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Been talking with some guys about potentially rucking up and going to Iraq to volunteer with the Peshmerga in Northern Iraq (NOT the YPV in Syrian Kurdistan) Thoughts? What would it take to get you to do something like this?
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
Probably be able to go home without too much issue. The YPG would be.more questionable, but the Iraqi Kurds are a U.S. ally we worked with pretty extensively, considering the number of foreign fighters starting to show up including Coalition vets in Iraq and Syria. The YPG in particular is starting recruiting and outreach through their Lions of Rojava page on Feb and other social media sources.
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
Make sure you know who you're dealing with. In the mid 2000's the concern was showing up to Iraq, and finding out that your PSD crew was riding in soft-skinned Yugos. Now the concern is showing up and realizing that you were lured there by ISIS or some other nefarious group.
We (the western world) have more in common with the Tyrant than allot of the insurgent groups who will fight each rather than the Assad Government from week to week.
Sooner or later I can see the Lions of Rojava being sold out by someone and they will face capture or an unlikely escape.
Yeah I'm all for freedom but if you in a position to pick your fight I wouldn't pick this one.
How do you promote your Hobby? - Legoburner "I run some crappy wargaming website "
We (the western world) have more in common with the Tyrant than allot of the insurgent groups who will fight each rather than the Assad Government from week to week.
Sooner or later I can see the Lions of Rojava being sold out by someone and they will face capture or an unlikely escape.
Yeah I'm all for freedom but if you in a position to pick your fight I wouldn't pick this one.
You might want to do a bit more research on some of the militias that have been active in Syria. They are extremely diverse and some of them are a lot more westernized than many people who are only familiar with ISIS or Al-Nusra Front give them credit for.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Easy E wrote: Why not get hired by a Merc companies instead? Seems like it would give you better pay and benefits.
You can only do this if there is a PMC company actually working in the country, and as far as I know that's not currently the case.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/12/10 01:02:38
KalashnikovMarine wrote: Been talking with some guys about potentially rucking up and going to Iraq to volunteer with the Peshmerga in Northern Iraq (NOT the YPV in Syrian Kurdistan) Thoughts? What would it take to get you to do something like this?
Re-Enlist
Obama just kicked this can down the road for the next Admin to figure out
Proud Member of the Infidels of OIF/OEF
No longer defending the US Military or US Gov't. Just going to ""**feed into your fears**"" with Duffel Blog Did not fight my way up on top the food chain to become a Vegan...
Warning: Stupid Allergy
Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend
DE 6700
Harlequin 2500
RIP Muhammad Ali.
Jihadin, Scorched Earth 791. Leader of the Pork Eating Crusader. Alpha
motyak wrote: I think he was expressing his opinion of mercenaries and their ilk, rather than putting forwards a serious idea.
I don't think going to assist the Kurds in defending themselves from ISIS really qualifies as being a mercenary. If you're lucky, you'll get fed. I highly doubt there would be any financial gain involved. In addition, volunteering to help the Kurds by fighting ISIS is something people are doing because they want to help. I don't see how affiliating with organized crime has anything to do with that, whatsoever.
Psienesis wrote: If you want to be a Merc, you'd be better off signing up with your local organized crime syndicate and being a hit-man.
Where do you come up with this gak?
Private military work is incredibly lucrative and, if done intelligently, comparatively "safe" when you factor in the risk of enlisted vs. the job you're doing with a PMC.
There's only something morally objectionable about it if you're doing morally objectionable things. Oftentimes, private military work is on the right side of ethical. But, feel free to share with us your extensive experience on the matter.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/12/10 04:03:29
Psienesis wrote: If you want to be a Merc, you'd be better off signing up with your local organized crime syndicate and being a hit-man.
Where do you come up with this gak?
Private military work is incredibly lucrative and, if done intelligently, comparatively "safe" when you factor in the risk of enlisted vs. the job you're doing with a PMC.
