack on his base in the last month, but that could be partially due to a couple of CRAM's being installed there. He said they test fired them for a couple of days after they were set up, and it is a very distinctive (and hopefully intimidating) sound. {see below}
I'm told there is plenty of base rumor-mongering and gossip about possible local groups planning to storm the base, going over (or through) the walls nearest a local highway, so there have been defensive positions established at various points, Apparently there was something similar attempted last year and it was nearest the Aussies encampment, and the locals lost 30-40 while Team DownUnder had a couple of injuries but no casualties. That kind of talk gets a lot of attention, but hopefully Wally Jr doesn't really see an live fire action, well that's my hope anyway.

They have however been impacted by COVID, so all social activities have been curtailed, no running, gyms closed, movies, bowling, basketball, soccer, etc. The chow hall now serves only to go - either back to your place of work or your barracks to eat, and very little socialization. He did say that since the gym was closed the guys in the motorpool had put together a "prison gym" using axles, 5 gallon cans, truck tires, etc. 

Here ya go - CRAM, 20mm explosive tracers at 4,500 rpm, typically limited by 1,500 round ammo belts

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BearSchlong

BearSchlong 8084

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Hear you on the "prison gym" - Also the Army has locked all personnel stateside in place until June 30, if I understand it correctly.  Saw my son this past weekend and their gym equipment consists of a pull up bar.  Thoughts and prayers for your son and all of our troops in harms way.

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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7 minutes ago, BearSchlong said:

Hear you on the "prison gym" - Also the Army has locked all personnel stateside in place until June 30, if I understand it correctly.  Saw my son this past weekend and their gym equipment consists of a pull up bar.  Thoughts and prayers for your son and all of our troops in harms way.

Motorpool pull up "rIngs "

pull-up-rings

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25944

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5 hours ago, BearSchlong said:

Hear you on the "prison gym" - Also the Army has locked all personnel stateside in place until June 30, if I understand it correctly.  Saw my son this past weekend and their gym equipment consists of a pull up bar.  Thoughts and prayers for your son and all of our troops in harms way.

Not really.  They are still moving people, but doing it weird.

My kid just took a platoon of recent boot camp grads from Ft. Jackson to Ft. Lee.   '

Get your temp taken, get on bus, bus goes straight to new place without anybody getting off, get to new place, get temp taken as you walk-off bus. 

 

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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On 4/20/2020 at 5:16 PM, Gil Bang said:

Not really.  They are still moving people, but doing it weird.

My kid just took a platoon of recent boot camp grads from Ft. Jackson to Ft. Lee.   '

Get your temp taken, get on bus, bus goes straight to new place without anybody getting off, get to new place, get temp taken as you walk-off bus. 

 

Took my son on that trip 4 years ago. Go Ordinance!
Wally Jr has a few stories about those bases, the best stories come out when he's drinking

On 4/21/2020 at 9:57 AM, BearSchlong said:

Good to know.  My son gets commissioned May 8 but isn't due for BOLC at Ft. Sam Houston until July. . .he was going to report in June but they said don't bother.

Congrats - I wouldn't know what to do with an officer in the house LOL

14 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Oh hell yeah.  Promotion list is out, and my kid's on it.  

E-7.   It's really nice that he got it official before he becomes a Warrant Officer.

Nice - thank him for his service, from one surly military family to another.

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Gatorubet

Gatorubet 30211

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[mention=458]Wally Fairway[/mention] Tell him to stay far the fuck away from buying any cars and/or credit card applications.
Try and somehow lock that shit down, because based on the experience of friends, his wife is going to go to town on his credit.  He'll come home $20,000 in debt.

In Louisiana you can get a separate property regime marriage. Avoid a community debt deal if you can. If she balks, you have your answer.
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Sgt Hulk

Sgt Hulk 13714

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On 7/24/2019 at 12:58 PM, Wally Fairway said:

Just using Surly as someplace to vent....

If you've seen some of my other posts then you know my oldest son is in the Guard; well he just called me and said that he had volunteered to take a slot in a different unit that will deploy into an active area (and support ops in war zone), and today he was notified all his paperwork was approved and that he's decided to to the "Army" thing and marry his GF (who has 2 kids, not his - biologically) before he goes. 

I mean the Guard has been great for him - one weekend a month, 2 weeks in the summer and it pays for his college, but shit is about to get real(er). So in next couple of months he's going to get married, have a ready-made family and ship out for a year. That sounds like a clusterfuck to me - which makes complete sense since he's in the Army.

Just yesterday everything seemed normal.....I've got to quit answering my phone when he calls.

Convince me that this marriage isn't doomed to fail - married for maybe 4 or 5 weeks, then gone for a year.

late in on the game,  be in the service along time,  ive seen a metric ton of clusterfuck marriages.  dudes marrying chicks in tech school  dudes marrying chicks to get out of the dorms, dudes marrying chicks whos husband is deployed.  a lot of these marriages last a long time, many are still going on today.  I wouldnt have advised it.  I've had 365's  they caused a lot of issues in my marriage and we were married longer than a few weeks  its gonna be interesting, but on the flip side when he comes home its not like hes real military :D so he'll go back to normal life 

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Sgt Hulk

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On 4/27/2020 at 4:38 PM, Gil Bang said:

Oh hell yeah.  Promotion list is out, and my kid's on it.  

