Busters Socks
Description: I saw this in a museum in Hanau. It seems that witches really made a pest of themselves to the point where a local gunmaker named stuck came up with a way to get rid of them. Soon, those broom-riding vermin emigrated France, where that sort of thing was more tolerated. Or at least that's what the Germans told me.
Description: Back when Bubba Clinton was in charge someone got the bright idea to take away the traditional headgear of the U.S. Army, the patrol cap, and replace it with a beret. And not just any beret, but a BLACK beret. Rather than pick a color not in use they picked the color used by the Rangers... and Lewinsky.
Description: Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri was an Egyptian-born Islamic jihadist and terrorist. After the September 11 attacks, the United States Department of State offered a US$25 million reward for information or intelligence leading to al-Zawahiri's capture. He was killed in Afghanistan on July 21st, 2022. Good riddance.
Description: Although one of the smaller contingents which participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom the Estonians were responsible for some of the rougher neighborhoods in Baghdad while I was there and provided staff officers at MNCI as well. I got this patch at the local souk... must have been enough being bought to make it worth their while.
Description: I was stationed at Eskan Village in Saudi Arabia and was buying a few groceries at the small commissary there when the cashier picked up my can of Spam and asked if I had my ration card. I had no idea I needed one until then but I guess that explains that sleazy guy outside the gate...
Description: While stationed in the Sinai as a peacekeeper I saw all kinds of moneymaking schemes: in Sharm el-Sheikh there was a MAS Bowling Center, in al-Arish there was a decent beach on the Mediterranean," and in Ismailia they have the Izakaya Restaurant where they serve a mean Double Chicken Hamburger. I'm surprised that no one started doing tours of the desert...
Description: During Operation Iraqi Freedom the Multi-National Corps Iraq (MNCI) formed an Information Operations Task Force to combat enemy disinformation and misinformation and to reach target audiences with positive information about the Coalition. IOn effect, we wanted the insurgents to dance to OUR tune instead of the other way around. What better nickname could we have than Task Force Scopitone, named after the crazy multilingual music videos of the 1960s! The "badge" incorporated twin palm trees as a frame, a sword with a lightning bolt signified information as a weapon and the snake being hit with it represented the insurgency.
