How my real life occupation fits into T2000

[Olefin]

Wanted to put this up here to see if anyone has the same kind of day to day interaction with military equipment and hardware as I do. I work as an engineer on military equipment every day. Literally surrounded by Bradley's, M-109's, M88's and other fun pieces of equipment 50 or more hours a week. Thus I have a real appreciation for what US equipment can do, what kinds of damage it can take ( you should have seen some of what we got back from Iraq and Afghanistan!) and what it can dish out.

For instance - how the Marines in Afghanistan turned M88's into assault vehicles with the addition of TAGS kits and 50 cal weapons stations they can use without exposing the gunner as well as loading them with additional anti-tank rockets and on-board weapons.

Or how they recovered M1A1 tanks that were upside down, submerged and buried halfway down in deep river mud in Iraq.

Also gives me an idea of how fast we can turn around equipment and get it back to the military - pretty impressive to see a whole company of Bradley's go by out the gate on its way back to the Army.

I know we have several current and ex-military members on the board and probably people who work on equipment like I do - love to hear how your experiences gave you a better appreciation for the game and if so how.

[DocSavage45B10]

I never worked in a depot, but I repaired small arms and towed weapons when I was active, in theatre, with few tools and parts. For all the criticisms our small arms are pretty darn tough. Just keep 'em clean, don't run them over with 5-tons, and fer the love of pete, don't arc out 24 volt battery systems with yer rifle!

I've seen the AKMs that the other guys are actually using in the field, unless the Russians have _much_ better stuff they don't let anyone else use, our stuff is way better. Sure it works when dirty, but our guys are popping heads while they are trying to hit the barn.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by DocSavage45B10

Sure it works when dirty, but our guys are popping heads while they are trying to hit the barn.

That's mainly due to doctrinal differences. The Soviet doctrine places a lot less emphasis on marksmanship and more on massed automatic suppressive fire, and this is clearly displayed in the lower accuracy of the AK type weaponry and ammunition - there's simply no requirement for accurate weapons, just the ability to put a LOT of rounds down range.

[rcaf_777]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

That's mainly due to doctrinal differences. The Soviet doctrine places a lot less emphasis on marksmanship and more on massed automatic suppressive fire, and this is clearly displayed in the lower accuracy of the AK type weaponry and ammunition - there's simply no requirement for accurate weapons, just the ability to put a LOT of rounds down range.

Most armies teach suppressive fire over markship, let see if I remember this right

Contact
Down/take cover
crawl and observe IE find the enemy
Win the fire fight - IE more round outgoing than incoming
close in and destory
reorganization

[raketenjagdpanzer]

I have no background like that at all. Had the nukes flown in 1997 I'd have been dead in six months or less at the hands of looters, by starvation, or health misadventure (suddenly a bad cold that you just need some tyelnol and a z-pac to shake off is a month-long losing battle that develops into cholera or some other wonderful disease).

[TrailerParkJawa]

I don't have any military skills. In 1997 I did have an odd job working at a landfill gas recovery system. That might be useful after but it isn't a skill thant was too hard to learn. I figure living in silicon valley would be fairly dangerous afterward. So making it to 2000 would be mostly luck.

[James Langham]

Hmmm, lets see what skills I have:

first aid instructor plus Army Cadet Force instructor for 22 years plus the occasional course training aide workers in hostile environment survival. Plus a degree in Librarianship and Information Studies helping me to find out how to do things.

In TW2000 I was probably called up and killed in action though...

[DocSavage45B10]

Dead is also suppressed. I'm not a gravel belly (despite my love for the Garand) but when I have seen with my own mk 1 eyeballs joes standing in the open making picked shots with AK rounds impacting all around, but no where close, it leaves an impression.

Now these where Cav troopers, Paras, and Marines, not Nasty Guards or us REMFs (fine thing to call the guy running the deuce on the convoy escort, but then when I was there, we fobbits didn't have running water or AC either), but with training our equipment just outclasses their stuff.

Like our tanks killing theirs from beyond their effective.

Find, fix, flank, and destroy with fire and maneuver is still the name of the game, but accuracy and ergonomics help with all of those fazes save the final moments of the assault.

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

Most armies teach suppressive fire over markship, let see if I remember this right

Contact
Down/take cover
crawl and observe IE find the enemy
Win the fire fight - IE more round outgoing than incoming
close in and destory
reorganization

[Targan]

Originally Posted by raketenjagdpanzer

Had the nukes flown in 1997 I'd have been dead in six months or less at the hands of looters, by starvation, or health misadventure (suddenly a bad cold that you just need some tyelnol and a z-pac to shake off is a month-long losing battle that develops into cholera or some other wonderful disease).

Holy crap! A cold can develop into cholera? Well, so much for me thinking I had a solid handle on how diseases work.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Originally Posted by Targan

Holy crap! A cold can develop into cholera? Well, so much for me thinking I had a solid handle on how diseases work.

Heh, I just mean it'd leave you (or, rather, me in the example) so weak I could catch something really horrible, really quickly. Which would also be untreatable given the circumstances.