re: Video of how this US soldier drove his convoy in Iraq

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Was this how they always drove their convoys over there

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Not at the VERY beginning before the insurgency. In May and June 2003 we were taking joyrides around the country and acting like heavily armed tourists. That obviously didn't last long.

That’s how it was until they started using kids to block the road.

Wish you could do that on I-12

In Afghanistan you adapt to get an eye for things outside of the ordinary. Dig patterns that would be invisible to someone who doesn't know what they're looking for, things like that when on a route clearance mission. The most devious location though would have to be a rocket or mortar that was embedded in the wall of a house in a ville that had children living in it. A psychotic specialty of Surah Mujihadeen in the Kunar Province. Basically the idea was that we'd walk by and they'd set it off to hopefully injure us, and then deflect blame on the family that lived in that house. Yeah, potential traffic always made me uneasy as hell.

One of the most devious devices my unit found in the Watapur District were hollowed out 155's hooked right into the power source. They were filled with hundreds of little flechette rounds packed inside. Except, these weren't just regular flechette rounds. Our EOD unit attached to our combat engineer unit took them in and studied them and found that each flechette was coated in an anti-coagulating substance. So basically, if we were struck by some and had typically non-life threatening injuries, we would bleed out. One of the most devious things I ever saw, courtesy of Mujihadeen.

Do those things not get flats often? Clipping those curbs that often would make me nervous.

I laughed when he bumped the back of that bus.

Compared to the video of Blackwater Contractors driving, this was extremely tame. I'm not going to sit on my couch and say how someone should act in a war zone. Grateful for all who have served.

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Do those things not get flats often? Clipping those curbs that often would make me nervous.

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I didn’t think he’d tap the back of the bus. LOL.

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And people wonder why people in other countries hate Americans. Could you imagine some douche from another country doing that here? All for access to some natural resources and occupying an area that hasn't been occupiable in the history or man. If this is the only exposure they get to "real" Americans it is no wonder why people hate America

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Because setting IED’s and ambushes is such a great reflection on their local warriors and all gtfo dumbass. They’re the military, not American tourists

I wonder if this is common courtesy over there. In India, it's a friendly courtesy to honk at each other to let them know you are nearby, unlike in the states where it's used out of anger and frustration. Wondering if these taps are the same with bumpers. They may be called bumpers for a reason.