Iraq review

**Tootie** · September 16th, 2008, 11:21 AM

I was updating a website for a client today. He has been over in Iraq performing for our troops and we just got in some reviews from some of our solders. In one review I found a line that hit me a funny.

One final thing: I wonder if it struck anyone as odd that smoking and drinking was not allowed in the building last night, and that everyone was carrying a gun?

DENNIS W. YATES
FOB Rustamiyah, Iraq

What would the anti's have to say about that? Not one cigarette but lots of guns

I know it's different over there, it just hit me as a funny comment.

**Gary in Pennsylvania** · September 16th, 2008, 11:50 AM

Tootie.

Delete that soldier’s name from your post. It is a very real and visible name that, when Googled, has A LOT of real activity.

I appreciate reading his comments, but that soldier made those comments trusting a level of confidence between he and the recipient of the survey.

Good post – but bad Ju-Ju to air his name.

(Edited to add - UNLESS the comment was posted publically on the internet site of your client.)

**Tootie** · September 16th, 2008, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by Gary in Pennsylvania

Tootie.
(Edited to add - UNLESS the comment was posted publically on the internet site of your client.)

Yes his name, rank and station are posted on the site in 2 places actually, so he had no expectation of privacy. That's the only reason I posted his name here. But I did remove his rank and station in Iraq.

**craigc** · September 16th, 2008, 05:22 PM

Soldiers in Theater should always keep in mind Persec and OPSEC

**ruggerio** · September 16th, 2008, 06:49 PM

well thats a no brainer.
ciggies are sooooo much more deadly then guns
in fact it is one of my best " inanimate object counters.

a ciggerette in a pack on the counter is , by definition a non lethal object. take one out of the pack and fire it up and it becomes a deadly cancer stick.
i dont , here, need to expand on the deaths caused from cancer of the lungs and emphazima.

a loaded gun on a counter is just as inanimate as the pack of smokes until a body picks it up and uses it, it remains inanimate. the burden must be placed upon the animator. not the object.

**Tootie** · September 17th, 2008, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by craigc

Soldiers in Theater should always keep in mind Persec and OPSEC

Yeah I was a little surprised to see all his information on the review. But, there is another review with the same info from a different soldier.

Listen, I don't edit anything that is sent to me, that's not my job. It's the job of the media relations people that send me the info to do that. So I post what is sent to me assuming that everything they send me has been approved. (it's not my ass on the line if it's wrong [responsibility wise]) If I had to check everything that was sent to me I would be making a whole lot more money. Besides I don't think the armed forces would allow anyone to send out info like that if it would compromise anyone or anything. jmho

**Pector55** · September 17th, 2008, 09:04 AM

I wonder how many anti's smoke? Being as they like to decide things for us, I have to assume they are mostly non-smoking, vegans, who live in a tent and ride bikes to what they call work.

**Tootie** · September 17th, 2008, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by Gary in Pennsylvania

Tootie.
trusting a level of confidence between he and the recipient of the survey.

Good post – but bad Ju-Ju to air his name.

(Edited to add - UNLESS the comment was posted publically on the internet site of your client.)

Gary, I just saw this (bold). It was not a survey, it is a review of a concert that was put on for our troops by Joe Lynn Turner & Big Noize, so he knew it would be posted on Joe's site.

Here's the entire review if you want to read it...

I can't thank Joe and the rest of the band (Big Noize enough for the show they put on for the men and women here on FOB(Forward Operating Base) Rustamiyah in Southeast Baghdad.

Not only did Joe and the band put on a kick-ass show, but pulled it off after having to completely break down and set equipment back up when a dust storm rolled in and almost ruined the whole night. Well done, and they pulled it off like the professionals that they are. As military men and women, we appreciate and understand such dedication and determination.

I grew up (in Joe's home state of NJ, by the way) listening to the music of every single band represented in Big Noize, so the show was a step back in time. It's also great to watch soldiers half my age enjoying the music as much as I did 25 years ago. Brings back fond memories of a Golden Era for Rock Music. I may not have been the oldest soldier in the room, but as a Lieutenant Colonel, I was definitely the most senior-ranking, and I think the youngsters had as great a time watching the "old man" cut loose as they did listening to Joe and Big Noize and carrying on.

It's amazing how a two-hour show can make you completely forget 10 straight months of day-in, day-out operations in the "pressure cooker" (and I mean that both figuratively and literally) that Iraq can be.

About Big Noize: "They seem to us over here to be a bunch of down-to-earth, all-around good guys who are clearly having way too much fun doing what they're doing. It seems to me that Joe and the gang have found the formula for true happiness in life: find something that you love doing, then get paid to do it. And if you can bring a smile to some people's faces in the process, that's a bonus. It's kind of hard to believe that Joe still has the vocal range after all of this time. Good for him.

As a guitar player, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I had forgotten that Carlos Cavazzo replaced Randy Rhoads in Quiet Riot. Carlos is one of those guys who has seemed to have gotten overshadowed by guys like Randy, EVH, and later other guys like John Petrucci, etc, but he is clearly an accomplished player. He shreds with the best of them. We filmed him playing the solo from "Crazy Train." Me and some other guys are going to study it.

Anyway, what made the show so special for everyone was the fact that it was "interactive." Being able to come up and mix in with the band, ham it up on the microphone, and snap some photos was pretty darn cool, and if we were at a normal concert, we'd have been tossed out by security! The fact that the crew had to break everything down and move it at the last minute because of a huge (and quite unexpected) dust storm didn't deter them from delivering a great show. They literally plugged everything in, skipped the sound checks and went for broke. And it was great. It was live and it was raw. We all ate it up.

I complimented the rhythm section on my way out (Simon and Phil) because they made Carlos' shredding and Joe's improv possible by holding down the bass and drum lines. Very impressive solos by both.

One final thing: I wonder if it struck anyone as odd that smoking and drinking was not allowed in the building last night, and that everyone was carrying a gun?