#61
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There was the same sort of story going around in Desert Storm, except it was a camel instead of a water buffalo. Stories like that probably come out of every war.
__________________
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons...First We Take Manhattan, Jennifer Warnes Entirely too much T2K stuff here: www.pmulcahy.com |
#62
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You can almost see several Iraqis, sitting around drinking coffee and watching the Marines setting fire to each other's pubic hair.
"Assem! The Americans are even sicker running dogs than Sadaam said they were!" |
#63
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From a REFORGER exercise in 1982....
Two Army warrent officers are going to be court-martialed for their choice of lunch. It seems that the two chiefs were tired of C-Rations and decided to stop off at a MacDonald's somewhere in Germany. The reason why they were being court-martialed? Their choice of vehicle! They decided to land their AH-1 in the parking lot...and got caught on tape!! |
#64
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Talked to an ole buddy of mine who served with the 11th ACR during Vietnam as a M-48 gunner. He tells me of a little modification that was used...
This involves a standard M-48 tank, and six Claymore mines, and some steel plate and welding equipment. One of the major disadvantages of any tanks is that the closer you are to the tank, the harder it is for the crew to see you and bring weapons to bear, especially if the crew has been forced to button up the hatches. This mod involves welding two "L" shaped brackets in board of the dismounted headlights, mounting a claymore on each and running the firing wires into the driver's compartment. Two additional "I" shaped brackets are welded to the lower hull, one set in between the number 1 and 2 roadwheels and the second in front of the sprocket and angled to point out at a 45 degree angle, the firing wires are run along the side of the hull towards the rear, through the gap inbetween the sprocket and hull, back over the rear deck and into the driver's compartment. Gives a rather nasty surprise to any hostile infantry trying to get close with a satchel charge or two! |
#65
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Dad's WWII Stories
I was visiting my Dad for his 87th (!!) brithday last week. He regailed me of some of the stories from his WWII Navy Experience.
1) Dad was a Radar/Sonar man in a PBY Catalina. He flew anti-sub patrols off of Florida. During one patrol, he reported a blip on his sonar. Radio man and navigator confirmed free fire zone. They dropped their two depth charges.... Up came a dead whale.... SOOO...Being the enterprising chaps that they were, instead of German, Italian or Japanese flags painted on their plane...THey painted a whale!!! 2) On days not flying, Dad and his group were MP's at a German/Italian Naval forces POW camp. Being typical GI's, Dad and his group would give extra clothing, blankets, rations, cigarettes, etc to the prisoners. Now it seems that there were a couple of German Officers who insisted that all of these goodies belonged to them... Well, as Dad put it...Those German Officers fell down the steps....several times. Hard. 3) Towards the end of WWII, Dad was training to be a carrier fighter pilot for the invasion of Japan. We have a picture of Dad in his flying outfit. Red Barron beware!!!! Dad dressed in leather jacket, leather helmet, scarf, goggles, gloves, etc. You see, training back then was done in BI-PLANES!!!!! Also, as part of the "unofficial" training, there were many "Points" scored by Dad and his fellow learners when they would run the landing gear of their planes on TOP of the long freight trains that moved material. Hope you enjoy these stories. Dad sure enjoys telling them. Mike |
#66
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ucca,_Iraq.jpg Near as I can tell, it's an APC used to quell prison riots or something? not sure though, little info out there. |
#67
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It's always scary when people mention Air Force and using armored vehicles. In the armor battalions, one of the three tanks in Headquarters Company is the -66 vehicle and it belongs to the Air Force forward observer. You know, that "lost" looking major in Air Force uniform, wandering around...
