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mattwagner

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  1. The foxes were deployed to Iraq. The Stryker apparently is not working as an NBC platform. They can't get it sealed for an NBC attack. Foxes were nice as far as audio goes... so damn quiet. Once I was walking around in the motor pool and somebody yelled at me to get out of the way. Was a FOX VC. It was about 12 feet behind me. Didn't even hear it.
  2. im cool with it. mainly because of the focus on MOUT... which is extremely difficult. I agree China vs US would've been pretty cool. Especially if it were a land invasion of the US. heh!
  3. The vehicle does not do well in soft sand. It depends a bit on the driver's and vc's experience... It doesn't happen a lot, just when it's maneuvered in a bad place... like a wadi. Ahem.. hmm. Definitely can't go places a tracked vehicle can. the FBCB2 is definitely a pain in the butt at times, but its use is immense. It shows the actual location of every vehicle in the unit... providing the other vehicle's systems are working. The thing is definitely slow... programmed in Java! runs on Sun Solaris. as far as RPG's and IED's go... everyone I've known who got hit by one while INSIDE the vehicle with the hatches shut, have been ok. The vehicle on the other hand... not so ok. Plus, the insurgents weren't very good shots. Only severe casualties due to enemey actions that I know of were vc's due to being exposed. My old room mate who was a driver did have his foot messed up due to an IED, but he made it out ok. The vehicle caught fire and was toast though. Everybody else made it ok. Anyway, that stuff aside... if you ask a Stryker soldier whether they'd rather be in a hummer or a stryker.. well... im sure you can guess the answer.
  4. I agree, having been active for 3 years in a Scout unit. Although you do get your occasional "dont wanna work dirtbag" and braindead types, combat units seemed to have rather intelligent people. A lot of middle class types too. Although, I do think quite a few did want to get out of the house. A lot of us joined because we were bored and lacked ambition in other areas, not because we didn't have opportunities/came from the ghetto(i love how the media mentions that a lot). The military gave us a type of motivation we couldn't get on the outside. A swift kick in the @$$! Maybe it's my anti-pogue sentiment, but a lotta of the support types seemed to be not so bright.
  5. My buddy(as well as a bunch of other guys i used to work with) was in this same ambush and had a very similar story to tell. RPG's, shrapnel in the face, disabled strykers, rocking the .50 and thinking he was going to die, and whatnot.
  6. C-130 and Strykers simply dont mix. Unless you like getting 10% of your force on the ground in a few days, but non combat ready, and the other 90% about a three weeks later by boat.
  7. To me... the Stryker is pretty much a broken platform for these reasons: a) MGS NBC c) Too heavy d) ****ty armor Anyway, it was typical military crap. Write up a bunch of stuff on how things are supposed to work... when they dont work like that, its too late, drive on. Still... it isn't complete junk. It's alright. My unit made do with it. They didn't lose too many people. They lost Strykers, but the people inside made it ok. And thats a big deal in my book. --- Also, for the record, I did not go to Iraq with these, nor have I seen combat. My opinions are strictly from the standpoint of someone who used to drive one. I do have friends who are still serving however, and one is the VC of a Stryker and saw combat in Iraq. [ October 11, 2005, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: mattwagner ]
  8. There were several on Fort Lewis. Back in 02/03. Right next to my motorpool. They dissappeared after a few months. Same reason I listed above. Anything beyond firing straight ahead left them on their sides. Honestly, I don't think they'll ever be deployed per spec. Maybe if they make em 90mm and add about 8,000 lbs to the base! Profile is way too high. Its physics. I forget the name of the vehicle(was told centurion, but isnt that a tracked tank?), but soon after there were several of these low profiled, wheeled, 105mm tanks sitting where the MGS used to be. Somebody told me they were the Abrams platform on wheels... pretty sure that was wrong. They were loans from Germany.
  9. I think the reason why things ran the way I saw them during my enlistment was that there was a strong sentiment(from command) that the LTs were just in the platoons for training and should watch and learn. I think there is a strong focus on that in other combat arms branches as well.
  10. Just wanted to point out that the MGS is not in use in Stryker Brigades. Why? When they fired the gun with the turrent turned 90 degrees, the vehicle would roll on its side. Nice huh? If anybody knows of a Stryker unit that deployed to Iraq with MGS, let me know. I helped load the Strykers for 3rd BDE on the two ships that went to Iraq and I didn't see a single damn MGS.
  11. While I was in a Stryker Brigade, my platoon did some very fun MOUT training with 1st Special Forces Group. We were using Sim Rounds, which are basically 9mm paintball rounds... you simply replace the upper reciever on the M4/M16. We thought we got our asses handed to us, but during the AAR, we were told that we did rather good... all things considered. They told us how in the same MOUT village(about 8 or 9 buildings), they(one SF team) defended while the 2nd Battalion, 75th Rangers attacked. After a day, the Rangers had 70% casualties and had just established a foothold in the village. Thats how ****ty MOUT is. We were told to always expect at least 50% casualties.
  12. Greatly improved graphics and animation, awesome AI, and easy fast online play. A friggin Mod bonanza. Basically, I expect to blown away.
  13. In my scout squadron, the LT was unofficially 2nd in command. And the replacement for an LT was a few wisecracks. Honestly though, my platoon had a couple of kick ass LTs come through... probably because they were both prior enlisted. But... as far as things go at the enlisted level, there was never any doubt as to who really ran the show. I can't fathom this being a new thing... but it seems like war movies always show officers calling all the shots and the PSG and 1SG staring off into space, let alone getting any camera time.
  14. The 'sniper training' they give snipers at the platoon level for line units is pretty lame. Some real snipers trained a few guys at the Brigade level... and they in turn trained guys from individual platoons. 1 week. That's not real sniper school. One of my old room mates went. Here's your M14, and off you go. He was also the gunner on his vehicle. Anyway, it looks good on paper.
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