Military Service

A US Warrior's Diary of Iraq

VFW Member since: 1996
Branch: U.S. Army
Theater of Operations: Iraq, Kuwait
Military Medals: Bronze Star Medal w/ "V" Device; Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal w/ 2OLC; Army Achievement Medal



Elton Johnson, Jr.
Born: June 9, 1953
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States



Post:
#14000-Member At Large Post
Kansas City, MO

A US Warrior's Diary of Iraq ( Page 2 of my blog )

A US Warrior's Diary of Iraq


Taken at the Riverside Estates II, Presidential Palace, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq. I am armed with a 9mm Baretta pistol and an MP5 submarine gun. In Iraq, I quickly found out that the M-16 rifle is totally unsuitable for fighting from a moving vehicle. Shorter weapons are ideal for this purpose which is why folding stock AK-47's, M-4 carbines and MP5's are so popular in Iraq. Why was my weapon of choice the MP5? Simple: The Heckler & Koch MP5 is the favored submachine gun for police SWAT and military counte-terrorist teams throughout the Western World. It supercedes all other pistol caliber designs and lastly, it's German made (and you know how the Germans are sticklers for efficiency). FYI, the MP5s were the official property of the Iraqi Army. My men and I were allowed to carry them because we handled Iraqi Army payroll funds.