NNSA Dismantles Last Nuclear Artillery Shell; Battefield Weapons Were Retired by George H.W. Bush

releases.usnewswire.com ^

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Iron tires on wooden gun wheels are not new. All the horse-drawn vehicle wheels I can recall seeing had them.

[Rome2000]

The good news is that they can be reassembled, if not as quickly as a raghead can put together a WMD in Iraq, but quick enough.

[U S Army EOD]

They hit the Airforce Officers club when I was there in 1977, I don't know what they did in 1979.

[U S Army EOD]

Horse drawn? Hell we had to pull ours, ourselves, what will they think of next?

[Rome2000]

Test of nuclear artillery piece, Nevada test range, 1953

Al Queda is still trying to get to as cool as we were 50 years ago.

Too bad for them the Democrats are out of power.

[T-Bird45]

Sorry -- overlooked the year. I was there in 1978 - 1981. Was that the reason the O-Club at the Airbase was not used and had been moved to the American Arms Hotel in town? When I arrived, the community was more Army than Air Force and the community commander was the V Corps Artillery commander, BG Maurer. This was because of Jimmy Carter's "Brigade 76" being stationed at the Wiesbaden Air Base.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Well, you are older than I am. Horses hadn't been invented yet back when you had to pull your own gun.

[U S Army EOD]

I left in September of 1977. I got passed over for AUSA Major for the second time and got booted out. I took an European out and was released in Germany. I went over to England and bought a 36' sailboat and sailed it back to the States. I got even with the Army for the involuntary release from active duty when I went up to Fort Gordon and turned in my travel voucher, POV from Frankfurt, Germany to Lincolnton, Georgia. They paid me MAC tariff rates.

[U S Army EOD]

Horses were around, we just didn't know what we were supposed to use them for.

[T-Bird45]

Tough deal on getting the boot but your revenge sounds sweet. My best friend from college caught the same boot on a pass-over for Major in the late 80's drawdown. I got out after completing my obligation in the National Guard in 1984.

[Monty22]

Besides, we have lots of B61 Dial-A-Yields that can go from 1.5kiloton up to a lot. I think B83's go from 1.5kt to 1.2megaton.

So we have lots of flexibility now. But I am all for more r&d of them.

[U S Army EOD]

I survived all 4 of the normal RIF's of the 1966 year group, what was left of us had only an 18% selection rate to O4. I did finish my 20 years in the USAR and will get that in September. When I did get promoted to Major in the USAR it was under more stringent selection rules than the one I was passed over, explain that????

[T-Bird45]

You pose a tough question because I couldn't see why my buddy wasn't promoted, i.e. had done all the right ticket-punching: OBC, troop duty, Advanced Course, battery command, staff position, ROTC cadre duty.

One of the ROTC cadre at my college got caught in the 70's RIF's as a Major. Never did understand that, either. He went to work for the university and kept in contact with us. Probably was too nice a guy.

The mysteries of the Army promotion system only got weirder due to state politics when I went NG . Besides work and family demands, the politics played a part in my decision to get out.

Just to get back on topic, if I had it to do over again, I should have gone to an 8" artillery unit in the NG rather than the 105 unit I chose. At least in the 8" unit, they could have used my experience in a nuclear capable artillery unit during active duty. The 8" units in OK converted to MLRS in the late 80's and went to the big sandbox for Desert Storm. That would have sent my wife straight up!!!!

[U S Army EOD]

Actually if the Army had left me as a captain in command of EOD units, they could have had me for 100 years. They wouldn't even have had to pay me but just feed me. I was so happy in those assignments and felt like I "fitted in" more than anything I have ever done in my life.

[DeepDish]

Thanks. I did not know that the firing destroyed the field piece. 50 feet is a dang short string considering what is going downrange.

[kg4kpg]

Davy Crocket could not be fired off a jeep, it was as big as a house.

[kg4kpg]

I was on a SWAT team in germany also but from 87 to 89. I hate to see them go away but I guess it was bound to happen. I remember carrying the training round up the four floors worth of stairs daily to our attic classroom in our old german barracks at Schweinfurt. Wonder if any of the training models are left, wouldn't mind having one as a keepsake.

[kg4kpg]

my bad, I was thinking of something else. Davy can be fired from a jeep.