LawnMower Man 6

Proud Christian, Husband & Father
Retired Marine Corps (1995-2020): Combat Correspondent; Editor;
Military Planner; Combat Engineer Officer; OIF/OEF Veteran

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

One of my all-time favorite videos of Charlie Kirk
(NOT from his last day on Earth.)
Charlie was a shining star among conservative influencers, who believed in polite and respectful discourse with anyone willing to come up and talk to him ... many of whom disagreed with his opinions vehemently.

I miss Charlie's voice on the right, but take solace in the fact that he knew the correct answer to the most important question ever posed to us, and lived his life accordingly.
God bless, LMM-6

Please FOLLOW and SHARE my page if you like. I'm trying to grow my own conservative voice and reach a larger audience.

“If I Had 30 Seconds to Live, What Would You Tell Me?” | Rest in Peace C... https://t.co/pwQbXsdEVV via @YouTube

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

Here's a good starting point for you. I was closely involved in the Counter IED fight, 2003-2007, and remember it as a particularly bloody and brutal time of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

At least 603 U.S. personnel deaths (roughly 17% of U.S. fatalities in Iraq from 2003–2011), plus thousands of Iraqi deaths, according to U.S. Department of Defense assessments; precise totals for all Iraqi civilian/combatant casualties are not available.
The most authoritative and specific figure comes from declassified U.S. military assessments released around 2019. The Pentagon stated that during Operation Iraqi Freedom, at least 603 U.S. personnel deaths resulted from attacks by Iran-backed militants (proxies of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Quds Force). Some contemporaneous reports cited 608. This represented about 17% of all U.S. personnel deaths in Iraq in that period (total U.S. military deaths in the Iraq theater were roughly 4,400–4,500). Earlier estimates had been around 500.
These deaths involved:
Explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) and other IEDs (a major portion; one CENTCOM subset for EFPs alone from late 2005–2011 was 196 killed and 861 wounded).
Improvised rocket-assisted munitions (IRAMs).
Rockets, mortars, RPGs, small arms, snipers, and other attacks.
A related Defense Intelligence Agency assessment broke down a similar total of at least 603 primarily as ~448 from EFPs/other IEDs in areas of Shia militant activity, ~142 from RPG/rocket/mortar/small-arms attacks, and ~13 from IRAMs (the latter used mainly by groups such as Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq). Most occurred during the height of the conflict and surge years, concentrated in Baghdad and southern Iraq. Iran supplied designs, components, training (sometimes via Hezbollah), and direction to Shia “Special Groups” and militias.
U.S. officials and State Department statements added that this U.S. toll was “in addition to the many thousands of Iraqis killed by the IRGC’s proxies.” Iranian-backed Shia militias participated heavily in sectarian violence, death-squad activity, and attacks on Iraqi security forces and civilians (especially Sunnis) during the civil-war phase, as well as later fighting. However, comprehensive, independently verified tallies isolating only Iran/proxy responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of total excess/violent Iraqi deaths (estimates vary widely by source, e.g., Iraq Body Count documented figures in the low-to-mid hundreds of thousands for civilians across the broader conflict) do not exist in precise form. Attribution is inherently difficult amid multi-sided violence involving Sunni insurgents/AQI, Coalition forces, Iraqi government forces, criminal groups, and others.
Iran denied or downplayed direct responsibility, framing involvement as support for Iraqi Shia against occupation or Sunni extremists. U.S. assessments relied on forensics (e.g., EFP signatures), intelligence, detainee reporting, and patterns of weapons/training. Later periods (post-2011, anti-ISIS operations, or 2019–2020s attacks) involve additional Iranian-linked casualties but fall outside the core 2003–2011 Iraq War phase typically referenced.
In short, the clearest quantified attribution is the ~603+ U.S. deaths; broader Iraqi casualties linked to Iran and its proxies number in the thousands at minimum but lack an exact official total.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

@MasterGunzU @CynicalPublius Always the best wisdom from a Master Guns. S/F

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

@GuntherEagleman I got no skin in the game, and Talarico is an absolute nutball.
But could the Texas GOP show some respect for their voters, and pick someone with a few less scandals next time?

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

@EricLDaugh I so wish Sophie Cunningham would have had the presence of mind to get off the ground, and just point her finger at Carrington.
Her signature move would have broke the internet with the memes.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

@GuntherEagleman @libsoftiktok Some might call this money laundering. Sounds about as legal and legit as Hunter Biden's "art sales" to his China fan club.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

@SenSchumer The nerve of them, Chuckles!
If they dump another $200 billion into the war on Iran, they'll still only be halfway to the blank check you rubber-stamped with Biden to get laundered through Ukraine.
WITH ABSOLUTELY ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY!
You frigging hypocrite!

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

#2 would be Hurricane or Typhoon Season when young knuckleheads in the barracks would strap ponchos to their wrists and ankles and try to become "Flying Squirrels."
Or sandwich someone between two mattresses, wrap it all in duct tape and chuck them off the second deck.
Gangway for Sick Bay!