They normally stay in their jeep during field exercises. But a decision was made to run them through the Tank Commander's Certification Course and turn them into instant TCs. While it seemed a good idea to some REMF buried deep in the bowels of the Pentagon, taking an airdale and putting them in a tank was a recipe for trouble. Especially when they had to go to gunnery. The M-60A1 tank is equipped with a gyro-stabilizer that maintains traverse and elevation while the tank is moving. To stabilize, there is a control box with two dials, the gunner simply rotates the dials to hold the gun/turret steady. Simple, right? Shooting with a three man crew means that the tank commander also has to act as gunner, which is why the TC position has the ability to move the turret and fire a weapon, many TCs are adapt at reaching into the gunner's position to flip switches, index ammo, arm the co-axial, etc. Our airdale saw this being done and thought he could go one better, while holding the turret override control, he stretched his leg and tried to kick the switch for the co-ax...except he missed and engaged the stabilizer...and knocked both knobs out of adjustment. Since he had the override engaged, the gun moved to max elevation, causing him to slip, and since he didn't let go of the override, the turret proceed to slew left at max speed. On the firing range we watched in awe as the turret spun about a dozen times before he released the override. We also got to listen to his terrified screaming and cursing over the radio circuit! And Range Control couldn't help themselves: "Ahhhh, Hotel-66, please observe correct radio procedure!" |
#68
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My dad was employed as a civilian contractor with Burroughs Business Machines, installing the SAGE network into NORAD stations across Canada (Pine-Tree and Mid-Canada radar lines). Mostly up north like northern Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, BC. Not the "Far North", more like what we call the "deep bush". (Like the Australians, we have our "outback" except we have so much there are increasingly severe degrees of outbackedness.) Speaking of "brass-catchers", he met my mom in the officer's club of one of these bases (Mt. Brother near Kamloops). A friend of hers dragged her there to troll for Air Force officers (she says) but she ended up dating the tech guy so go figure. This would have been in the early 60's, and his memories of Operation Skyshield II and III, not to mention real alerts, were particularly harrowing. It's understandable why the results of these full-dress exercises were kept secret until recently (hint: we would have gotten creamed in a nuclear war unless we struck first). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Skyshield At any rate, he said that Air Force guys running around the station with guns was always considered a bad sign! One day up in the Interior (mid-northern BC) he was having coffee in the cafeteria when an AF guy packing a carbine came in and started closing the windows and shuttering them. It was a fallout exercise and they were locking down the base, although they were probably the only worthwhile target within 500km. Curious, dad asked if he'd closed the rest of the base, including the ventilation and air conditioning for the computer annex (where the SAGE main-frames were located) even though the intakes were filtered and the building kept at positive pressure. As you may have guessed from the time period, this was when computers had to be kept well-cooled (I think he said the SAGE mainframes used water or liquid cooling). When the answer was he started at that end of the base first and indeed had shut everything down, including the SAGE annex, dad bolted for the door. He arrived at the far side of the base just before the coolant boiled over and destroyed the mainframe. This is an unrelated, but hilarious infantry briefing (submitted to the webcomic "Terminal Lance" and is Not Safe For Work): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sxXe...layer_embedded Tony Last edited by helbent4; 10-26-2010 at 08:23 PM. |
#69
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My great-great-uncle John Harris (one of the few people on my stepmonster's side of the family worth anything) was a Marine in World War 1. (He unfortunately died about 15 years ago at the age of 99.) Seems the Germans one day sent an officer under a flag of truce to the the Marines' lines. The German commander was highly pissed at the Marines' "ungentlemanly" behavior -- the Marines would start an engagement by consistently picking off Germans at 600-800 yards. Not just a sniper or two, but the whole Marine unit!
I think the German commander was just pissed because his troops couldn't shoot as well.
__________________
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons...First We Take Manhattan, Jennifer Warnes Entirely too much T2K stuff here: www.pmulcahy.com |
#70
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There is an intresting story out of one of the Red Flag exercises held in Nevada. It seems that the RAF sent some Buccaneers over as Red Force bombers. The USAF, with its brand new F-15Cs was looking forward to nailing the RAF...so much so that a case of Dewar's Scotch was bet on the outcome. The result... RAF made 12 attacks on targets and never lost a single plane. They did it by doing nap of the earth, at less than 100 feet altitude and at high speed. It turns out the much-vaunted Eagles couldn't see on radar at such low altitude, and that the older Buccaneers, were faster and more maneuverable than the Eagles at low level. Game, set and match to the Royal Air Force!!!!! |
#71
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I ran across a hardbook on WWI that talked about the Germans rifle practise taking place at indoor ranges and at ranges of no more than 100 yards. US Marines and Army, prewar, trained at up to 1,000 yards. The Germans, while not as bayonet-happy as the French (is anybody more bayonet-happy than the French?), believed that the bayonet would overpower the rifle. They also believed that the true man-killer was artillery and machine guns. So when the Germans ran into the 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the AEF, there are so many accounts from both sides of how American rifle fire at unheard of ranges, slaughtered attacking Germans. |
#72
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I once had a First Sergeant who was (in)famous for his safety briefings:
"Alright you horny bunch of f**king troopers! You have a f**king three day weekend and its time for our Safety f**king Briefing! Remember! If you get f**king drunk, call the CQ to have a f**king ride back to the f**king kaserne! Don't f**king Drink and f**king Drive! If you are going to f**k a local, use a f**king condom! If you plan of f**king passing out in a f**king ditch, have a f**king pair of f**king dry socks handy so you don't get f**king trench foot! No f**king fighting with the f**king MPs! And if one of you f**king idiots decide to take on the f**king Polizei, don't f**king call me to bail your f**king ass out! I plan on f**king my wife! Anybody have a f**king question? Good! Dismissed!" The Army...gotta love it! |
#73
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Well, Dragoon ...
His German was not bad
__________________
I'm from Germany ... PM me, if I was not correct. I don't want to upset anyone! "IT'S A FREAKIN GAME, PEOPLE!"; Weswood, 5-12-2012 |
#74
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What can I say, he was a great First Sergeant, it's just that every sentence he ever uttered had f**k in it!
"Is there any the f**k else you would like to f**king add Captain?" "Lieutenant, I've seen some stupid f**king mistakes in my f**king 32 years of service. But this f**king takes the cake, Sir!" |
#75
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How about RN Admiral Woodward's story about how he 'sank' a US CVN (cited in his Falklands memoir)? On a 1970s exercise in the Indian Ocean, his DD was supposed to be the target for a CVBG. At night, his ship rigged all the lights possible, and had the radio crew pretend to be an Indian cruise ship every time a plane flew over. At dawn, they were in antiship missile range of the carrier.