There's only something morally objectionable about it if you're doing morally objectionable things. Oftentimes, private military work is on the right side of ethical. But, feel free to share with us your extensive experience on the matter.
Why people look to Mercs as legal or moral authority figures is beyond me...these are people who earned Cs in high school. All of a sudden they're ethical decision makers? No...they're people who barely understand war and are tasked with waging it, often poorly. These idiots needs to lose their job.
(look, I can make random non-fact based generalizations as well )
Don't PMCs these days do mostly non combat work? They're the guys that drive the supply trucks, cater the mess halls and work on the housing projects. At least from my understanding the way governments handle them now is to supplement an actual military force so that the soldiers have more time for fighting instead of dealing with the logistics. The only time those guys are supposed to shoot is defending their post, but well what a cushy world that'd be.
IIRC discussions of this nature, at least in the UK, are liable for you to have a wee talk from an intelligence agent first. Groups in that region seem to be all put under the same cloth, so at least as the media portrays it you'll be put on some sort of watch list for whatever reason you go over there (the case I remember is aid workers being accused of being Jihadists just for going into Syria). However presumably the Kurds will have a country at the end of all this, and they're already the West's allies, so perhaps those that signed up with them will be all right. ...If the actual period beforehand doesn't wear them down. Hell the Peshmerga seem like a competent military force compared to their enemies, but even though they're receiving help from outside powers, I have a feeling the other side is to, and any gains made will lead to an increase in that (so you don't exactly want to be on the ground when some Russian bombs start falling...).
Psienesis wrote: If you want to be a Merc, you'd be better off signing up with your local organized crime syndicate and being a hit-man.
Where do you come up with this gak?
Private military work is incredibly lucrative and, if done intelligently, comparatively "safe" when you factor in the risk of enlisted vs. the job you're doing with a PMC.
There's only something morally objectionable about it if you're doing morally objectionable things. Oftentimes, private military work is on the right side of ethical. But, feel free to share with us your extensive experience on the matter.
Why people look to Mercs as legal or moral authority figures is beyond me...these are people who earned Cs in high school. All of a sudden they're ethical decision makers? No...they're people who barely understand war and are tasked with waging it, often poorly. These idiots needs to lose their job.
(look, I can make random non-fact based generalizations as well )
Good heavens that Miley Cyrus avatar is about as mature as this reply. Copying my posts? Come on...
Wyrmalla wrote: Don't PMCs these days do mostly non combat work? They're the guys that drive the supply trucks, cater the mess halls and work on the housing projects. At least from my understanding the way governments handle them now is to supplement an actual military force so that the soldiers have more time for fighting instead of dealing with the logistics. The only time those guys are supposed to shoot is defending their post, but well what a cushy world that'd be.
IIRC discussions of this nature, at least in the UK, are liable for you to have a wee talk from an intelligence agent first. Groups in that region seem to be all put under the same cloth, so at least as the media portrays it you'll be put on some sort of watch list for whatever reason you go over there (the case I remember is aid workers being accused of being Jihadists just for going into Syria). However presumably the Kurds will have a country at the end of all this, and they're already the West's allies, so perhaps those that signed up with them will be all right. ...If the actual period beforehand doesn't wear them down. Hell the Peshmerga seem like a competent military force compared to their enemies, but even though they're receiving help from outside powers, I have a feeling the other side is to, and any gains made will lead to an increase in that (so you don't exactly want to be on the ground when some Russian bombs start falling...).
Yes absolutely - logistics companies and PMCs go hand in hand. Very few of the civilian contractors working in foreign countries are specifically armed (security details or guards). The ones who are, are often pretty high speed guys with a lot of experience. The lines get a little bit blurry when you have situations like Blackwater guys bailing out US soldiers in Najaf, and US soldiers bailing out Aegis PMCs like in the incident for which James Yeager is famous (for running away from...).
