Is This How Our soldiers Have To Drive In Urban Iraq?

My Uncle and cousin. works for KBR in Iraq, one of the civilian contrator firms. Uncle X. often has to go from base to base as he works in the city.

the firm provided large white suburbans (big, big, SUV) for them to use. last time he came home for a break, i had the oppurtunity to visit and Uncle X explained how over there you drive as fast as possible, don't stop for nothing. remember, he works for a contractor, not the military. it would seem this is the prescribed method of transport for americans.

i thought it intresting to watch his psycological reaction to being over in Iraq; when he got to the states, one of the first things Uncle X did was purchase a very large white suburban, just like the ones he drove in Iraq, and his driving here was similar to over there, fast and ballsy, and the whole time seemed to enjoy his road manners.
im not making value judgement here, just my first hand observation.

Originally posted by Stewart Lewis
the firm provided large white suburbans (big, big, SUV) for them to use. last time he came home for a break, i had the oppurtunity to visit and Uncle X explained how over there you drive as fast as possible, don't stop for nothing. remember, he works for a contractor, not the military. it would seem this is the prescribed method of transport for americans.

The big white SUV's you refer to are also the same vehicles that the Mercenaries ie. private security firms use, they stand out like a sore thumb and are a primary target for insurgents/Iraqi Militia. Glad to see your uncle got back safe but the company he worked for made him a target by supplying this particular sort of vehicle, He also made himself appear as a combattant by driving in a military fashion. If he goes again, please plead with him to get a more inconspicuous vehicle. During the three tours I spent in Iraq I saw more of these white pickups blown up that any of the military vehicles. Btw the pick up of choice over there is the Toyota landcruiser.

These things are a "big, bright, white, come bomb me advertisments."

'Almost every foreigner who has been killed here is an idiot,' said one ex-Navy SEAL. Soldiers often show little sympathy for those who fail to follow the right procedure.

observer.guardian.co.uk...

Here a website with an article about KBR contractors in Iraq:
www.corpwatch.org...

[edit on 29/1/07 by Jimmy1880]

It seems to me that there could be a huge market for rearview mirrors in post-Saddam Iraq.

The driver of the vehicle in the original video has a fair bit of skill. Almost every time I thought he was going to decimate the car in front of him, but not once did he give it more than a slight nudge to let the driver know he was serious. I doubt that more than a dent in the bumper bar would have resulted. Apart from the time he scraped between two cars, and then I one of those had been my ride I would have been pissed because there was a scratch up the side, but really, I totally understand that they have to drive like that.

Sure, people go on about how bad they're driving in Iraq, but I bet as soon as you put those people behind the wheel over there, they will do whatever it takes to stay alive.

Also have to remember that when the HMMV's are sitting targets,so are the civilian right next to them. Im pretty sure they would rather not have an ied or efp go of next to their vehicle.

Originally posted by Mdv2
In America there's no such a thing as a claxon?

Most Americans call them sirens not claxons but I got what you ment. The humvee does not sport a siren because that would bring unwanted attention to the humvee and the guys inside. They don't want to bring more attention to themselves thain is nessissary.

Originally posted by whatukno

Originally posted by Mdv2
In America there's no such a thing as a claxon?

Most Americans call them sirens not claxons but I got what you ment. The humvee does not sport a siren because that would bring unwanted attention to the humvee and the guys inside. They don't want to bring more attention to themselves thain is nessissary.

HMMWVs do have horns though. We put tires on the front of our vehicles, so you could nudge things without having to have metal to metal contact, limited the damage to both vehicles.

so a claxon is a siren, i didnt know that, it had me baffled for a second.

enough talk about claxons. since were talking about how they drive over ther, here is another video, this one crashes with an iraqi it seems accidental, however the soldier in the rear humvee recording the "incident" cracks a weasel type laugh.

www.liveleak.com...

from what I can remember is that the guy driving the humvee was laying on the horn the whole time. I like the tires on the front idea. But what those humvees need is a People scoop like trains have on the front to knock cows out of the way.

That and an insurgent ram to run down fleeing insurgents. Like in the movie Deathrace2000 with david caradine

Originally posted by whatukno
Most Americans call them sirens not claxons but I got what you ment.

Thanks. Obviously, English is not my mother tongue, but I'm young and ATS is a very important tool to improve my English.

Originally posted by BASSPLYR
from what I can remember is that the guy driving the humvee was laying on the horn the whole time.

I'm not so sure about that. The other cars toot their horns almost continuously whereas the humvee doesn't (use it at all). I don't think the Iraqis consider this as a big rude issue. After all, the driver pushed them away quite politely.

This is an example of the real problem.

Lina Massufi, a 32-year-old Iraqi laboratory assistant with two children, is a widow - her husband was killed by US troops when he accidentally drove down a closed road in 2003. In the past three months she has seen her house raided and her furniture smashed 12 times.

"Every time they raid my house, they break down the door," she told a UN official. When she asked them why they did not ring the bell " they laughed at me and called me an idiot". Her brother Fae'ek, a pharmacy student, was arrested and held in prison for a week. "He returned with signs of torture on his body, and was crying like a baby because of the pain."

Her story shows why the odds are against what may be President George Bush's final gamble in Iraq: the attempt by US troops, now receiving 17,500 reinforcements, to regain control of Baghdad. The plan is for US forces, along with Iraqi army and police, to enter Sunni and Shia districts in the capital, cleanse them of insurgents and militia and then stay put, preventing their return. In his State of the Union speech last week Mr Bush told Congress: "With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down the terrorists, insurgents, and the roaming death squads."

Source

[edit on 30-1-2007 by Mdv2]

Originally posted by Mdv2

I'm not so sure about that. The other cars toot their horns almost continuously whereas the humvee doesn't (use it at all). I don't think the Iraqis consider this as a big rude issue. After all, the driver pushed them away quite politely.

This is an example of the real problem.

He was honking the whole entire time, the question is did the other drivers get the message? Did they believe the honking was for someone else? You can see it again and here the driver honking.

Erm, isn't it the whole point of a "patrol" to find the enemy? So.... racing pell-mell through busy streets in order to avoid a confrontation is an utter waste of time.

Instead of finding and dealing with (or being dealt with) the insurgents, the message is given that the soldiers are running scared.... once they've scurried away the insurgents can get down to the business of killing and terrorising civilians.

NO,their "patrol" is simple. Drive your route,and wait to be attacked,then kill the attackers. That's it,they go out,get attacked,kill/cap. the attackers,and return to
base.

yeah the process is similar to 'move to engage.' THese guys have to regularily shoot their way out of ambushes. The problem with that is you need suppresive fire and you don't know exactly where the abushers are so you shoot in every direction which gets a lot of innocent people killed.

SImple solution if you care about your fellow country men then don't stage ambushed around civilians period.

I still say those humvee's should be outfitted with people plows.