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Post by Travis2261 on Apr 15, 2009 17:41:03 GMT -5
i was a groundpounder when i served,  so i have a somewhat dumb question for my navy or fan of navy brothers.why in the hell are we not sending a carrier task force to the somali coast?.we have 13 carriers they couldnt all be busy. |
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Jor-El
Junior Member
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Post by Jor-El on Apr 15, 2009 18:06:37 GMT -5
i was a groundpounder when i served, so i have a somewhat dumb question for my navy or fan of navy brothers.why in the hell are we not sending a carrier task force to the somali coast?.we have 13 carriers they couldnt all be busy. Since I'm a fan of all American military, I'll take a shot at this--I'm seeing two reasons. First, the area where all this activity looks small on a map, but the talking heads are saying it's a really big area. This is confirmed by military folks appearing on these shows. Thirteen may not be such a large number in that case. Second reason is 'cause Obama sez so. Robert Gates, our Defense Secretary, said the other day we're not changing our military policy towards the pirates. Personally, I think that's a mistake. These guys are pirates in name only. A better phrase would be hired thugs. Real pirates take the loot and split it up among themselves, and do really horrid things to the unlucky crew and passengers of the targeted ship. The crooks we're dealing with here are simply hired hands paid to kidnap the target ship's crew and take possession--on behalf of their employers--the cargo. Said cargo gets released, along with the human prisoners--after ransom is paid. And they are released without fail, as this is a business to them. They want future 'customers' to know they will, in fact, release who and what they're holding if paid. This being the case, my feeling is that if we make clear to the pirates that if they take hostages, we will kill them. Not track them down and turn them over to courts and let the ACLU protect them, but kill them. On the spot. Blow their ships out of the water. Yes, hostages will die. Cargo will be lost. And the 'pirates' will have to decide if they are so loyal to their kingpins that they're willing to be blown up or drown for them. They're not doing this out of patriotism. They are being paid. They will cave. But only if we have the backbone to teach them that attacking something carrying the American Flag is a really, really, really bad idea. JOR-EL |
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Post by Mel on May 2, 2009 9:01:08 GMT -5
I wasn't a groundpounder or squid, or anything else.
I've had a military question since 1986. In Aliens, when piloting the drop ship to the planet for the first time, the female pilot said, "We're in the pipe, five by five."
I've heard that phrase, "five by five," in military movies many times. I've searched and googled and never found anything about how this phrase originated, and what it specifically means.
The phrase's meaning is obvious from how it's used in sentences, but I'd like a definition. I'm always curious about word and phrase origins and meanings.
Can I get any help? Thanks.
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Post by Wahrheit on May 2, 2009 9:21:25 GMT -5
I wasn't a groundpounder or squid, or anything else.
I've had a military question since 1986. In Aliens, when piloting the drop ship to the planet for the first time, the female pilot said, "We're in the pipe, five by five."
I've heard that phrase, "five by five," in military movies many times. I've searched and googled and never found anything about how this phrase originated, and what it specifically means.
The phrase's meaning is obvious from how it's used in sentences, but I'd like a definition. I'm always curious about word and phrase origins and meanings.
Can I get any help? Thanks. I wasn't in the Navy, but I did get a full tour of the USS George H.W. Bush.  No lie. It was awesome, and one of those experiences that I will never forget. To answer your question, to the best of my knowledge, the term "Five by Five" means "Loud and clear" (based on a system of indicating a radio's signal strength on a one to five scale). |
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Post by Mel on May 6, 2009 15:21:25 GMT -5
Wow, thanks Wahr!
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Post by Wahrheit on May 9, 2009 19:31:12 GMT -5
Lots of folks in my family are in the Military, (including my wife) so some of this stuff had to rub off. |
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so i have a somewhat dumb question for my navy or fan of navy brothers.why in the hell are we not sending a carrier task force to the somali coast?.we have 13 carriers they couldnt all be busy.
