Soldier's Invention Aids Gunners

Defense News ^ | Spc. Anna-Marie Hizer

[SandRat]

U.S. Army Sgt. Ben Smith

Soldier's Invention Aids Gunners

By Spc. Anna-Marie Hizer 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment KIRKUK, Iraq, July 5, 2006 -- Soldiers are issued and use thousands of dollars worth of equipment every day. They depend on this gear to keep them safe and to make their jobs and lives easier. Sometimes, however, modifications need to be made to certain items. Enter innovation. When something does not work, or does not work exactly as it should, soldiers often use their own ingenuity to make it work better. Sgt. Ben Smith, Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, is one example of a soldier-inventor. When the native of Birmingham, Ala., realized the Improved Target Acquisition System, used by turret gunners, could not be mounted on the unit’s new trucks, he set out to fix the problem, while at the same time maintaining the safety of the gunner protection kits. “We had to make a lot of parts out of scratch,” he said. “It took about a month and a half to build the prototype.” With the new mounts in place and in use on four trucks belonging to Company D, 2/327th Infantry Regiment, Smith said he is happy with how his creation turned out. “They have been able to use the trucks for observation, route clearance and other missions,” Smith said. He added that feedback has been positive, noting that gunners feel better being able to fire using the Improved Target Acquisition System.

U.S. Army Sgt. Ben Smith, a mechanic with Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, grinds down the armor-plated door of a Humvee in Kirkuk, Iraq, June 30, 2006. Smith created a new mount for the Improved Target Acquisition System, a type of sight system used by turret gunners. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Anna-Marie Hizer Smith said he will continue to improve items when needed and make something new if the Infantry soldiers need it. “The infantry is my customer,” he said. “Whatever they need, I make for them.”

Last Updated: 07/05/2006, 11:23:48 AM EDT Live DoD Programming Video On-Demand

[SandRat]

GOOD OLE Yankee Ingenuity.

[edpc]

Adapt and Overcome.

[cripplecreek]

Enter innovation. When something does not work, or does not work exactly as it should, soldiers often use their own ingenuity to make it work better.



As it's always been.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

a friend of mine has a saying when searching for innovation.."see the hill, take the hill"..

[MD_Willington_1976]

Patent applied for?

[DuncanWaring]

Hedgerow cutter?

[cripplecreek]

Hedgerow cutter?

Yeah, or as my granddad called them "The Rhino". Also notice the sand bags due to the unfortunate finding that American tanks weren't armored well.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

The other famous contemporary innovation was the drum mounted in front of a Sherman tank, with chains attached. The contraption would be rolled over a minefield with the drum spinning and the chains flailing beating the ground to pulp and detonating any mines in its path.

Allegedly when Eisenhower showed it off to Gen. Zhukov he explained that the Soviets "cleared" a minefield by marching Infantry over it. (Of course, they had construction battalions of non-Russians, whom he probably considered expendable.)

[cripplecreek]

I've read that the Germans were terrified of the flail even though it wasn't even a weapon in strict terms. I've seen video and it is scary looking.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

hedgehog was also a name for those beautiful teeth on the sherman

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

But...but...no enviromental impact study? No paperwork filled out?

[Tanniker Smith]

Mr. Smith (no relation), when you get home, have a cold one on me. I salute you!

[Right Wing Assault]

Go, Ben! It's good to see someone who loves his job and wants to help the other guys. He could just as well have said, "It doesn't work. It's not my job to fix it."