Нет худа без добра, сижу в интернете дома, смотрю инстаграм норвежского бойца в рядах Пешмерги.
Переводить, извините, не будут, гугл переводчик нормально справляется.
Инстаграм походу начал защищать фотки, так что обойдусь просто ссылками на интересные фотки.
Первым же пунктом идет пост, сделанный 50 недель назад, то почти год(!).
1) https://www.instagram.com/p/4MJJKNSPLL/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Our unit just got a couple of AT4 rocket launchers. No one here is familiar with this weapon system, me included, so if anyone can send me a link to an online manual or perhaps send it on email, please let me know.
Любопытное замечание, я-то думал, что в норвежской пехоте знают этот гранатомет...
2) https://www.instagram.com/p/4wNIQASPMZ/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Part 1/2. Close quarter battle training in an abandoned school with @louis_tex and his guys from the Dwekh Nawsha. We decided to drop the gear since it was 46 degree Celcius, wich I believe is close to 115 degree Farhenheit. I made a post a while ago where I told you guys how I can't help anyone join the Peshmerga, but I'm still getting this question on an almost daily basis. I don't really understand whats going through the head of a 16 year old kid from the west, asking to fight in one of the most violent conflict in modern time, but this shit needs to stop, guys. I'm also beeing contacted by veterans that are more than qualified, and I would love to help you out, but I can't. I'll use these two posts to explain why, but first, I need to explain the basics that seems to be lost for some people. The kurds are fighting the Islamic State in two countries, in the kurdish areas in Syria known as Rojava, and in the kurdish areas in Iraq, or Kurdistan as we call it. In Kurdistan, you have two major political parties, they are called PDK and PUK. Most of the different Peshmerga units are loyal to one of these two parties and during the 90's, there was a bloody civil war raging between the PDK and PUK that left 5.000 people dead. Even though there is a truce between the parties now, there are still some bad blood between them. Anyway, the PDK Peshmerga, wich my unit is a part of, don't allow foreigners in their ranks. They did a exception for me for reasons I'm not going into right now, but as far as I know, I'm the only westerner with the PDK Peshmerga right now (correct me if I'm wrong, anyone). The PUK Peshmerga on the other hand, are accepting foreigners. There are several groups on Facebook that helps veterans join PUK units. So if you wish to join the Peshmerga, it will have to be with the PUK and that's why I can't help.
Part 2/2. Another option in Kurdistan is the Christian militias, such as the Dwekh Nawsha, where @louis_tex is assisting those who want to join, and the Nineveh Plain Protection Units. The militias job is mainly to guard the Christian villages inside the kurdish areas, but lately, the westerners in Dwekh Nawsha have also been supporting the Peshmerga at the frontlines. The kurds fighting the Islamic State in Rojava are mostly in the People's Protection Units, better known as YPG. The YPG have a large group of foreign fighters with them, many don't even have any military background. Joining them seems fairly easy, but since the YPG is on the US and EU terror list, you might get in trouble with the authorities back home. Not that they are terrorists, though, they're only on those lists because of pressure from Turkey. So to sum up, there are several groups on Facebook that can help you join the PUK Peshmerga, the Dwekh Nawsha, the Nineveh Plain Protection Units or the YPG. If you can't find these groups on your own, then you probably shouldn't be here anyway. I wouldn't recomend anyone without a solid, military background to join the fight for obvious reasons either, even though there are groups that might accept you. Also, life here is hard, most westerners last for a few months only because they're not used to third world living standards, wich is what you'll find at the front. Those who last, are those who are comfortable beeing miserabel, and you should ask yourself if you are that type of person before comming here.
