Monday, April 30, 2007



In the political shuffle that all the presidential candidates are doing, apparently Hillary Clinton has lost her maiden name.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Air Force set to implement widespread ban of tobacco products on all bases. With thousands of jittery, irrate ammunition handlers suddenly on the job, what could possibly go wrong?

Fight on current Iraq operations bill may halt mine(and IED) resistant Marine Corps MRAP vehicles. See, Harry Reid told you the war would be "lost"... that's his gameplan anyways.
Give our own troops hell, Harry!











Some people have made fun of the supreme weirdness of President Bush's and Karl Rove's dancing. I say it's the only two things in quite some time for them that could ever be looked at in a positive light. Therefore, let 'em dance.
Attorney Generals usually don't have a problem being the life of the party at their Law School reunions, but AG Gonzales somehow finds a way. (from: a certain Bud Cummins fan involved in blog)

Wednesday, April 25, 2007






About 3 weeks ago, one of our sold Army soldiers, Specialist Bateman, decided to take on LSA Anaconda Air Force airmen at their own game, the "Balad Idol" contest series that the local airmen do when they're not busy working in harms way(in their branch of the armed services nowdays: slips, trips, and falls)...

In short time, this red necked wonder sang his way past 2 weekly rounds, with such classics such as "Little Less Talk, a Lot More Action", and Garth Brooks' "Rodeo". Facing off against 5 other people (4 airmen and a civilian obsessed with Luther Vandross), he decided to used a hide a trip up his sleeve....PLAYING A #$%#%#$%#@!!! INSTRUMENT AT AN IDOL CONTEST FOR ONCE. I should have known, as he actually had a guitar as his carry on for the plane trip into Anaconda,and has a tendency to spontaneously have country jamming sessions.

As little seriousness as I gave him, I was proved wrong, as his completely acoustic version of "American Soldier" (who saw that coming?) received the most applause in an audience made up of over 80% airmen. However, Bateman had to deal with the fact that every single one of the judges was either a commissioned or senior non commissioned air force officer. It was not helped when an Army Colonel providing entertainment during the intermission replied to the judges' observation of there being only one army soldier in the semi-finals with saying that most of them were busy "outside the wire" at the time while the air force was normally busy being obsessed with silly Morale-Welfare-Recreation events.

So our Specialist Bateman was deliberately denied the chance at the finals, being left our of a three way tie, two of which were obsessively singing bad Luther Vandross songs, but if it means being either being a third-place soldier or a first place airman, we'll just be happy to cut our losses while were still ahead.

Monday, April 23, 2007

More missions, more news, Senator Harry Reid's "this war is lost" memo that the Army didn't get, and why I may no longer despise the country of France.

As usual, my apologies for the sparse blogging. When I'm pulling both supply day shifts and night missions for a combination of 22 hours of work a day of keeping me awake at one time, blogging becomes a second tier responsibility.

This time, I was a driver for the lieutenant of my old line platoon. Apparently, you drive a humvee in a completely different manner than a mine-clearance vehicle, and requires me to swirve all over the place. At one point, we drove though a road famous for being virtually ruined because of all the blast craters. I drove through it, with Lt. "Bull" giving a expletive-laced directions on where exactly to drive, with us reaching mixed success. "Left, now straight, now right....RIGHT! Ah, just drive through this ****...". Since I'm still blogging, you can guess we made it through.

On news:

Mitt Romney may use his 500 million dollars to try and convince evangelicals to vote for a Mormon... good luck. They're still getting over the Catholic thing:

http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/with-campaign-finance-loophole-romneys-wealth-cannot-be-matched-2007-04-17.html

Extreme left-leaning Huffington Post goes extreme on blaming other extremists, with a blog titled:

Abortion Ban & Virginia Massacre: Don't Forget To Thank The Nader Voters

Oh, Senator and apparent Multi-National Forces in Iraq commander Harry Reid would like to let everyone know that the "war is lost".

A link on presidential hopeful Nicholas Sarcozy, and why we should like France again. No, really, and no, I am not on crack.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0423/p25s01-woeu.html

Monday, April 16, 2007




Specialist Hunter Shumard:
Man on a Mission...
This certainly wasn't the first time I've been "outside the wire", but it was the first time I was out and able to take photos (a DV Cam format video camera and a Digital D40 Nikon still photo camera). Sad part is that most of my outside the wire pics weren't focused enough because the dirt on my vehicle's windows kept the auto focus from working, and good luck going manual with a new camera while moving.
Good news is that I took at least a dozen great quality photos with the Nikon camera, including the one on the upper left showing some of my route clearance team joking around. (it's hard enough me getting one person in the middle of an emotion, but six perfectly?) It looks even better enlarged.
As for the strictly mediocre news, we found absolutely nothing of value on our patrol, save for finding an Iraqi Soldier's helmet. It's quite amazing how I seem to deflect any enemy contact by just me being with a patrol. Depending on who you ask around here, that's either a good thing or a bad thing.
Lastly, I did get to see several locals out, including even several children having a soccer game. It's amazing to be in a place where kids keep on playing soccer as a group of heavily armed gunships go by their field looking for bombs, the armed soldiers in them waving at the children, the children waving back, neither really serious anymore about the other's proximity, but rather accepting the other as part of daily life. Through it all, through war and whatever else tries to stop it, life goes on. At the very least, a little part of it somehow finds a way. If that includes a soccer game, let it be a soccer game.
I'll go back to news and commentary hopefully in my next blog.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007


