Information from the front, sort of.

[Point_n_click]

I usually keep my head down and limit my comments on here. I do that for two main reasons. One is because I don't usually have a lot to say that has not already been said, and the other is because I don't want to risk losing my job should the company I work for disagree with my political stance.

Today I'm breaking from that pattern just a little.

I work not far from a military base in the states. Soldiers come into my place of employment regularly and I frequently get to talk to them. For my part I limit any comments that would give an impression of political affiliation or sentiment on the Iraq situation, but I listen closely to their comments both to me and to the soldiers they've come into the business with.

A recent tidbit that has had me concerned for several weeks is an example of what might just become a starting point for a full on conflict with Iran.

These bits of info are paraphrased from a recent discussion:

Because there are (at least for the soldiers, maybe not so for the commanders) no reliable street signs and maps for use by military convoys, the units sent out on patrol, or on capture missions, or as supply convoys near the border, sometimes end up inside Iran and only discover this problem after stopping in small towns to ask where they are.

In the case of capture missions, sometimes because they only have a rough description of where someone is they end up crashing armored vehicles through the front door of the wrong house while the people they're after get away during the disturbance.

---

Based on just that little bit of info, we're lucky there have been no notable battles with Iranian troops, and it is also no wonder the insurgency keeps growing.

I suspect that the Iranians are smart enough to have expected some minor accidental incursions of the sort mentioned above and are keeping clear within their own border to avoid unintended consequences that could arise from an encounter.

It is also curious that with our advanced gps technology that our soldiers are finding themselves lost. Are the units not being given the devices, or are they being fed the wrong coordinates? Could these incursions be "planned accidents" or what? If so, I feel sorry for our soldiers who will likely pay a price with life and limb once a fishing expedition gets a solid bite from the Iranians.

point_n_click

[Jim Warren]

1. Sounds like the deal with the Brit Navy awhile back? nt

[TheWraith]

2. GPS recievers aren't always guaranteed accurate.

For starters, they're usually only as good as the maps they're supplied with--if your maps are inadequate or nonexistant, then the coordinates don't do you much good. Also, there are things which can throw off a GPS position, including radio interference, atmospheric conditions, and hardware problems.