Wicky

Nasty stuff in any situation https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/19/world/1991-blast-in-iraq-may-have-exposed-5000-gi-s-to-gas.html https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56116101

Set game weather to foggy - crank the central heating up to max and play with Vasaline smeared on glasses and wearing thick gloves*. Recently watched a video where a buch of geeks rebuilt an old Apollo lunar lander computer - connected it to a laptop and joystick and recreated a simulation of a lunar landing. The youngster who pulled it off was modest enough to say it was a lot easier not having to wear thick gloves like Neil Armstrong!

I recommend Erebus: The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin (yes of Monty Python fame) covers the fascinating story of the ships Erbus and Terror, crew & leaders and their voyages. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/24/erebus-michael-palin-review-john-franklin-arctic-explorer On that note Shackleton's Antarctic expedition came awfully close to disaster but amazingly all but three men survived

Subject pops from time to time through recent history, when ingrained cultural norms are put to one side in exceptional and desperate survival situations. I remember reading as a young teen Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors -about the rugby team who chomped their travel mates Later on Julian Barnes A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters exploring the story behind Theodore Geriault's Raft of the Medusa French Royal Navy frigate the Medusa, which ran aground off the coast of Senegal. Because of a shortage of lifeboats, some 150 survivors embarked on a raft and were decimated by starvation during a 13-day ordeal, which descended into murder and cannibalism. Only a handful remained when they were rescued at sea. And recently Franklin's lost expedition to find the NW passage which also likely resorted to cannibalism. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/franklins-doomed-arctic-expedition-ended-gruesome-cannibalism-180956054/

Marshall's in Cambridge is the place where Hercules upgrades are done - used to fly at the airfield in the 80s and they were very busy then.. Taking em up to C-130J

On 11th Feb (two days before the post on 13th Feb) https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAAF206

PAAF206 4153 Now up to mischief over Turkey and as it was photographed in Sept 2020 in Pakistan "The body seemed longer to me, like a simple cylinder with a crude cone in front, and the wings seemed longer to accommodate a 3rd engine. Livery was matte battleship gray, no markings" Everyone matches apart the engine count....

OPEN UP  Available for both vehicles and passengers. Open-up is a toggle. When activated (highlighted), it instructs the vehicle passengers or crew to open all available hatches. If the vehicle has none available, nothing happens. When de-activated, it tells the crew or passengers to close all hatches. Restrictions - available only for vehicles and passengers. Example - fighting from an open hatch increases the field of view and battlefield awareness of a vehicle crew tremendously (by eliminating blind spots created by the vehicle’s vision ports), and even allows passengers to use personal weapons, but it can be very dangerous and lead to casualties, especially if the enemy returns fire from close distance. Use this command to choose between situational awareness or added protection, as the situation demands CM Engine Manual v4.00.pdf, Pg 60

https://99battalion.org The 99th infantry Battalion (Separate) was activated at Camp Ripley, Minnesota on August 15, 1942 as per written instructions by the War Department. This unique elite unit was to consist only of Norwegians and Americans with direct Norwegian descent. Soldiers picked out for this elite unit had to have a working knowledge of the Norwegian language and preferably already knowing how to ski.

Jingle Jangle...

Give the halftrack an Open Up order.

https://www.subbrit.org.uk/features/target-dover/ https://www.subbrit.org.uk/features/struggle-for-survival/#5-nuclear-targets-in-the-uk and Operation Square Leg big map

In the late 70s when I was a young teen I used to go with my step dad who was a civvy recovery driver for REME in his big ol' slow scammel truck to pick up all he broken vehicles at Harwich returning from exercises on the continent on commandeered ferries. I used to scavange for combo rations to help feed the family, and kit hidden in the depths of the vehicles. Kit i.e. sleeping bags, NBC, combat jackets trousers etc, whatever the condition could be exchanged at the garrison quartermasters stores for new! quite a racket. I remember he was on old bloke who enjoyed camp coffee with condensed milk. and as an air cadet at the time we were quite well equipped paramilitary force of teens. Later on in early 80s when in the 6th form volunteered for Royal Observer Corps and had a cushty command bunker and snazzy RAF type uniform and practiced aircraft identifcation esp the types that dropped big bombs, learnt how to stick a roll of paper up a tube hight above to detect the direction any nuclear bomb might go off, and use a teletype to report such events up the chain. Soon realised that Colchester, Harwich and surrounding US airbases were likely targets if things went up, so enjoyed the parties where I was introduced to spirits! It beat protesting against the bomb...