Afghans selling US army 'files'

[Un4given]

An afghan shop is selling stolen USB drives from the US Army.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4905052.stm

But I dont think anything classified has been stolen here because of...

They were all stolen from offices inside the base by the Afghans working there
I'm sure the cleaners dont have top-level access.

Interesting shit though.

[Skull6]

The theft alone deems some sort of punishment is necessary (else what'll they kype next?) & certainly should lead to a more thorough investigation as to what Soldiers are leaving laying around not overwatched.

IMO, of course. Having info such as how we train our Soldiers for certain opns can come back to bite us in the ass REAL quick.

& the fact that that shop owner has no negative thoughts of selling our stolen merchandise speaks VOLUMES to me as to the caliber of him, & probably others like him.

Do they treat their own that way?

[TheTokenGook]

When I spent some time at Randolph AFB 3 yrs ago, I had the chance to sit in on a meeting for airmen about to be deployed to the Gulf. Unfortunately, whenever there is a US base in a foreign country, there is often an agreement to hire so many of the native population to work on the base. Well, in this meeting, they were explaining how the role of some of the airmen was to specifically watch the hired local help. They were to watch for suspicious activity such as pacing, notetaking, theft, etc... They even said that the laborers could sit down or sleep all day, and that they didn't care, as long as they weren't doing anything suspicious.

[Wes]

When I spent some time at Randolph AFB 3 yrs ago, I had the chance to sit in on a meeting for airmen about to be deployed to the Gulf. Unfortunately, whenever there is a US base in a foreign country, there is often an agreement to hire so many of the native population to work on the base. Well, in this meeting, they were explaining how the role of some of the airmen was to specifically watch the hired local help. They were to watch for suspicious activity such as pacing, notetaking, theft, etc... They even said that the laborers could sit down or sleep all day, and that they didn't care, as long as they weren't doing anything suspicious.

We hired Iraqis to work in our compound in Baghdad. They were guarded at all times, and we never let them out of our sight. (Higher wanted us Green on weapons while inside the compound... umm ya, my weapon was Red when I was on Hadji guard.)
Only time I was ever really worried though is when the haircut dude was shaving my neck with a straight razor. :-? I had one of my buddies waiting next to me locked and loaded.

[Associate289]

We hired Iraqis to work in our compound in Baghdad. They were guarded at all times, and we never let them out of our sight. (Higher wanted us Green on weapons while inside the compound... umm ya, my weapon was Red when I was on Hadji guard.)
Only time I was ever really worried though is when the haircut dude was shaving my neck with a straight razor. :-? I had one of my buddies waiting next to me locked and loaded.

Haha, sort of like COL Hackworth's story from "Steel My Soldier's Hearts". He never let any of the Vietnamese come into the FOB because he didn't trust them. However, he'd let them come to the front gate and sell stuff or whatnot. They had a Vietnamese barber who used a straight razor, and he said it always made him nervous. Especially after they conducted an ambush, and when they went to clean up the bodies they noticed one of the dead was the barber.

[Sammy Sandbag]

Another file is said to have contained a manual for flying the US military's Chinook helicopter.

I wonder if he was selling it any cheaper than any of the shops around here.

[dbuntz]

Skull,

This is the unfortunate side of doing business nowadays. We get haji to do everything so that we can foster the local economy and keep Joe doing what he needs to be doing.

Desert Storm - I filled a shitload of sandbags. Now - Joe has haji to do them.

Bagram has thousands of local personnel that do the trash, dig ditches, build buildings, etc. And we, as Americans, throw away stupid shit. Haji thinks of digging through the burn-pit like a day at Wal-Mart. He can find some great stuff and this is an example of that.

[Skull6]

DB, I understand that. Even got some stomache bug while in tent city waiting for DS to kick off because the Hajiis couldn't cook camel meat properly...

That being said, I still think they ought to track down who stole them. I seriously doubt that those flash drives & binos were thrown away.

P.S. Because of the first paragraph above, there actually WAS a time in my life where I was "anxious" to eat MREs...

[Un4given]

DB, I understand that. Even got some stomache bug while in tent city waiting for DS to kick off because the Hajiis couldn't cook camel meat properly...

That being said, I still think they ought to track down who stole them. I seriously doubt that those flash drives & binos were thrown away.

P.S. Because of the first paragraph above, there actually WAS a time in my life where I was "anxious" to eat MREs...Haha nobody is THAT desperate. ;)

But about the flash drives, I dun' know who just leaves them laying around. Mine is with me all the time unless at my house it might be in. I cant see anyone just leaving it in a computer. *shrugs*

[Skull6]

Or in a desk drawer, perhaps?

I keep mine locked in a file cabinet--yes LOCKED, when I'm not using it or wearing it around my neck.

Loose lips, or in this case--flash drives, sink ships--or in this case could get somebody kilt.

[Un4given]

Or in a desk drawer, perhaps?

I keep mine locked in a file cabinet--yes LOCKED, when I'm not using it or wearing it around my neck.

Loose lips, or in this case--flash drives, sink ships--or in this case could get somebody kilt.*killed?

Yeah, good point. I have about 3 years worth of college on my 512MB and it doesn't even use 25MB. I even back it up on my external HDD every so often so I dont lose all my shit.

[Wes]

Desert Storm - I filled a shitload of sandbags. Now - Joe has haji to do them.

I filled hundreds if not over a thousand sandbags while in Iraq. We had haji do do quite a bit of work, but I don't think you can find an Iraqi that has filled as many sandbags as I have.

[armynurseboy]

Most of the TPNs were not Iraqis. Lots of Pakistanis (especially the barbers), Jordanians and Filipinos. We did have the requisite Haji mart run by an enterprising local, and local work crews that were hired locally, though.

[Associate289]

and local work crews that were hired locally, though.

Were they under the control of the Department of Redundancy Department?