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

@SGTWipper1Each I'm gonna have to go with emptying the 55 gallon drum burnout heads, and stirring the pot with a few gallons of JP-8. Takes months to forget that horrible smell.
Try explaining that one to family and friends.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

@mattvanswol Kamala would be so proud of them!
She loves electric buses.
I'm sure they'll have plenty of charity CEO positions waiting for them in California, if people in NC start to complain too much. Grifters gotta eat. (At the French Laundry usually.)

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

Possible. Besides the potential for nuclear capability, not much else would reach the level of Special Access Programs. All of the ballistic missile and drone info would be likely be Secret or TS.

Here's a Grok summary of Kent's recent statements.
And an attached list of Iran's attacks on US assets. Seems like a well-established pattern of threatening US national security interests to me.

For context on earlier views:
In his Senate confirmation testimony around 2025 (approximately one year before the resignation), Kent reportedly described Iran and its terror proxies as threats to U.S. servicemembers in the Middle East.
Other pre-2026 statements (e.g., in 2024-2025 interviews or contexts) portrayed radical Iran as posing an existential threat to the West and Gulf countries, advocating preemptive action against its ballistic capabilities.
His 2026 resignation marked a sharp pivot, emphasizing no imminent threat from Iran itself.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

These are all good questions to put in a letter to your Congressmen, rather than replying to anonymous people on X.
As I said in my last comment, I feel the world is safer when when Iran possesses less ballistic missiles, drones and potential for nuclear capability.
Up until 2025, they were still largely considered the #1 STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM.

I appreciate your willingness to speak out on this, and wish you well in your endeavors.
God Bless and Semper Fidelis.
- LawnMower Man 6
FYI, it's been nearly 20 years since someone called me Captain.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

I believe the original post was about me doubting that it was active duty Marines who were the "conscientious objectors." It was meant partially in jest. If they were Marines, I did not actually intend to call their chain of command. It's known as SARCASM.

Yes, I've had plenty of second thoughts about the justification for US wars in Iraq and AFG. And plenty of bitterness for friends I've lost, and the trillions of dollars pissed away without clear objectives and endstates. Will any of my whining, or yours, result in anything at this point?

My personal opinion is the world will be far safer, if the Iranian terrorists are weakened, and stripped of their means to fund and equip themselves and their proxies. Maybe not forever, maybe for 10 or 15 years.

Feel free to disagree. Write your Congressmen, march in a "No More Wars" protest, if that suits your fancy.
It's no longer my fight. I gave 25 years to the cause, and I'd rather try to enjoy what's left of my life then rehash and squabble about this nonsense any more.
God Bless our troops, and God Bless America.
✝️🙏🇺🇸

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

I'm done corresponding with you, Clown Show.
My bio and posts speak for themselves.

If you believe me to be a faker or committing Stolen Valor, then by all means, please exercise your civic duty, and take screenshots of my posts and report them to the VA and Dept of War.
Otherwise, feel free to shut your mouth and go annoy someone else - preferably not a veteran. Harassing retired military members is a pretty sad way to spend your time.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

I'm not comparing myself to Meyer. Only stating that we were in a pretty kinetic sh!thole part of the world.
I lost some close friends off Meyer's team, and don't feel the need to justify myself or my service to you or anyone else.
Feel free to disagree with me, POTUS or anyone else you see fit.
I don't know you and your opinions mean nothing to me.
Carry on, tough guy.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

@Crumbuloni @GlitchDotCraft @CCW4COs Just thought I'd let you know, since you seem to be an expert on military service.
The "m" in Marine is always capitalized. But any former Marine would know that, combat correspondent or otherwise.
Don't let me keep you from your trolling, d-bag.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

Thank you for your input.
To clarify, I was STATIONED in Okinawa.
I DEPLOYED to Eastern Afghanistan.
We did attempt to train the Afghan soldiers to fill sandbags for their machine gun positions. However due to their laziness and lack of motivation, we mostly ended up doing that ourselves.
I will pass on to the rest of our team that we were in a non-combatant role. The team that replaced us received one Medal of Honor (Dakota Meyer) and two Navy Crosses. Which seems weird for non-combatants.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

I'm not second-guessing his service record.
I'm questioning his motivation, as to why he viewed Iran as a terrorist threat, and stated so numerous times PUBLICLY, up until 2024.
And now has done a complete 180, stating Iran never posed a threat to US national security interests. And condemning the military operation in Iran.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

I'm not sure why you're so intent on shitposting all over my comments. Can you tell me specifically what about my bio proves that I'm not a veteran?

NO ONE pretends to be a 4341. LARPers pretend to be 0311s and scout snipers. And fighter pilots. Not combat correspondents.

You obviously know enough to Google MOS's. Are you a disgruntled, former admin clerk? Too many NJPs and you got kicked out with a BCD? Spent your whole enlistment on restriction and Extra Police Duty?

Please enlighten me of your extensive military experience that tells you I'M the one who's full of shit.
Pound sand, poser.

[LawnMower Man 6 @bryanlieske]

Thank you for the history lesson, old timer. I served through all twenty years of those Forever Wars, and lost more friends than I can count in Iraq to IRANIAN-made IEDs and EFPs.
But please, tell me more about your non-deployed time in the 1980s, spent standing guard duty at Camp Devil Dog.

I personally have no problem with a President who is willing to avenge the deaths of my friends and eliminate Iran as a terrorist threat, once and for all.

Semper Fidelis. If that still applies to you.