Bobby Lee

Happy Birthday, Marines!

 

Both my wife and I returned from Afghanistan at the beginning of October. We just had our Birthday Ball last night.

 

Here are a few cell phone pics:

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o425/leerbowden/Random/375536_10150401883269717_590084716_8191142_802761681_n.jpg

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o425/leerbowden/Random/302338_10150401889359717_590084716_8191154_1652799720_n.jpg

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o425/leerbowden/Random/388438_10150401891894717_590084716_8191158_924654911_n.jpg

 

For those of you still down range... stay safe!

I have no clue what part you're in but I'm in Afghanistan also but on a low key area and thank god I've not been through something like that. Closest I've had is sitting in bed one morning about 7AM and BOOM, then I hear rocks on the roof of the metal building I sleep in....walk outside ok roof is good.....WTF

 

Rocket hit across the street about 250ft from the building I was in. That's as close as I care to get personally!

 

Are you on Leatherneck? I think I know the exact incident you're talking about. How long ago was this?

It's funny how old and shitty some of the chinese ordnance is that they throw at us. I was in our motor pool one day getting our piece of shit 2.5 ton fixed for the hundredth time.. the sirens all started going off and then a mortar shell went skipping across the gravel and just stopped. I laughed.

 

x2

 

They've been shooting a Chinese 75mm recoilless rifle at us every so often for the past 3 months. So far they've managed to get three to land on camp. None of them detonated though. One crashed through the medical tent (no one injured), one smacked a HMMVW, and one buried itself about two feet underground. I had to dig that somebitch out by hand only to find that the dumbasses put the wrong fuze on it. Just recently they shot an RPG at us while we were prosecuting an IED as well. They must've left the shipping cap on, because we got to watch it skip across the ground like a flat stone on a pond. It tumbled past us and then fell in a canal. We both just laughed and went back to what we were doing while they lit the dude up with a MK19.

Dear Rustytrombone...

 

I see what you did there...

This last part sums it up pretty well:

 

The ban on farting has not been confirmed by the military and no mention of flatulence could be found in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

 

My guess is that some young grunts had a full on farting contest that got a little out of hand, and ONE of their Afghani counterparts made a complaint about it. As with everything now-a-days it got blown out of proportion to what you see in that article. I'm in the suck right now, and no one has told me not to do any of the things listed in that article. Hell, I try to make a point of being a known dickhead by burning as many of their poppy-stalk stacks as I can. If they hate me and my team more than the grunts, it'll take some heat off of them. They can go fuck themselves with their "culturally offensive" bullshit.

Didn't feel anything in Afghanistan.

 

Maybe it blended in with all the bombs being dropped? :fuckyeah:

Why are the steering wheels on the right side and not the left? I know some jet boats are on the left.. but why are boats on the right?

 

Nice boat btw.

 

It looks like it's not an open bow? Any pics underneath?

 

JDM, yo.

Why would u go carb'd? I have seen people actually lose hp from ditching fuel injection for a carb, heat soak sucks.

 

Sry don't mean to sound like a dick just curios, all the fastest vette, f bodies, gto's etc have FAST intakes on them.

 

The 5.3 in my rat rod is carb'd and I hate it. Its been plagued with problems ever since we put it together (Disclaimer: this could be due to me being a shitty mechanic). My tear-down and rebuild will include a low mileage motor from the junkyard with the facotry fuel injection still intact.

I've had them before. Certainly different, but I'll take classic gummy bears over them any day.

I've always argued that playing the lottery once a week is a legitimate investment. So what if you never win. Most people spend far more than $52 a year on random crap (sodas, candy bars, etc.). Why not put that cash towards the possibility of winning millions of dollars?

Paul di Resta: No car

 

Interesting...

The bottom line is you're on America and thats all that matters.

 

Fixed.

Call the FD, then get raped in HazMat spill fines by EPA.

Also a fan of .45, although I have very little experience with .40. I've shot plenty of 9mm out of a Beretta M9 and just as much .45 through my xD45. I find the xD to be much more comfortable, and the recoil satisifying. It isn't any more overwhelming than the M9. As for concealed carry, I've actually been looking at an xD40 or a 4 inch 1911. Like yourself, I'll have to shoot the .40 a little bit to see how I like it.

Its very sad that idiots like that get paid more than I do. Thanks a lot bin Laden!

I've been a fan of Yunegling ever since my very first pitcher of it at Hooter's following a deployment. Goes well with just about anything. Dinner, beer pong, cornhole, Rock Band, etc.

I think all preparations should be based on what your mindset will be. Will you be offensive or defensive? If you just plan on hunkering down and waiting it out, you might consider building a compound out of Hesco:

 

http://www.hesco.com/prod_range.asp

 

A small family could cordon off and protect an area large enough to grow enough crops and raise animals for a sustained period of time.

 

However, if you take this approach you must be prepared to defend against the marauder types (offensive).

 

If this is more your type of doing things, really all you need to be prepared to do is out gun and out maneuver the other guy. For a small, tight knit group there will essentially be an endless supply of these "survivalists" that you can kill and live off.

I picked up a Tactical XD45 after shooting my dad's a few years back (this was before they released the XDM series). All around its a great gun. I wouldn't consider it for CC except in the winter under a coat. My wife is pretty freakin good with it too (dare I say better?) so in home defense situations I usually grab the Mossberg 500 and let her have the XD. I'm looking at picking up a 4" Springfield G.I. 1911 for CC but the magazine capacity of a XD40 is very tempting as well.

Pretty f-ing sweet. I've been planning a turbo build for my Rat Rod for a while. Still unsure if I want to go single or twin turbo.

Invite?

 

lee.r.bowden@gmail.com

Great article. As a long time fan of Arthur C. Clarke and Orson Scott Card I fully support NASA and any space programs. I wish this country wasn't so ignorant and thick skulled, and instead was capable of appreciating everything that the exploration of space can provide the human race.

Awesome guys. Thanks for all the ideas. I'll certainly let you all know what our decision is when the time comes.

I've only done a couple of 1000+ lbs demo shots, but they certainly are impressive. The bulk of our work stateside revolves around training, both ourselves and other Marines, for the IED threat in country. Other than that, we conduct a lot of range sweeps for UXO, we inert ordnance for training libraries, and respond to bomb threats on and off base. When we're deployed, however, actually defeating IEDs takes up most of our time, as do post blast analysis (PBA).

Thanks for the helpful input and inappropriate remarks. I wouldn't expect anything less out of CR. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Sonata the same platform as the Kia Optima? The top three that she's shown interest in are the turbo Optima, Fusion Hybrid, and Jetta TDI.

I sat down with the CFD Bomb Squad and signed up for the exam process before deploying. From what they're telling my dad (whose been communicating with the civil service folks on my behalf) that they're trying to line up another round of testing in the fall for others in my situation. If all goes as planned, I'll be able to EAS, complete the academy, and then chop over to the Bomb Squad.