060810 Combatives and Uniform Posture U3

060810 Combatives and Uniform Posture U3

The US Army used to have a game where the goal was to push a big (10'
tall), rubber, inflated ball past the other teams goal line. While
it sounds pretty innocuous, it evidently wasn't and after enough
twisted ankles and broken bones the 'game' was forbidden. Similar
'games' have come and gone and here at Balad, they're trying another
one. It's called Combatives and it's 'sorta like MMA' but you cannot
'strike' your opponent. Other wise you get points by doing the
following:
2 Points---------Take Down: From the standing position, the fighter
places his opponent on the ground but fails to gain dominant position.
3 Points----------Take Down: From the standing position, the fighter
places his opponent on his back and gains a position past the guard:
side control, mount, knee in the stomach, north-south, etc.
3 Points----------Pass the Guard: From between his opponent's legs,
the fighter clears the legs and gains side control or the mount.
3 Points----------Sweep: From the guard position, the fighter changes
positions, placing his opponent on his back.
3 Points----------Knee on belly (Knee Mount): From side control, the
fighter establishes one knee in his opponent's chest / abdomen and the
other knee up and away from him and stabilizes himself.
4 Points----------Mount: The fighter establishes the mount with both
knees and feet on the ground.
4 Points----------Back Mount (Rear Mount): The fighter establishes the
back mount with both feet hooked in position.
1 Point --------Stalling: From either within the guard or side
control, the fighter must try to improve his position. The judge will
give three warnings and then award a point to the other competitor. If
the stalling continues, the judge gives three additional warnings, and
then awards an additional point, continuing this pattern until the end
of the match or action is conducted.
2 Points--------Passivity: Fighter disengages from the top position,
the referee awards two points to the other fighter.
We'll see how long this lasts before it too is forbidden.
Also we've been in Uniform Posture U3 for about a day now. This means
that one has to wear a flak jacket and helmet unless one is in a
hardened structure. The ONLY hardened structures are the DFAC, the gym
and the chapel. Fortunately the dust is keeping the heat down. But
carrying aound an extra 40 pounds or so of gear is still a hassle.
And yes 'technically' I'm supposed to wear this gear while in my hooch
and sleeping (like THAT will happen!) Generally we go to this
condition when the intel warrants it. Soooo, something is up... We
just don't know what it is.
Above is a pic of the Combative flyer and two pics of me in Uniform
Posture U3. The reason the pics above are blurry is due to the dust.
Also, here's a pic of my recovered bike. Not a bad bike but certainly
not worth stealing and risking one's military career or one's job in
Iraq.
Such is life in Iraq.
R/Chris