E-7.   It's really nice that he got it official before he becomes a Warrant Officer.

hell yeah man good for him.  Thats great news. and congrats to him on the warrant 

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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Kind of a shitty update - he just found out, though they felt it was coming, that their deployment will be extended for at least 30 days. 
Jr said "Of course it is - Army life consists of a paycheck & disappointments, his wife is pissed - but she struggles with the unknown and changes. 
And she was already pissed because he signed up for a 7 week school in early 2021, and now he won't get back until late 2020. 

One of my sons favorite sayings is "I expect nothing and still I'm disappointed"

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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4 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

Great attributes for a military wife.

yeah not really - but she had no idea what it really meant since he did boot and AIT before they even met. So to her, his service (ANG) was 1 weekend a month & 2 weeks in the summer, right up until he deployed about 24 months after they met. 
They will be alright, as long as they both are willing to work at it.

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25944

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That's rough. 

My DIL is a terrific Army wife.  She understands all the bullshit, and she rolls with the punches.   Now, I'm not saying that she doesn't bitch about the Army, but everybody does.   What she doesn't do is bitch at my son about Army bullshit.  They commiserate, of course, but she strives to make his life easier, not harder, and I appreciate the shit out of her for that reason (and many others).

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BearSchlong

BearSchlong 8084

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20 hours ago, Schulz2.0 said:

Great attributes for a military wife.

THANK GOD my son broke up with his girlfriend before making her a fiance.  It was painfully evident that their lives were about to take divergent paths.

Besides, he'll probably marry the first gal he screws in Korea, amirite?

He gets sworn in tomorrow.

Edited by BearSchlong
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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25944

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THANK GOD my son broke up with his girlfriend before making her a fiance.  It was painfully evident that their lives were about to take divergent paths.
Besides, he'll probably marry the first gal he screws in Korea, amirite?
He gets sworn in tomorrow.

Where’s he going for basic?
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BearSchlong

BearSchlong 8084

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Had the honor of putting my sons shoulder boards on him today after his stepfather (Lt. Colonel) administered the oath. Then I took the state rep that had awarded him the TASSP scholarship 4 years ago out for a steak.

 

BOLC for medical service corps is at Ft. Sam Houston.

 

Met son's new GF today, I hope he had an ahem eventful evening.

 

 

 

 

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Wally Fairway

Wally Fairway 5543

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Thought I'd throw another update out there - Wally Jr left Iraq earlier this week, flew first class in the back of a C-130 and ended up in Kuwait. 
Talked to him earlier and he said he'd gotten used to it being 115° in Iran, but it was over 125° in Kuwait yesterday and that is to fucking hot. So I asked him how he thought he'd do when he comes back in Oct/Nov and it is only 60° out; he said he didn't have any idea since he wore a sweater a couple of weeks ago, at night, when it was only 80° out.
He also said that the base in Kuwait is miserable; tried to tell him to keep his chin up but he's in transitional housing and is pulling night shift in the motor pool. 

All-in-all he is mainly just bored to death, but that's the army/military life for long stretches. At least they aren't shooting rockets at the base in Kuwait

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105095

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12 minutes ago, Wally Fairway said:

He also said that the base in Kuwait is miserable; tried to tell him to keep his chin up but he's in transitional housing and is pulling night shift in the motor pool. 

All-in-all he is mainly just bored to death, but that's the army/military life for long stretches. At least they aren't shooting rockets at the base in Kuwait

He's bored to death, on shit duty, and has a lot to gripe about.  Sounds like he's in the military.

And the "at least they aren't shooting at him" part is kinda sorta really good, especially from dad's perspective.  Good stuff.  Glad to read the update.

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sidis

sidis 9826

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On 5/21/2020 at 12:46 PM, Wally Fairway said:

Got a photo today from the boy - looks like he's having a rough time in Iraq
 

  Hide contents

Hitting-the-range-in-Iraq

 

looking at the balls sprayed all over the place 5 feet away, i find it hard to believe he is your son.

jk.  glad to hear he is out of the front lines harm free.

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Armybrat

Armybrat 40832

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Mrs. Brat’s cousin’s 40something son, a retired Army Ranger, was found dead by his wife in their San Antonio home on Sunday. From the household security camera video footage, they determined he had suffered a severe seizure (not for the first time), fell and cut his head.

Chris served several tours in Afghanistan & Iraq.

RIP Soldier.

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sidis

sidis 9826

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On 7/31/2020 at 1:32 PM, You don't know me said:

It really sucks when the winds shift to come out of the south and you get a touch of humidity.  I lived there for 2 years and when it gets even a tad humid it just sucks more than it already does.

for work or military?

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