Years ago was at the DR a couple times, they most certainly have no love lost on the Haitians! Do not know about free fire zones, but they were well prepared to do what they have to do!
Haitian Gangs
- Thread starter DWalt
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Years ago was at the DR a couple times, they most certainly have no love lost on the Haitians! Do not know about free fire zones, but they were well prepared to do what they have to do!
LVSteve
Member
Even in DR I have been advised that when you go to the nice adult only resort, be damned sure to stay within the fence line.
The A10 is still in service and I live within 10 miles of Whiteman AFB and see them flying over several times a week. Also see B2 bombers going over every now and then. That is something to see when a B2 goes over your house at around 3000 ft
Colonialism to PaPa Doc Duvalier and the Ton Ton Macoute to multiple factions vying for the foreign $$ is the simple story.
We went to Punta Cana for our honeymoon 6 months ago and did not know when I booked the flights that the Haiti revolution was in full force and had overthrown the government. I learned about it before we went and it appeared to be pretty safe as long as we stayed away from the Haitian border. I asked many locals while were there if there was anything to worry about and they all said no that Punta Cana had stepped up security a little but there were no issues about people coming over the border. We stayed in a 5 star all inclusive resort called the Excellence El Carmen and it was an enormous resort and absolutely the nicest and most beautiful place I had ever stayed. Every restaurant was as good as anywhere I have ever eaten in the US, and the grounds were gorgeous and the service was always excellent and there was great entertainment several times a day. The price was extremely reasonable and the resort looked like it was only about 1/3 occupied. I recommended it to a good friend that's getting married and planning on going on his honeymoon there but he said the prices are a lot higher now. Guess not many people are worried about Haiti. The only firearms I saw in Punta Cana were security guards carrying short barreled pump shot guns with a pistol grip in lieu of a stock.
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My mother used to do some work for an NGO, travelling to "third world" countries and writing reports for them. She would get a free trip and would be paid a small sum, maybe $1500. She visited many places, Mexico, India, Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras, Nepal and, yes, Haiti, among others. Her trip to Haiti was about 25 years ago. At that time she found the people quite pleasant and although they were warned to stay in the hotels after dark, she got the same warning in most of the places she went. She also said the poverty there was greater than any other place she had been. For instance, she bought a couple of pieces of local "art" from one of the street sellers. They were simple pieces of tin or steel, pounded flat and then shaped and painted. They were maybe $1US. In talking to the man he told her that he was limited in the size of his pieces. If the metal was of a certain size, it was more valuable as building material than street art. An oil drum split and flattened, a street sign torn off a pole, any piece of sheet metal was used to build shanties. With poverty that widespread and no government to speak of, as it is now, people are gonna eventually reach a point where the dark side of human nature takes over. I once read a quote that "civilization is only 3 meals thick". Maybe an exaggeration, but the point is solid. Didn't take long before people realized that groups of people, gangs, were better at relieving others of their possessions than going solo. So, you get competing gangs terrorizing anyone that can't stand up to them. And, after being victimized by gangs a couple of times, it seems like a good idea to join a gang, just for protection.
Barring some pretty draconian crackdowns by a functional, supported government, or an uprising among the regular citizens, it's going to stay that way or get worse. Either way a lot of people will die.
Barring some pretty draconian crackdowns by a functional, supported government, or an uprising among the regular citizens, it's going to stay that way or get worse. Either way a lot of people will die.
LVSteve
Member
It's very much still in service. You can see them quite often leaving Nellis for the test ranges. There is still no real replacement, no matter what the F-35 mafia tell you.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
Around 2000, my son was in 82nd Airborne. His company replaced a USMC company providing security for a USAF medical mercy group. The Haitians were pretty well behaved, until they figured out the Marines had left! If you bumped a Marine in the market, the whole market got fogged with CS tear gas!
His favorite snapshot of Haiti is down the barrel of a M2 50 Cal aimed at the front gate. The ROEs were no shooting until one of their feet touched the inside of the compound! There was a betting pool on how many Haitians a round of 50 Cal ammo would go through!
We have relatives that have schools, hospitals and missions in Haiti and Honduras. After 45 years they are about done with Haiti!
Ivan
His favorite snapshot of Haiti is down the barrel of a M2 50 Cal aimed at the front gate. The ROEs were no shooting until one of their feet touched the inside of the compound! There was a betting pool on how many Haitians a round of 50 Cal ammo would go through!
We have relatives that have schools, hospitals and missions in Haiti and Honduras. After 45 years they are about done with Haiti!
Ivan
We allowed over 700,000 Haitian refugees into our country since 2022.
Very few contribute to our economy or prosperity and it cost taxpayers hundreds of millions.
We can't save the world...
Very few contribute to our economy or prosperity and it cost taxpayers hundreds of millions.
We can't save the world...
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This sounds like Detroit. Or Chicago.
OP
DWalt
Member
Never been to DR, but would like to. My wife visited there a couple of years ago and thought it was great. One of my idols is that famous Dominican, Porfirio Rubirosa. If I could become a historical character, it would be him.
Quite a character: Porfirio Rubirosa - Wikipedia
The US committed $30 million to help rebuild. A friend tried to set up wood from Montana mills, cut to size, to build a 2 bedroom basic house. He had US approval, made several trips to Haiti, and in the end none of the money we committed to send ever made it there. It may never have left here. I know he was beyond irritated. His opinion was that literacy was 50% to 65%. Tradesman had very basic skills.
In service in quickly reducing numbers.
K-22
Member
Updated
The A-10 has been updated, and wil continue to do, what it does bette, than any other aircraft.
The A-10 has been updated, and wil continue to do, what it does bette, than any other aircraft.
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Another name for the mafia you speak of- Congress.
I wasn't aware that money dumpster had any fans, other than opposing pilots.
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Even if the aircraft isn't hit, you know that right now every plane that's been to Haiti in the last month is out of service, in a hanger, and has twenty maintenance personnel combing it for bullet holes. That's expensive. The insurance companies probably didn't even have to say a thing.
OP
DWalt
Member
I have no opinion in the A-10 vs. F-35 debate, other than it seems there are strong arguments on both sides. But I do suspect that by 2050, there will probably be very few human pilots in the cockpits of combat aircraft.The A-10 has been updated, and will continue to do, what it does better than any other aircraft.
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Protocall_Design
Member
The name says it all...Hate-ee.
A good friend of mine at church has gone on missionary trips all over the world and he said Haiti was the poorest and saddest place he had ever been. Their economy is making charcoal and they have cut down so many trees to make it there won't be any left soon. He said the weirdest thing was the ground was moving off in the distance and he found out that was actually a river that they throw all their trash in and it eventually gets over grown with grass, weeds, and bushes. The bad thing is, that's the same river where they bathe and get their drinking water!
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