Murphy's Law: March 20, 2005

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In Iraq, anything out of the ordinary is a potential threat, and often met with immediate gunfire. Potential threats include radio controlled aircraft, especially when they are out of control. Last year, some troops living in the spacious Green Zone received some radio controlled aircraft. To be used for recreational purposes. One day, while troops were putting a radio controlled aircraft through its paces (figuring out how to make these aircraft do acrobatic maneuvers is a big part of the hobby), the aircraft was accidentally flown out of range of the radio controller. The aircraft continued to the perimeter of the Green Zone. Alert troops there noted the unidentified flying object, and opened fire. Some 20-30 seconds of automatic fire from a .50 caliber machine-gun eventually caused one of  the bullets to connect with the toy airplane. The pieces floated to the ground. Military Police came out to investigate, and after the troops who lost control of the aircraft came forward, the mystery was solved. It was feared that the bad guys were using radio controlled aircraft for evil purposes. Maybe they still would. To be on the safe side, troops were forbidden to operate radio controlled aircraft in the Green Zone. The remaining radio control aircraft were shipped to a base up north, where the bad guys were much less in evidence. 

 

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