__________________
My Twilight claim to fame: I ran "Allegheny Uprising" at Allegheny College, spring of 1988. |
#76
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Quote:
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__________________
I will not hide. I will not be deterred nor will I be intimidated from my performing my duty, I am a Canadian Soldier. |
#77
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#78
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I shot a camel in the ass with a 120mm boot round in the storm. After months of mre's it tasted good.
__________________
"There is only one tactical principal which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time." --General George S. Patton, Jr. |
#79
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did we?). And for added entertainment, your tank platoon is fresh off of gunnery, and the stink of ammonia-based propellent is lingering, and since its day 4 of the FX...the chance to bath, has not been recent...breakfast was an MRE and the lethal combination of BO, diesel exhaust, ammonia, poor food and the rough ride leaves you about to toss your cookies! Nothing gets the ole platoon going like watching the new lieutenant puking his guts out over the side of the ole turret!!! And sitting right next to you, in his loader's hatch is your evil loader (satanic bastard!) With a mouth full of ole Redman and a plastic bottle that he is spitting in...strapped right there where you can watch it out of the corner of your eye, where you can enjoy the pleasure of watching his "residue", splash around the inside.... Sucks to be a green 2nd Lieutenant... |
#80
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Got to thinking about bad designs and came across this journel entry.
During the Cold War, US tanks (M-60A1s) stationed close to the border carried a basic load of 50 rounds of main gun ammo, especially those units close to the Fulda Gap. At the time of this incident, the mix was 40 rounds of APDS and 10 rounds of HEAT. Now the 105mm HEAT round looks sort of like a potato masher grenade right out of WWII, a flat nose clyinder with a pipe sticking out of the end. This pipe housed the point-detonating fuse and the fuse itself was protected with a screw on cap. Normally the round is loaded as is, since the inside of the cap has a small point designed to impact on the nose of the fuze and start the reaction. The screw cap had one flaw. Over time, the paint holding it in place starts to crack and the movement of the tank causes the cap to unscrew. The main gun rounds were routinely downloaded for inspection as well as prior to any gunnery (being replaced with practice rounds). Part of the download process was for the loader to test the cap and if he found it loose, to pass it out to the tanker standing next to the turret, to be transported to a blast pit where an EOD specialist would refix the screwcap and paint it again. A simple process, performed 2-3 times a year and always preceeded with a safety briefing so everyone is on the same track. We had a brand new kid, straight out of Armor Basic. He was assigned to my tank as the loader, (I was a new PFC, driver), but due to his inexperience, I was inside the tank, removing the rounds, and passing them up to my tank commander to be handed down to the ground and moved to the ammo bay. I found a HEAT round with a loose cap and passed it up to the TC, advising him, and he repeated back to me "Loose Cap!" He handed it down to our new man, and I heard the repeat "Loose Cap!" I was travesing the turret to get to a hull rack when my TC dove, head first through the loader's hatch, at almost the same moment, there was an explosion and the tank rocked sideways. By the time I had helped my TC back up through the hatch, the rest of the platoon had gathered in stunned silence. According to my TC, our new man had accepted the HEAT round and stepped back, as my TC started to turn back to the tank, he saw the new guy, take the round by the base and ram the projectile into the concrete to reset the screwcap, at this point my TC dove for cover. Since the screwcap only has to travel a quarter of an inch to impact the fuze.... Hell of a way to give your life for your country.... |
#81
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"F**king f**ker's f**ked" |
#82
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It's always amazing all of the things that you learn in the military, not just the wild parties, but the utter depths that your native language is capable of. Not to mention the ability to learn the major local insults within 72-hours of arriving at your new duty station!
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#83
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Not sure what a boot round is, But IMHO, shooting a camel with 120mm ANYTHING,......there can NOT be much left of the camel?!?!
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#84
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Slang for sabot maybe? I know that sabot is French for shoe.
__________________
"It is better to be feared than loved" - Nicolo Machiavelli |
#85
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__________________
Just because I'm on the side of angels doesn't mean I am one. |
#86
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The Japanese, at least through WWII, were quite bayonet-happy, as the common soldier considered their bayonet their katana. Worth mentioning that Japanese bayonets were quite large, even for the period.
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#87
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Hey, sounds like a hell of a guy! This is the strip in "Terminal Lance" that the comments in the video referenced: http://terminallance.com/comics/2010...n_What_web.jpg I think this also qualifies as a "stupid GI trick": http://terminallance.com/wp-content/...o-768x1024.jpg Because it was done in response to this strip: http://terminallance.com/comics/2010...ecruit_web.jpg Tony Last edited by helbent4; 10-28-2010 at 11:00 PM. |
#88
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#89
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You mean like remembering to say "Amen" instead of "f*ckin' A!"?
__________________
"It is better to be feared than loved" - Nicolo Machiavelli |
#90
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I wonder if they tested the claymore rigs there -- I was always told that a sand bag backing was preferred to prevent damage to the backing armor on a 113. I'd also think a test shot would blow their brackets to smithereens. |
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