Bad news.
Apparently the private computer Internet server company that I normally post my blogs on (but not "Blogger" itself) has apparently thought me and the other people in my HQ platoon that use it did something wrong. Whether by not paying at the right time or too much Internet usage, I have no clue. It also put back one of the larger blog projects I was wanting to post.
Good news is that apparently it's possible for other soldiers to see my sight again on their computers, where if not the most of the viewers on average are, at least make up most of the more regular ones.
In other news since my last post:
The United Nations calls for an "impartial investigation into allegations its soldiers took part in the rape of women in Darfur last December", or else it will send more angry letters.
The BBC has canceled a 90 minute drama of Britain's first surviving Victoria's Cross recipient (the British Army equivalent of the Medal of Honor) do to it being "too positive". Don't worry though. I heard "Confessions of an Iran Hostage" will have a second season put into production.
John McCain releases an editorial on his latest visit to Iraq and his position on the Iraq war. Needless to say, Senator/Imaginary Multi-National Coalition Forces in Iraq Commander Harry Reid will throw a fit about this.
(By the way, a not-so-short article on John McCain is in the works for this blog.)
Meanwhile, after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi went on a much-hyped trip to Syria to say howdy to Syria, Congresswoman Pelosi now says she is considering to have "a dialogue" with Iran, who I remind you is the main supplier of EFPs, the most deadly kind of IEDs. Iran denies this, but can't seem to answer for the fact that the EFPs show up mostly in the more Iran friendly Shite areas of Iraq rather than the Sunni ones. As someone who had almost lost a fellow soldier and good friend to an EFP , which was probably smuggled from Iran, I find the fact of her even considering it obscene.
And last but not least, a John Brummett article about Congressman Marion Berry says that the Congressman has heard "nary a peep" about any criticism about his support for using the "power of the purse" to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Yes, Congressman Berry, it is hard to hear "a peep" from halfway around the world, but if you didn't hear my whole argument about causing a logistical nightmare and risking the very same local national guard troops you say you support, well, don't you worry. I'll do it again soon, but just because this Army supply guy supports the troops too.
(p.s. In this article/interview, he apparently shows support towards Pelosi's prior and possible future trips to speak with leaders of Syria and Iran respectively, about four paragraphs from the bottom.)

Friday, April 06, 2007


(NOTE: Consider this part 2 of 2 I guess of "I'm mad at Congress and I can't take it anymore" pair of essays. I probably will make more parts of it if Senator Reid and his political sharks keep at their game of political chicken with the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.)

I’m sure if you have followed up with the military news now, that you may have heard of the military’s plan to buy up large numbers anti-mine “route clearance” vehicles to replace the current armored humvees. These vehicles have a v-shape style underside that diverts an IED explosion away from the soldiers in its cab, providing much better protection than flat-bottomed humvees. They are so successful that insurgents, wanting to take out as many as possible, have made issued massive rewards on some of these vehicles. Still, these vehicles can take all but the very worst explosions, and have led to the sparing of surely hundreds of the lives of our soldiers.
Needless to say, the operations making of these vehicles have to work at full speed and efficiency to keep up with the relatively sudden massive requests from our troops(keep in mind, it takes several years to fully equip the army with a particular vehicle normally, and these things are harder to make than your standard model Honda Civic. With the current surge going into effect, and with the Marine Corps saying that EVERY Marine humvee going into direct combat will be replaced with a particularly tough and safe new anti-mine truck, there’s little room for a slowdown.
This takes a lot of money to better protect soldiers like myself with these things, but Nevada Senator Harry Reid will have none of it. Just days ago, Harry Reid, using his new title of “Civilian General of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq” said that if his party’s withdraw bill is vetoed, that he will force a bill cutting off funding proper of operations in Iraq, including the troops in it.
Just the fact that this idea is being seriously floated around is threatening to damage the operations and logistics of the desperately needed anti-mine vehicles, while they’re especially needed with those entire brigades involved in the surge being equipped. It’s hard enough just replacing the ones that get destroyed, much less make a surplus of them. Of course, Reid and particularly people of the granola-consuming variety will have none of it, safe transportation (and the people inside of them) be darned.

