[mele]

Fellow SCers.

I received an email a few weeks ago from Nek, and I just realized I had forgotten to post his regards here (per his request).

He posted his apology for being "whisked away" at such short notice. Here is his exact quote, though I have removed the locations for security issues

...but I was whisked away to be an instructor for a while, and now I'm down in ***** for ops here and in ***** again, this time against mercs and bandits who've started harassing the locals...

Anyway, he does not have access to a computer... but wanted to just tell everyone hello.

MEL

 

[muzzleblast]

I wish Nek had internet access so he could see this, but I'm happy to hear from him. I hope he stays safe and comes back to us, I miss his informed posts and debates

Take care, Nekekami

 

[APK]

+1

Stay safe brother.

 

[Jeff_850]

good to hear from him
hope he stays safe, gets back to see this

 

[CM2k]

Well, some of those poor fellows down there will get to experience Nekekami's "Nekekami out of NOWHERE". Or at least receive his student's understanding of it.

 

[mele]

Well, some of those poor fellows down there will get to experience Nekekami's "Nekekami out of NOWHERE". Or at least receive his student's understanding of it.

Yep, agreed! He was only an instructor for the first part, now he is back doing it for real.

MEL

 

[mlammers]

Hope this finds him all safe and sound, and"Schooling the bandits and mercs" from the business end of his stick.

 

[dead_I_5_0]

What exactly does Nekekami do?

-Brian Shields

 

[mele]

He is a sniper in the Swedish Armed Forces.

MEL

 

[Nekekami]

Well, I'm back in Sweden for a 1-week leave right now. This time I'm gonna try and borrow a laptop instead of an Ipaq(Browsing with an Ipaq worked... barely....Banners killed the experience)

Thanks for the support guys.

The platoon I'm in for this tour is conducting ops together with spec ops teams, doing long-range patrols, established contact with and support from local populations etc, as response to the influx of bandits and mercs. The mercs came in as a response to Swedish Army raids against slaver camps. Unlike in Kosovo, these mercs are mostly from the US, UK and France, and have enormous bank-rolling and can afford decent equipment, including armoured vehicles(We suspect saudi backing, but our intel guys aren't getting much help from the FBI with investigating the merc company). In Liberia, we work together with the british and also some Irish troops, and it functions well, especially in regard to working together with the civilians in the area. Only Swedish casualty in my AO so far is a sprained ankle, a guy on a stretcher team who slipped on loose rocks.

I've made some decent range shots, and I'm hoping for the UAV footage to get released, so I can get a third source to verify my records

*Grins*
Let's just say that 3 of us snipers down here don't consider that supposed USMC record for 7.62x51 to be that spectacular

 

[mele]

Great to have you back, even if its just for a breif period!

Let me (us?) know if there is anything you need. You have our support.

Thanks for the report and letting us know what happening in places other than Iraq and the 'stan.

MEL

 

[Nekekami]

Great to have you back, even if its just for a breif period!
Let me (us?) know if there is anything you need. You have our support.
Thanks for the report and letting us know what happening in places other than Iraq and the 'stan.

Thanks for the offer, though I think there is little you could do that I can't get here at home. Offer is highly appreciated however.

Also, I'm not a fan of the "waaaah, we're not getting issued the stuff we _want_" school of thought. Too many adherents of that school of thought just haven't learned how to work with what they've got, or are just too inflexible in their mindset from the get go. Sure, there are some things that would make my life somewhat easier down here, but they could be considered luxuries, and doesn't improve things so much that they are worth the extra weight. I prefer carrying extra water instead, especially on 3-week patrols.

 

[ekaphoto]

Take care and remember the golden rule. "do unto them before they do unto you."

 

[muzzleblast]

"want" and "need" are different, bro. If there is anything you actually need, you better post it here!

Happy to hear you're okay, and stay safe man!

Heh, for those long range shots, are you using the sabot ammo? If so that's not a level playing field

Take care, Nekekami

 

[Nekekami]

Well, I _need_ a job when I come back home, but that's about it, really. And it has to be in Sweden.... :lol:

It is a level playing field. Saying that it's not is like saying "Hey, you use a more efficient powder than me, it's not fair"

There are tradeoffs involved. Such as close-range accuracy

 

[mlammers]

Good to hear all goes well, keep them Mercs inline, and as eka said, dot to them before they do it to you. Stay Safe and God bless. Ps how them Irish Troops working out, are they from the republic, or the North?

 

[CM2k]

I'd imagine that French, British and American mercenaries would think better than to engage armed forces by themselves. In the end, they would require the cash that Sweden can toss at a war. Not a very thought out business plan, unless their entire plan is to simply delay all the raid on their camps until they have left.

 

[Nekekami]

mlammers:

The Irish troops work really well. Just like the Swedish, they have a historical reputation for excellent work in this region that they need to maintain.

And if they had been from northern Ireland, I'd have said british, because that's the simplest.

CM2k:

With the backing we suspect, the budget thing is questionable. The differences are that we have much wider local support, we can operate openly. And they don't have any experience fighting against opponents with equal or higher technology, it seems. They are using tactics that would work against the gangs of undisciplined people. I wouldn't say that they have delayed us one bit. Instead, since they started defending their camps harder, it's become easier for us to find them and hit them like a tsunami.

And, really, becoming a merc in the first place is a bad decision... Especially since we disarm the ones we take alive and hand them over to what local authorities that exist.

 

[mlammers]

Nekami,

Thanks for the info. I spent some time in Ireland in 99, saw many of their troops and special units of the National Police. The troops were all on manuvers while we were there, training up the reserves. I talked to some of them, the seemed pretty well put together and very professional, but you never hear much about them. The PD guys were great, I talked to them and ID'd myself, at their academy/hq in Dublin, after the meet and greet, I would not want to mess with their version of spec ops/ swat.

My wife is Irish both sides so its kind of like my adopted ancestry. Although I am very proud of my German background too.

 

[Nekekami]

Well, it's time for me to pull my disappearing act again, since my leave is now up. Hopefully I'll be back in about 1½ month, but no guarantees.

Have a good life everyone.