Good point on the latter portion - whatever your reasoning, going to that region to fight is probably going to land you in some sort of hot investigative water. Given the overall mission, the uncertainty of the legitimacy and capabilities of all parties involved, etc., it's probably the last place I'd want to work...would probably take Africa over that mess and that's really saying something.
I thought Yeager was with Edinburgh Risk? And to be fair, he returned fire and then egressed to the median to try to get in some actual cover, which was probably the more tactically sound option when compared to staying next to a soft-skinned vehicle. Obviously he made mistakes, but he certainly wasn't the only one who was jacked up during that incident.
Hordini wrote: I thought Yeager was with Edinburgh Risk? And to be fair, he returned fire and then egressed to the median to try to get in some actual cover, which was probably the more tactically sound option when compared to staying next to a soft-skinned vehicle. Obviously he made mistakes, but he certainly wasn't the only one who was jacked up during that incident.
My mistake - that crew was ERSM. If you read his AAR...and the official AAR...you'll see why so many people have a problem with him.
"Chris was wounded through the leg first and instead of moving off the “X”
he spent the last seconds of his life telling Johno about it while he took
another round through his throat and one through his head."
Nobody moved "off the X" because,
"I punched the gas to the floor and
the engine raced but the car wouldn’t move. I thought it had it been
knocked out of commission. After what seemed like an eternity, but was a
couple of seconds, I grabbed the door handle and began implementation of
our ambush S.O.P. for a disabled car in which the first step is getting out
of the car. I remembered I was in a stick shift that was in neutral with
the emergency brake on as I hit the ground, and the point of no return, and
moved to the rear wheel."
Leaves a sour taste in everyone's mouth when he blames a dead man for his own death, when the real reason they sat there as long as they did was Yeager's (lead) vehicle wasn't moving....because he put on the E brake because his calf got tired. Kinda weak...
Then there's this video...
But the ground truth about James Yeager is basically this - if you're carrying a stretcher with 3 other guys and they all go the wrong way, you can either go the "right way" or you can go with them. If you go the "right way" you're going to drop the stretcher. Yeager claims to have followed SOP better, but you know the saying...no plan survives contact with the enemy. If everyone else stands and shoots then he needs to stand and shoot. Running away and hiding in a ditch is kind of hard to defend in that situation.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/12/10 06:05:01
1.) Do you have any experience in this type of matter? Have you ever been in a firefight?
2.) What do you intend to get out of it? What is your goal?
3.) Do you have qualms with getting your head cut off, and displayed prominently on the internet?
Serious questions, hopefully you have serious answers.
I feel bad for these people, but I absolutely refuse to fight next to them. As much as I'd love to go tag and bag some mooselimbs, that wouldn't be the route in which I want to do so.
"You are judged in life, not by the evil you destroy, but by the light you bring to the darkness" - Reclusiarch Grimaldus of the Black Templars
Firehead158 wrote: 1.) Do you have any experience in this type of matter? Have you ever been in a firefight?
2.) What do you intend to get out of it? What is your goal?
3.) Do you have qualms with getting your head cut off, and displayed prominently on the internet?
Serious questions, hopefully you have serious answers.
I feel bad for these people, but I absolutely refuse to fight next to them. As much as I'd love to go tag and bag some mooselimbs, that wouldn't be the route in which I want to do so.
Quite a few posters on here have done the rodeo quite a few times. KM I believe is one of them.
KM had a Good Idea Fairy rape him to come up with that idea
Proud Member of the Infidels of OIF/OEF
No longer defending the US Military or US Gov't. Just going to ""**feed into your fears**"" with Duffel Blog Did not fight my way up on top the food chain to become a Vegan...
Warning: Stupid Allergy
Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend
DE 6700
Harlequin 2500
RIP Muhammad Ali.
Jihadin, Scorched Earth 791. Leader of the Pork Eating Crusader. Alpha
KalashnikovMarine wrote: Been talking with some guys about potentially rucking up and going to Iraq to volunteer with the Peshmerga in Northern Iraq (NOT the YPV in Syrian Kurdistan) Thoughts? What would it take to get you to do something like this?