The biggest part of my problem with Reid’s withdraw threat is two things. First, last time I checked, Congress wasn’t part the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They can’t simply override actions of the chain of command, especially in the middle of an operation. To do so is complete recklessness in our separation of powers, especially the part of civilian legislators pretending they have ever worn a uniform when they haven’t. Don’t serve, don’t command. Also, while withdrawing funds is currently the only way for Congress to stop the war, it may be the worst way for it to be stopped. While it may take them seemingly forever to vote on something, they can work faster than the army logistics system. Any sudden change from the powers that be can set the logistics system back anywhere from weeks to months. Of course, soldiers outside the wire see more than one IED in a few months.
Lastly, I will give no explicit details in casualties in my company, but I do know a few soldiers I know who literally were mere centimeters and inches from death. I get angry about what Senator Reid is doing because it affects me and my friends personally, and risks their lives of people who need as much protection as they can get.
By the way, remember those anti-mine vehicles I was talking about? The 875th needs them for us to do our duties, and keep us safe from harm, so we can come home to see our loved ones, so we too are guaranteed to be affected by Reid’s hi jinks. Now, you see, I’m not the only one who should be angry.

(Next blog I’ll hopefully be ready write finally about the most influential but most frightening experience here, though I will be glad to say that it does have a happy ending.)
Shumard Out.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

My second big experience in Iraq, though certainly not as influencing as my first. Nothing ever will , but I'll build up to that, when I can find how to talk about it to other people, meanwhile, at least enjoy this ironic but much more positive moment in my life here:

"There has been an indirect fire attack... all clear, all clear, all clear." It seems like I still hear it every other night, time after time. It's amazing how you get used to it. Even the first time, which was the first night I had even been in Iraq, walking out of a dining facility, speakers all around me bellowing out "This has been an indirect fire attack....all clear, all clear, all clear", while blackhawk helicopters flying all around me, with their massive spot lights lighting up huge pieces of the ground, looking for the terrorists that had just attacked the base. Meanwhile, I look over at another soldier who was with me and said...

"Did I miss my first mortar attack? This sucks!" and walk back to my room like nothing happened.

Stay tuned. Thinking about another massive blog either tomorrow or the next day, regarding Senator Harry Reid's threat to suddenly withdraw funds from Iraq operations, the possible damage it could do the the Army Logistical System, including harming the flow of desperately needed anti-mine vehicles, and how our 875th needs those vehicles in particular. Get ready for one heck of a speech... somebody's gotta say it.

Shumard out.

Sunday, April 01, 2007



Well, the supplemental/pork-filled, military-withdraw-attached Iraq Bill passed the senate, and so goes on directly to the White House shredder. Meanwhile, the Associated Press argues that, in fact, the deadline to get a military budget bill passed all the way through can go up to possibly June, if the Pentagon started re-routing it's priorities(and I bet soldiers could still do our jobs if we had our units' budgets cut in half, but that doesn't mean that's the best way to do it).

Let me put it this way, a single company unit can keep it's costs down for several weeks, but eventually something is going to go wrong and a certain genius will get a $150,000 robot blown into pieces. By the way, I'd like to give a shout out to the sargeant involved in operating it. Way to go.
In order to keep casualties down, the Army has spent literally billions on robotic equipment that takes the hits for their operators, and they have already done so for our unit. We have gone from using bandages that were developed originally in world war I to clotting agent bandages (that are over 100 dollars apiece) in just 5 years. Medical advances are coming several times faster than they were before the war. By stopping the war via a budget cut, we reduce the protection and treatment of the soldiers involved(easily the costliest element in the war) and risk making the death rate higher than it already is.
But politicians see where the political winds are blowing on the war, yet they want to "support the troops" at the same time. What's a congressman to do? Especially in Arkansas, where tens of thousands of people are affected by the lives of service members in the 39 th Infantry Brigade, the 875th Engineer Battalion, and several C-130 equipped Air Force units based in Little Rock? Why, pledge your support of the troops, while starving the budget of the troo..errr....umm... "illegal war for oil".
Therefore, politicians like Congressman Berry use a politically charged, doomed bill against the advice of brilliant generals such as General David Petraeus (a man that literally wrote the book on counterinsurgency tactics in a military field manual right before his transfer to the MNF-I command) to give our Army one final chance, after he had shown up months earlier at a soldier support group fundraiser giving a thousand dollars(by the way, he is the richest member of the Arkansas Congressional delegation, worth well over a million dollars) and talked like he just donated his own kidney. Ironically enough, the long fight for the bill he voted for also risks desperately-needed support for units (including mine) in the billions of dollars, much much more than a thousand dollars, or one of his kidneys for that matter.
Congressman, by voting on this bill, you started a chain of events that I believe does not help the 875th. It does not bring the 875th back here any sooner, and if political bickering in Washington D. C. continues into late Spring without an Iraq War budget bill, it will ruin our financial and materiel support, harming my unit, its mission, and possibly harming its soldiers.
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