h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey Sarge,
I've been reading and enjoying your journal. You write well and thoughtfully away from the nonsensical flamewars of the Bush/Saddam thread.
I wanted to get your thoughts on the deployment of the Japanese troops to Iraq. As you may or may not know, Japan is sending a contingent of several hundred "non-combat" troops to the area around Samawah where the Dutch are now to do reconstruction work. The apparent plan is to have them provide medical services to the Iraqis, do water purification work, build schools and roads - generally bring sweetness and light into the lives of the poor benighted Iraqis, according to the Japanese govt.
The govt here (Japan) has said again and again that Samawah is quiet peaceful, almost risk free etc etc and besides the Dutch will help protect the Japanese. The trick is that the current govt interpretation of the Japanese constitution is that Japan is not allowed to take part in "collective defense." What this translates to is that members of the Japanese Self Defense forces (my newspaper doesn't like to call them soldiers) are permitted to defend themselves and civilians under their protection if they come under fire or believe they are about to be attacked, but cannot act to defend military from other nations.
In other words, if a bunch of guerrillas attack the Japanese base, the Japanese can shoot back and call on the nearby Dutch for help if necessary, but if a Dutch patrol is ambushed outside the gates of the Japanese camp, the Japanese are not allowed to come to their aid.
Is it just me or does this sound seriously #%&%&'%ed up to you too?
Are the Japanese just going to be in the way?
Is their contribution likely to be worthwhile?

Rev, I end up getting pushed into corners over there. I am not going to sit there and listen to a bunch of wanna be hippies calling US troops baby killers and whatnot when they don't even have the facts striaght.

With that said I'll give you my take on the Japan contingent. Medics can't fire a shot except to protect themseleves and their patients. Chaplins can't no matter what, they don't even have a sidearm. The Japanese would be support soldiers. Same as the US type. Our cooks, fuelers, mechanics, etc. all have weapons and have been engaged here and there, especially during convoys. As a grunt I have been called out to bail them out of a scrap or two and have done escort duty for them. So it is the same situation. We would never call on the cooks to get into a firefight with us, hell we usually don't even want the food from them
I might come off ignorant here, but I am guessing that you are transplanted. If so where from?

I'm another of the many Canuckleheads, I've been over here in Tokyo for a half dozen years, first teaching english and for the last few years copy editing at a newspaper

Something to be said about heading off for a while and finding new things. Ehh, for the most part you Canuks are ok, kinda like the Us's little brother, we really all like each other but hate to admit it. Although it was funny when the Kingston bars wouldn't let anyone with a military haircut in, like we would have caused trouble....

I used to drink at the Toucan and the Wellington in Kingston, back about ten years ago - it wasn't you they were worried about it was the Royal Military College boys.

lol that was the problem, too many fights between the RMC and the 10th MTN division. If you had a military haircut they would ask for your id, the officers could go in

Biggest bar fight I've ever seen was in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan at a rock club called the Back Door. Kinchloe AFB is just up the road and the city often gets large groups of servicemen there from the airbase and I think had a detachment of Army corps of engineers who ran the locks on the river there. I happened to overhear the start of the 20+ man bottle and chair throwning brawl while taking a leak. A soldier finished his business at the urinal and was about to walk out when the airman next to me said "Typical army. In the Air Force they teach us to wash our hands."
The soldier smiled a "I'm gonna enjoy this, I haven't beaten anyone senseless in nearly a week" kind of smile and said "In the Army, we know enough not to piss on our hands"
I figured it was good time for a tactical redeployment to a rear area and about about a minute later the airman came flying (literally) out the men's room door followed by the strutting soldier, precipitating a massive brawl.

That's the problem with interservice brawls, we tend to go out in packs. Last thing you ever want to hear in a GA bar is "Ranger down!!"

i suspect it could literally be the last thing someone might hear

on a totally different subject, I'm looking for input on this idea

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alaba...hread=370761&show=20&skip=0&lpcr=-1
sorry if the proposal is a bit long and hard to read, I've forgotten how to do formatting (subheads and bold type etc) but i will tart it up eventually to make it easier to read, hopefully with the suggestions of others incorporated.

Seems to be a bad link.