Devils in Baggy Pants
By streiff Posted in Archived — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Forgive me my parochialism.
I'm an Army guy. I'm a paratrooper.
The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment is a proud outfit. Their motto is "Strike Hold" but their nickname is "Devils in Baggy Pants." This comes from a entry in the diary of a German officer killed outside Anzio in March 1944:
"American parachutists...devils in baggy pants...are less than 100 meters from my outpost line. I can't sleep at night; they pop up from nowhere and we never know when or how they will strike next. Seems like the black-hearted devils are everywhere..."
So it is with no small amount of pride that I can report this (from US Paratroopers.org by way of Blackfive.
A signal intercept from al Anbar province:
“These guys (Blue Devils) are special, they aren’t Marines. These are crack soldiers; you can’t even get close to them. They are everywhere…yes, they really have us by our balls here…no, that is what we can’t figure out. My guys (other insurgents) in Barwana and Haditha are moving freely. We can’t figure out why Haqlaniyah is so different. Can you get us out of here?”
No Fourth Generation Warfare. No strategic corporals. No three block war. No hearts and minds. Just paratroopers engaged in grab-them-by-the-nads-shoot-them-in-the-face warfare.
Good to see the Airborne Soldiers are exploiting the merits of the term LGOP (little groups of paratroopers). Nothing worse for Hajji than to have to deal with dozens of seperate "Bands of Brothers" in their backyard- Hooah!
After a tour in Afghanistan and is constantly complaining about not being over there with his boys right now.
Oh the joys of being a recruiter (NOT!).
There are those who look on Dresden and Tokyo and Hiroshima as some of the greatest evils ever perpetrated by man. I look on them and thank the perpetrators for saving millions.
Meet the real American fighting man (not the MSM version).
I know a few of these guys and they really love their job.
Expect more of the same as long as their boots are on the ground (or in the air).
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"
Contributor to The Minority Report