# newbie



## thatpoorguy (Feb 15, 2009)

I've been air national guard/reserves for 5 years as an AGE troop, I'm now also working AGE for a contracted company that does maintance for the predator. I'm currently here in the sandbox and when I'm not out turning wrenches, I spose I'll be on here.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Feb 15, 2009)

Welcome to the forum.

Where in the sandbox are you? Probably Ballad. I was based out of Speicher in Tikrit back in 2004.


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## rochie (Feb 15, 2009)

hello and welcome from england


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## Gnomey (Feb 15, 2009)

Welcome!


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## Airframes (Feb 15, 2009)

Hello and another welcome from England.


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## Lucky13 (Feb 15, 2009)

Greetings and welcome to the family....


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## thatpoorguy (Feb 16, 2009)

thanks all, yeah i'm at balad. This is my third trip to iraq, 2nd to balad and one to tallil. I should apply for residency considering I'm here more than home haha.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Feb 16, 2009)

thatpoorguy said:


> thanks all, yeah i'm at balad. This is my third trip to iraq, 2nd to balad and one to tallil. I should apply for residency considering I'm here more than home haha.



I know what you are talking about. I got tired of being deployed and decided to serve the home front! 

I used to fly into Balad every day to pick up pacs. Went to Tallil a few times.

Keep safe over there!


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## thatpoorguy (Feb 16, 2009)

tallil was awful lol.  that's the closest thing to a bare base I've been to. Our company has another base in afganistan that's supposedly worse (completely army operated) but i haven't been sent there yet. The one good thing about my trip to tallil was my discovery of a massive collection of pictures soldiers had taken around country, which I promptly copied to my portable hard drive. due to new rules in comsec i can't hook it up to the computer and upload them on here till i get home, but there's some amazing stuff on there.


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## Lucky13 (Feb 16, 2009)

Agree with Chris, stay safe mate!


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## Bill G. (Feb 16, 2009)

Welcome thatpoorguy!

I am a just retired Citizen Soldier that has been in the sand box too! I was at Camp Victory, BIAP, and Mosul. My National Guard Company is Signal Corps. So life was different for me and the team I was part of. Not only did we do our signal mission, but we did "This Old House, Iraq"! By that we were given a looted house and had to make a home out of it. But it was sure better than living in a tent! By the time we would get it going pretty good, we would have to move! But for a while living was pretty good! And it beat the Connex boxes we had in Mosul!

It ain't ever easy some days wearing the uniform! I hear you on the long and too frequent tours. But it has been worse for our military on other wars. And now things are quieter over there than when I left. And that is good news for you. But you still have to keep your guard up 24/7 in the sand box!

So be safe. And post as often as duty will let you!

Bill G.


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## Lucky13 (Feb 16, 2009)

....that goes for your brothers in arms too!


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## thatpoorguy (Feb 16, 2009)

lol rodge and thanks guys. luckily the insurgents don't know where the predator area is yet. they are pretty keen though on where the primary f-16 maintenance area and ammo are though. Seen a few mortars goin off but none too terribly close. anyone stationed at carswell? I'm with the air national guard unit there with the herc's when I'm not doing contracting.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Feb 16, 2009)

thatpoorguy said:


> lol rodge and thanks guys. luckily the insurgents don't know where the predator area is yet. they are pretty keen though on where the primary f-16 maintenance area and ammo are though. Seen a few mortars goin off but none too terribly close. anyone stationed at carswell? I'm with the air national guard unit there with the herc's when I'm not doing contracting.



They had the fingers at Balad pegged for a while too while I was there. We left a Hawk sitting on the fingers to get some lunch while we waited on our pacs. When we returned the aircraft was filled with holes from a rockets hitting about 50 yards away!


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## thatpoorguy (Feb 16, 2009)

I can't verify the truth of it, but rumor had it that a blackhawk came back from a mission from which a rpg had been fired at it. The rpg was a dud but did manage to lodge itself between the liquid ox tanks. The crew bailed with the rotors still spinning as soon as they landed on base lol. Like I said, it sounds a little far fetched but this was what I heard. You know how those stories go sometimes.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Feb 16, 2009)

thatpoorguy said:


> I can't verify the truth of it, but rumor had it that a blackhawk came back from a mission from which a rpg had been fired at it. The rpg was a dud but did manage to lodge itself between the liquid ox tanks. The crew bailed with the rotors still spinning as soon as they landed on base lol. Like I said, it sounds a little far fetched but this was what I heard. You know how those stories go sometimes.



Liquid O2 tanks????

The possibility of a RPG not exploding is real. We had several go right under us and impact the ground and never explode, but the Blackhawk does not have Liquid O2 tanks (at least not any of the Blackhawk I ever worked on).


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## thatpoorguy (Feb 19, 2009)

like i said, it was a story i heard lol. now i know it's bs though thanks! haha. oh, btw, i've been copying pictures fromt the breaking news thread.......it's all i have out here haha


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## Thorlifter (Feb 19, 2009)

Welcome to the site and Thank You for what you do.


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## fly boy (Feb 19, 2009)

hello welcome to the fourms


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Feb 19, 2009)

thatpoorguy said:


> btw, i've been copying pictures fromt the breaking news thread.......it's all i have out here haha



That is what it is there for my friend.


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