SGT Mitchell
Posted on 05/28/2004 5:28:43 AM PDT by Eurotwit
Moore leapt from his tank and sprinted down the alley to the men.
"They had expended all their ammo," Moore said. "These guys fought like tigers. The platoon leader was wounded in the head and left leg, and he was still commanding. When I got down there they had guys who were crying. I don't know if they were tears of joy. They fought like wonderful men."
Moore and his men had to fight to get the unit out.
The dead patrol soldier was laid gently on a tank turret along with the wounded.
"While everyone else was fighting, time stopped," Dean said, still amazed by the image of American soldiers caring for a fallen comrade.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Exactly. You hear all this lighten up and get there in a hurry stuff--there needs to be some of that, but the bottom line is--when you get there, will you win? The tankers are showing they can provide the decisive edge.
SGT Mitchell
Well said.
I wonder if any of these guys will get a million dollar book deal and hob-nob with celebrities like Jessica Lynch.
There used to be one at Fort Ord. Trained there myself. Then Clinton got elected and Ft. Ord shut down.
Armored Cav Bump!
I read a review of a book called "The Fourth Generation" or something like that several years ago. It talked about how there are 4 (or whatever number it was) types of generations that just keep repeating themselves (like the roaring 20's and the booming 80's were the same type of baby boomer generation).
It said the young people of today (16 to 24 or so) were the same as the "Greatest Generation" of WWII. The book said they would be self-centered high achievers "unless something significant happens that would turn these "high achievers" to the common good". Something significant like "the attack on Pearl Harbor".
This book was written BEFORE 9/11.
These men (and women) are the next "Greatest Generation".
Kerry was in Vietnam. . .darn. . .I didn't know that. Are you sure?
Not a good position for tankers to be in. A great bunch of soldiers.
I stand in awe of these men and thank God they're on our side.
GBU, MM.
I came over for "Alloy Express 82" in the Herjangsfjord/Narvik area. Had some fun, did some rec dives on German and British destroyers sunk in close action in WW2. Learned about drinking "hembrendt" alcohol in the back of a Volvo. Drove on ice with studded tires. Good times.
This excercise was notable because the British Royal Marines who took part returned to Plymouth just in time to fuel up and sail on to the Falklands war. There was never a more serendipitously scheduled cold/wet military exercise in history!
This account makes the obscenity of Al Gore and Ayatollah Teddy Kennedy and Sleazy Pelosi all the more desoicable. May those anti-American power lusting democrats rot in Hell, sooner rather than later!
This account makes the obscenity of Al Gore and Ayatollah Teddy Kennedy and Sleazy Pelosi all the more despicable. May those anti-American power lusting democrats rot in Hell, sooner rather than later!
For the urban fight, you move at the speed of clearing buildings... since your objective is killing the enemy here, not bypassing him. You can't go 4GW on him, unless you have a way to bypass the tentacles and strike at the head of the octopus -- that is a function of intel (mostly human) and special operations (working together, "fusion" here...) and will ultimately grant victory. (For instance, the key terrain in the fight with Sadr is... Sadr. He needs killin'). But then the poor bloody infantry need to winkle the surviving dead-enders out... same as it was in the caves of Iwo Jima or the rubble of Berlin or Stalingrad (and in all those battles, the combatants learnt to employ combined-arms teams effectively).
It also sounds like there's a serious need for close-in, anti-personnel armament ("we were fighting out of the hatches with rifles and pistols...") They also need some heavier stuff (probably not an M-1 sized gun, though) -- I don't know what sorts of "short, big guns" might work.
The M-4 is really a pretty damned good gun for this kind of thing but it is still too bulky for a tanker. My CO is a reformed tanker who was at the point of the "battle after the nominal ceasefire" in the last Gulf War. He absolutely swears by the M3A1 greasegun. (Of course, he also took out an RPG team with sabot at 50 meters when his coax was down, so he's flexible).
Unlike the boss, I have only fired .45 calibre subguns at non-human targets, mostly paper and some weird plastic stuff. I prefer the M1A1 Thompson -- but it is still probably too awkward for use from a tank hatch. The M4 is handier and more versatile that the TSMG, but if you're in rock-throwing range it's hard to argue with the terminal ballistics of the .45; and you can train anyone to shoot the Tnompson instinctively in a couple of range days, because the ergonomics (apart from the fiddly safety/selector setup, especially on the early models) are great.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
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