Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
'Malbatt - Misi Bakara' not 90pct factual as claimed By Abdul Latif Ahmad & Mohd Rozi Baharom
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Don't the Condors in the movie look totally different?
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | After reviewing the film
titled ‘Malbatt - Misi Bakara’ which purports to be 90 percent factual,
we have come to the conclusion that it is not so. Several of the scenes are in fact erroneous and embarrassing to the reputation of the Malaysian peacekeeping force Malbatt 1.
Some
of the episodes did not occur in real life during the operation to
rescue the 70 trapped US Rangers in the Bakara Market area on the night
of Oct 3, 1993. As the then Malbatt 1 commander and deputy
commander, we were in direct contact with our men on the ground
especially the troops operating the APC Condor vehicles en route to
Bakara Market, Mogadishu, Somalia.
We thus had a full grasp of the events and happenings that took place
from the beginning to the successful completion of the rescue mission.
The episode in the opening act at the introduction to the film shows what was presumably the rescue of a group of CNN
journalists huddled in a room depicting our soldiers bravely moving in
with lots of shooting and exchanging of gunfire with the militia rebels
of self-styled leader General Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
Scene from Malbatt: Misi Bakara
In
actual fact, no sniper was deployed, no hand grenades were lobbed, none
of our men got blown off either by a booby trap or mine, and there was
no casualty on our side. Neither did we have a Somali interpreter
negotiating with the militia.
A dramatic scene depicting a Somali interpreter purportedly in Malbatt’s employ is central to the film storyline.
Me : That's where another two soldiers of Malbatt 2 (Rangers) died, as Bakara market is a no go area. SSgt Azman (GGK) and Corporal Ghani Bijol (Rangers), a Dayak who were escorting the UN Intelligence Team were shot dead and the Intelligence Team was captured.
Condors in the movie
Major Len Olivero (former hockey world cup team member) and 2Lt Sulaiman (both Rangers Officers) went in unarmed with stretcher bearers to get the captured UN Staff and their dead. Successfully negotiated and got them back. That's not a fiction. There was no fanfare or adulation for that sorry episode.