3) https://www.instagram.com/p/5bJY-OyPEj/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Breakfast in the trenches after another night at the front. Bread, yogurt and tea. The area in the background is all Islamic State controlled territory. One of my goals with this page is to give you guys an insight in what's going on down here. I know from personal experience that the mainstream media don't always give the correct picture when reporting from this conflict, either because of their lack of presence, wich makes them rely on sources down here who might have their own agenda, or because the stories aren't interesting enough, so they make up their own. This goes for the kurdish media as well. Just the other day, they reported on the news that 20 Islamic State fighters had been killed at the Teleskuf-front, where I'm at, during fighting, wich was a complete lie. Anyway, for personal- and operational security, there might be information and incidents I can't tell you about, or I might have to change a few details, but I hope you guys will look at this page as a source for (mostly) unbiased news about the situation around Mosul. A little about the last few days. Like mentioned in my last post, we had a quiet weekend except for the regular shelling. We had about 20 incomming rockets at the front on friday morning. Coalition warplanes flew over the village the fire was comming from, this is a Christian village that was abandoned a year ago and as far as we knew, there hadn't been any civilians there since, only enemy fighters. The planes located the launch site for the rockets, but it turnes out the Islamic State have taken a page out of the palestinians playbook and placed civilians, children, around the site. Until now, the planes have been bombing that village regulary and we've been shelling them indiscriminately, but this might change that. We had some incomming rockets yesterday too, with a few close calls. There seems to always be close calls. Me and the former Marine in the photo was just discusing how unbelievably lucky we have been at this front, considering the amount of incomming fire we're getting and the fact that we haven't had any casualties to indirect fire for a while. We might run out of luck one of these days, though.
4) https://www.instagram.com/p/527DRcyPEl/?taken-by=peshmerganor
The third and last shoutout goes to @billfgreer and his crew. They run a private security company that are providing the Peshmerga with drone support. It's a fairly new company, but I see potential in them. The drones provide a much needed capacity and there are few commercial actors on the market down here. I had fun helping them out these two days and hope to see them back on our front again soon.
5) https://www.instagram.com/p/590StfyPLS/?taken-by=peshmerganor
https://www.instagram.com/p/6SfKpwSPJx/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Today was our first day tasting meat in almost a week. The guys here spend one week at the front, then gets one week off, so they can go home and eat, sleep, rest and be with their loved ones. I've been here every single day and night (except for that one week in Erbil back in April) for half a year now... and I'm going to admit it. I'm tired...
Также, любопытное замечание о том, что мяса мало, с физкультурой проблемы....
6) https://www.instagram.com/p/65MKIxyPHQ/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Going home now, to take a long overdue break. Looking back at what I've done, I've realized it was a mistake staying at the front for six months straight... it almost wore me out, and those back home as well. Next time, I'll do a better job at going home now and then. I will leave my gear and weapons here in Erbil and I'm planning on staying home for two months. However, I've told the guys at the front to give me a call if they hear about any planned operations, and in that case, I'll be on the first flight back to Erbil. I will try to update you guys on my situation once in a while... I'm supposed to meet with the authorities when I return, for instance. I'll let you know how that goes.
Никаких обвинений против него в итоге не было выдвинуто.
Может быть, он агент норвежской разведки?))
7) https://www.instagram.com/p/8VoohcSPFE/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Готовится к возвращению, некоторые покупки.
8) https://www.instagram.com/p/9L_gQjSPJj/?taken-by=peshmerganor
I'm getting a lot of requests about sharing my opinion on Russia's intervention in Syria, so here's my two cents. Like most people who knows the situation in Syria, I wasn't fooled by Russia's claim that they were intervening to fight ISIS. It's very obvious, and recently even admitted by Putin, that their goal is to keep Assad in power. Most of the russian attacks have been against syrian opposition groups, such as FSA, Islamic Front etc., while ISIS have been relatively spared. Now, I'm not a fan of russian foreign policy or the syrian regime. Just a year ago, I was cheering for the removal of Assad, like most westerners. However, I've learned, and I welcome the russian intervention, and here's why. The syrian opposition, which is backed up by the US, Turkey and the Gulf States, shares the same values and goals as ISIS. They're beeing called "moderate islamists", which is a contradiction in my mind, as an islamist is a Muslim supremacist, and there's nothing moderate about supremacy. The countries I just mentioned, spends billions of dollars on training and arming the syrian opposition, an opposition where many of the groups have close ties to Al-Qaida and even ISIS. It's time for the US to stop supporting the same guys who did 9/11, talk with the russians about joint operations against ISIS and even include Assad in the negotiations with the opposition. This isn't a perfect solution, but the world isn't perfect and compromises have to be done by all sides if this war is to end. It's been going on for almost five years now, and is about to escalate dramatically now that Qatar is threatening to intervene military as well.
Комментарии относительно России в Сирии.
