(no subject)
You know, it's all in the wording.
Friend of mine from circle was bitching up a storm about the latest
directive from his command. Turns out that he can no longer use his
favored, and most dependable, method of detecting IED's.
He explained to his company commander, after being asked why his squad
always found the most IED's and so rarely had any blow up on them, that
it only cost a few dollars.
Any time his patrol came across anything that looked like it might be an
IED, they'd stop and get out. Invariably, children would run up to the
soldiers (happens EVERYWHERE we go) and the soldier would offer a kid a
dollar to go see if said 'thing' was an IED. If the kid took the dollar
and walked towards it, it wasn't gonna blow up. If the kid took the
dollar and ran off, it was a bomb. Been doing that for seven months and
never has it been incorrect. One time, after the kid snatched the
dollar, he started talking to the other kids, who all promptly ran off.
So, even if the kid with the dollar doesn't know, it still works.
I told him that where he went wrong was being so blatant in his
explanation. Things he could have said;
Outsourced the IED detection methods
Utilized local HUMINT (human intelligence) sources.
Relied on tips from the local nationals.
Fostered friendly relationships with the local nationals to gain their
trust and support.
All of these responses would have been MUCH better than 'I give a kid a
dollar'.
Ssendas was kind enough to email me pictures of the BoS I made for her
since I was too forgetful to take some before it left.
Friend of mine from circle was bitching up a storm about the latest
directive from his command. Turns out that he can no longer use his
favored, and most dependable, method of detecting IED's.
He explained to his company commander, after being asked why his squad
always found the most IED's and so rarely had any blow up on them, that
it only cost a few dollars.
Any time his patrol came across anything that looked like it might be an
IED, they'd stop and get out. Invariably, children would run up to the
soldiers (happens EVERYWHERE we go) and the soldier would offer a kid a
dollar to go see if said 'thing' was an IED. If the kid took the dollar
and walked towards it, it wasn't gonna blow up. If the kid took the
dollar and ran off, it was a bomb. Been doing that for seven months and
never has it been incorrect. One time, after the kid snatched the
dollar, he started talking to the other kids, who all promptly ran off.
So, even if the kid with the dollar doesn't know, it still works.
I told him that where he went wrong was being so blatant in his
explanation. Things he could have said;
Outsourced the IED detection methods
Utilized local HUMINT (human intelligence) sources.
Relied on tips from the local nationals.
Fostered friendly relationships with the local nationals to gain their
trust and support.
All of these responses would have been MUCH better than 'I give a kid a
dollar'.
Ssendas was kind enough to email me pictures of the BoS I made for her
since I was too forgetful to take some before it left.