SgtMuhammed

I was so mezmorized that I was expecting some scary picture to pop up followed by Matt's maniachal laughter.

From an old Squad Leader, you guys still serving take care of yourselves. Keep your feet dry and your weapon clean. I still miss it. Thanks.

Could be, when I was playing with it I don't think it even had a designation yet. The only thing I hated about it was that it had no low battery warning. It would be fine one minute and then just cut off. It is so strange looking at the military from the outside now. It still tears me up not to be part of it. I really miss the guys.

Thanks. When I was doing the Force XXI stuff they gave us hand held SINCGARS which I really loved. Have they issued any of those out?

I noticed one of the photos earlier with the guy with the radio on his back. Did the Army switch radios since 2000? That thing is tiny compared to the old SINCGARS.

I still don't see him.

To help cut down on those pesky wardrobe decisions before 1st formation. Of course it could be an effort to end the nasty profiling of forest as green and desert as brown.

What "poor guy in bunnysuit?"

Most of the time it isn't their choice. Plus Russian vehicles are notorious for being extreemly cramped inside. Once you pack them full of gear though Brads, 113s, and BMPs are about the same.

If the 2S25 points its 125mm to the side and fires will it flip over? Looks like a cartoon.

One problem I can see with trenches as terrain is that everyone can see terrain at all times, the same is not true of trenches even with modern imagery.

Vehicle mounted .50s are all primarily for AA. Not that anyone actually expects to hit anything but just putting rounds within the field of view of the pilot might just save your bacon. As others have said, seeing SPA on the map would entail a major overrun of an enemy position and from an entirely unexpected and unwatched avenue of approach. After all, driving away is something SP units are pretty good at.

I think it is a lens cap but for the Thermal sight just below the TV camera. It looks about the right size.

The main thing to remember with patrols is to stick to your mission. What are you trying to do, locate the enemy, counter recon, search and destroy? For each you will need a different TO&E. A recon patrol should be light but not so light that they will die at first contact. You want them to be able to gather information not just get shot. For this reason I tend not to use split squads as mine tend to die too quickly for my liking. Several platoons without heavy support works well. One thing to avoid is trying to turn your recon into an attack against a set defense. Have forces ready to exploit any opportunities but don't rely on your recon element to be that force unless you have very favorable circumstances. For counter recon you need to keep forces moving along likely areas of approach and especially on terrain that the enemy will find useful. They should be a little heavier than recon patrols so they can expect to eliminate them. Nothing worse than losing a patrol and giving up information to the enemy. You will probably want to give them at least minor AT capability to counter ACs and HTs while tanks should be targeted for other systems. Good counter recon requires constant supervision as it is very easy to just move the patrol into a position and leave them. Always remember that it is the route you aren't watching that the enemy will always take. For search and destroy I find it best to treat it as a small movement to contact. Try to make contact with a small element that won't die before they can establish good contact. Then manuever the main body to deal with the contact. If it turns out to be larger than your patrol can handle you can either have them become the base of fire for the rest of your force or use their firepower to enable the patrol to withdraw. Just remember to keep to your intended purpose unless the situation absolutely requires it.

Another thing to remember is that part of fatigue in battle is due to the rush. Your heart is pounding even when moving slowly once things hit the fan. Everything feels heavier and you always feel like you are moving in thick mud. Mental exhaustion has much more impact than physical.

True, the Stryker brigades would be getting a lot of kit for field trials. We used to when I was working with the Force XXI when I was with 1/5 INF.

What is that stubby thing on the side of the SAW and M4 in the last picture? The M4 has a PAQ4 on the top but I haven't seen the other thing. Some sort of flash light maybe? Also it looks like they gave the SAW a new barrel and stock since I last used one. Looks like it is being optimized for CQB.

Grunts will always appreciate the ability to punch lots of holes in enemy cover.

Tamp a couple grenades behind some sandbags or other material and they will blow a hole quite nicely. Repeat as needed or use something else to enlarge the hole. We aren't talking about blowing a hole in the Maginot fortifications. Interior walls, even in stout European construction, are just brick and we are only making an opening enough to crawl through.

Angryson: glad you're back man. All you need in that photo is some winter whites. I cracked up when I saw the 550 cord around your PAQ4. Some things never change. Is that new cammo pattern the everyday uniform now? Those didn't even exist in 2000. From a former grunt, thanks for everything.

If the buildings share a wall then a good engineer can blow a hole through it with a couple grenades or a single TNT charge and a couple sand bags. Or if the squad has some pioneer tools, as they are likely to have if in the defensive or if there are any vehicles near by, then they can do it themselves with a pick and sledge. You also only have to evac the room and possibly those adjacent to it.

They don't want to rub in the fact that they can shoot and he can't. Bad for morale.

Only civilians and fools believe that anything is invincible. Israel has never claimed that the Merkava couldn't die. In fact they expected it which is why they designed it to maximize crew survivability. Still, in combat men die, you just try to keep the number as managable as possible.

I find that people will play the way they want. Make the OP that you want, if others like it, great, if not, well there is no accounting for taste is there? Glad to help.

I was working on this system in 1996 when they made the first large scale tests. I was an instructor on the equipment and software and it was crap at that time. The ones I have seen lately look like an improvement but not by much. Still too many wires and cables. Still too much junk to get in your way. The Thermal sight for the M16 was nice as were some of the IR light toys but overall the system just isn't ready for combat. These articles are the same as the guys at the Battle Lab were spewing back in '96 when they assured us that the system was ready for field trials. After the NTC rotation one thing really stood out in the OPFOR AAR which we got after we got home. The OPFOR were able to pinpoint the location of company and higher CPs with little effort because of the constant FM emmissions. Unless they have switched to neutrino emissions or something this will still be a major weakness. It doesn't matter if you can tell what you are saying, if you can find them you can drop nasty things on top of them. Then it won't matter what they were talking about.