9) https://www.instagram.com/p/95_4bIyPE1/?taken-by=peshmerganor
New unit patches. I'm back with my guys now and I'll deploy to Sinjar tonight. Not sure when the offensive will start, though. And yeah, I'm wearing woodland camouflage and a 20$ uniform now because someone decided that this is what we all have to wear for the operation. I'm leaving my dear Crye Presicion uniform behind, along with three, large duffel bags full of gear, clothing and food. I'll only bring my 5.11 backpack with me for this mission. No idea how long I'll be gone, and there is a chance I'll be without Internet access for a while. I will try to update my good friend Piran Dilshad Barzani by phone in that case. He might give some updates now and then on his public Facebook profile, if I can't do it myself. Give this guy a follow for this and for some insight in the conflict as well, on Facebook. Thank you all for following and supporting. I hope you'll hear from me again soon.
10) Дальше несколько фоток о наступлении на Синджар, ничего интересного, кроме того фотки с пленным ИГИЛовцом.
https://www.instagram.com/p/-tUW9yyPJ5/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Test-firing my guns. I can't afford training, as I have to pay for the ammunition myself, but I try to make sure testing the weapons once in a while. The guys have been using the MG42 while I was gone and it's jamming a lot now. Have to get a weapon technician to have a look at it. The fake ACOG-sight on my M16 was way off target as well. This is all worrying, but that's how things are down here... we have to make do with what we got. A big thanks to @julkvissi, @kcstevens89, @jensgoeree and two anonymous followers for donating. I'm considering buying night optics for my unit, using donation money. The only problem is getting it through the airports, as there is a lot of restrictions on military equipment down here. I'm going to look into it, though
Не знал, что у него реплика АКОГа...
11) https://www.instagram.com/p/BAKVLGYSPLZ/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Купил себе ПНВ
Под Новый год парень снова вернулся домой, видимо решил не мотать себе нервы полугодовые командировками...
12) https://www.instagram.com/p/BAzxQIVyPFO/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Новая оптика, Vortex
13) https://www.instagram.com/p/BBNU-JgyPIC/?taken-by=peshmerganor
In a nearby arab village, scoping out the neighbouring village, which is under Islamic State control. I was told by the guys protecting the arab village, that the coalition didn't bomb the neighbouring village due to civilians used as human shields over there. That's how cowards fight, I guess. Regarding the Mosul offensive. There is still no date set for the operation. But if I have to make a guess, I would say it will be launched sometime between May and September this year. It is my opinion that the city of Tal Affar (located between Sinjar, which we liberated in November, and Mosul) will have to be taken back from the Islamic State before the Mosul offensive is launched. So as soon as Tal Affar is taken back, we could expect things to happen very soon. The Peshmerga have been working their way closer and closer to Tal Affar recently and there are unconfirmed reports that US forces recently conducted a raid inside the city and that it may have been units from the 101st Airborne Division. But again, these reports are unconfirmed as of now. Either way, I will be following closely on the situation in Tal Affar, as this could be an indicator for when the Mosul operation will start, and also because there is a chance my unit may take part in an operation in Tal Affar as well. Things at my front have been pretty quiet since mid December, when the Islamic State launched a failed offensive against us and lost over 200 fighters in two days. The amount of incoming rockets and mortars have decreased as well, which is actually a bit boring... I had kinda grown fond of the sound of incoming Katyusha rockets
14) https://www.instagram.com/p/BBiWQcKSPEF/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Видео теста прицела и патронов.
Упоминается другой скандинавский ветеран Пешмерги - швед.
У него тоже инстаграм и о нем я напишу отдельно.
15) https://www.instagram.com/p/BB5UrtOyPJD/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Немного ржачная и вместе с тем грустная попытка выстрела из миномета...
Хотел бы получить комментарии правильно ли он все делает.
16) https://www.instagram.com/p/BB-eKsCyPCM/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Историческая справка об Курдистане...
17) https://www.instagram.com/p/BCI7AnNyPLu/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Ругается за неэффективную помощь Запада, особенно по сравнению с Россией(!)
18) https://www.instagram.com/p/BCdTks2SPPi/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Попал под обстрел
19) https://www.instagram.com/p/BCxpOgTyPMw/?taken-by=peshmerganor
Видео оказание помощи раненому..
Пока все.