As long as one has thorough knowledge of who they are dealing with, good/verifiable contacts and a true desire to do this.....then do it.
Don't let a bunch of armchair wussies on the internet make the decision. One should do what they are going to do.
If the decision really hinges upon what some strangers on this forum say then I think one would already know that their heart isn't really in this.
If ones heart really is in this then they should do it so they don't spend the next 50 years in regret.
If the decision is made to go for it then make damn well sure that one is smart about it.
Later,
ff
Officially elevated by St. God of Yams to the rank of Scholar of the Church of the Children of the Eternal Turtle Pie at 11:42:36 PM 05/01/09
If they are too stupid to live, why make them?
In the immortal words of Socrates, I drank what??!
1. A language barrier may make already tense and critical situations a lot worse.
2. No real MEDEVAC capability exists.
3. Insurance policies may not pay out and leave my family flucked if things went sideways.
I had a buddy in college who went and fought with a couple different groups of freedom fighters (back in the late 80s early 90s). He took some shrapnel that caused him a couple months of almost dying. Evac by donkey and having to cross borders to a 'friendly' nation without the local language and requisite bribe/pay off money are not necessarily good things.
You can probably do a lot better by finding local (at least within your nation) support groups and working to get supplies/logistics to the group you want to support than the good you would do as an individual rifleman.
In that particular theater, group leadership and loyalty can swing depending on who is winning, and being an infidel in the region automatically puts a price tag on your head. I personally don't trust easy, and that situation is one I can see being interesting.
A good read for worst case type scenario is Firepower. It is an older book (Angola days) but I think in many ways still has some good Lessons Learned.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/12/10 13:41:50
Every time a terrorist dies a Paratrooper gets his wings.
KalashnikovMarine wrote: Been talking with some guys about potentially rucking up and going to Iraq to volunteer with the Peshmerga in Northern Iraq (NOT the YPV in Syrian Kurdistan) Thoughts? What would it take to get you to do something like this?
Re-Enlist
Obama just kicked this can down the road for the next Admin to figure out
Can't re-up or I would have already.
Also don't know why any one's talking about working in Syria when I have specifically been saying Northern Iraq the entire time.
1.) Do you have any experience in this type of matter? Have you ever been in a firefight?
A: Yes
2.) What do you intend to get out of it? What is your goal?
Do something useful, help some people who need the kind of help my skillset can provide
3.) Do you have qualms with getting your head cut off, and displayed prominently on the internet?
Nah. Not really. If they want to try and take me alive they'll pay a blood price.
I'm basically at a point over here where I've got toy soldiers, some electronics and not much else. The VA isn't doing gak for me, I can't really relate or interface with civilians or a civilian work environment normally after four years of trying and there's the distinct possibility of being put on strong enough medication, wherein my mid 20s I won't be able to drink, drive, work, or do much of anything at all except wait to die. I wouldn't be "deploying" with a death wish but if I did catch it from some ISIS hopefully that death would have meant more then a slow life time of nothing much here.
Jake, good points. Working up on some Arabic now, which a lot of the Kurds know well enough. One of the guys in the potential group we're rounding up was fluent and is still near fluent so we have a terp, and the units of the NI Pesh taking volunteers are mostly guys and girls who worked with us last time we were over there from what I'm understanding. The lack of MEDEVAC worries me, but the Pesh in NI probably have slightly better medical supplies and capability compared to the YPG and other groups in Syria at least. We're on stand by from one of the volunteer coordination groups and that'll include an extensive brief on the on the ground medical situation. As to insurance... it's just me, and it's not like there's going to be funeral expenses.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/12/10 14:24:57
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
)
Officially elevated by St. God of Yams to the rank of Scholar of the Church of the Children of the Eternal Turtle Pie at 11:42:36 PM 05/01/09 
