Sandokan

That sucks, it is a regular broadcast channel here.  the ebook is available on Amazon for $12, but the Nat'l Geo program is really well done.  They have taken a few liberties with the story, but so far the feel of the situation is very accurate both for the troops involved and their families back home.  Many of those families were involved in the production.

I contacted him again explaining you guys suggested that I present him a couple of videos. Thanx to your suggestions I've sent him Josey's Bear Claws AAR, Road to Wiltz by Usually Happless and Armchair General videos.
He gave me the thumb up.

First I apologise for this delayed review! Sorry!
 
Click link to go to review of CMFI and DLC game engine 4!.
LINK
 
 

Good day. I'm one of creators of this campaign. 
 
We with my friend Alek was made this campaign some about 6 years ago, and for this time I many times hear that this campaign is too hard.
Of course we was tested all scenarios many time, and all it can be won, but this is hard, because we was not trying to create a balanced and funny campaign, but try do it realistic, like it will be in reality.
 
Some time ago I returned to play CMSF and I decided reworked Stepsons Of Jihad, and do it LITTLE easy to play, but this is not only reason to rework this campaign, some scenarios have imperfection and errors in some moments.   
 
Also I want try to finish mission #15, that was not present in campaign.
 
So I already reworked all 1-14,16 scenarios and now creating mission #15, if all will be good I'll finish this work an 1-2 weeks.   
 
Sorry my poor English, I hope you will understand me ;-)  

kohlenkau,
 
What a cool and clever project!  I don't own CMFI, but I have appeared from time to time and helped when I could. Here is some first rate large format color photography of Italian parachutist uniforms. Part of which is primo IWM yet not displayed to the public.
 
http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251718&page=4
 
The above references an Italian film made in 1954 about Folgore. In it, the men are wearing authentic combat uniforms, except for a so-call  samurai or samurai gilet aka magazine carrier shown in the film but not used until after the war. The quality of the print used to make the vid is astounding. Consequently, the stills taken from the film in the article are utter dreck by comparison. You should be able to learn a great deal as a result. Useful uniform stuff starts an hour in, and there are some phenomenal closeups in the last ten minutes, maybe less, of the film. Eye watering closeups!  Below the vid is a site in which you can see what the paratroopers should've been wearing. Lots of AFVs in this (hostile) and a true miracle, the Italian field radio with the prominent ring antenna. First one of those I've ever seen anywhere.
 

 
And a resource you may not have thought of lies in those who collect, modify and build nit pickingly accurate 1:6 and other scale soldier figures. They're even more grog anal than we are, as you'll see here. A bunch of Folgore uniforms are depicted, including those worn after Italy went over to the Allies. Fun starts on page 2 and continues in page 3.

http://www.massimomoscarelli.it/leadaddicted/?cat=12&paged=2
 
A look at actual period Italian camouflage fabric and full detail (gnat's rear level) from all around of everything a Folgore sergeant wore in the period of the diorama being built.
 
http://www.militarymodelling.com/forums/postings.asp?th=92678&p=1
 
How about an equally anal Folgore historical re-enactor unit?

http://www.ww2italianreenactment.com/para.html
 
Correct uniform for Tunisia
 
http://home.earthlink.net/~frenchgreg/id3.html
 
10 minutes or so into this Italian newsreel shot before WW II, you can see what a drop looks like as the men shuck their drop smocks (cammies beneath), grab weapons and packs and go double timing away single file.
 


  Am stopping now while both of us a relatively sane!
 
Keep up the fantastic work!
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Hello there, I'm a new user here. Before I get on with the topic, here's a short introduction: I'm a long time gamer, and I started the Combat Mission series with the first initial games, mainly the Beyond Overlord, which I loved. After all these years, I came to learn that there are far more Combat Mission games, and that they have also gone for more modern settings (Cold War Afghanistan and Modern Syria) for few of their latest games. I have tried the demo of the two games, and I have fallen in love again. Then I heard of the latest upcoming iteration - the Black Sea - and here I am. I wished to get it done before the release, but school got in the way.   Given the setting, as well as some rumors flying wildly about a possible future Module, I have decided to make the list you can see below. Please, by no means take it as me begging/pleading/ordering the Battlefront crew to include Poland in the game/future module. It's merely meant as a very general guide/refence, and to perhaps bring some interest of fellow tacticians to this country's armed forces, which usually are rather unheard of on the global scene.    The list may not be accurate, it's a rough prediction of what might be around for Poland in 2017. It's based on plans (which have been outlined up to 2020), as well as news from the military industry around the globe, as the situation is dynamically changing day to day. Any mistakes are not an ill will, merely a mistake or a document being interpreted the wrong way. Please keep that in mind. Also it's not really meant as a proper reference, and please don't use it as such. Hence, I won't link any of my sources (majority which are in Polish anyway) as this list was made rather hastily. Should you require proper references  (*wink wink, nudge nudge*), I will happily oblige as soon as I can (I have finals atm). Also, I cannot buy the Black Sea for the time being, but I hope to do so in the coming months.   Now onto the goodies:   Weapons and vehicles that are not (yet or otherwise) in service of Polish Armed forces, have names written in cursive.   Infantry Weapons:   Assault Rifles: Kbs wz. 1996 Beryl - 5,56 mm NATO
  Kbk wz. 1996 Mini-Beryl - 5,56 mm NATO (beside frontline service, also used by vehicle crews)
  Kbk AKM - 7.62x39 mm WP
  Kbk AKMS - 7.62x39 mm WP
  MSBS - 5,56 mm NATO and 7,62 mm NATO variants, should start entering service 2015/2016
  LMG:   RPK - in use in Airborne Force (limited)
  PK - various variants
  UKM-2000 - various variants, UKM-2000M to enter service in 2015, used by infantry as well as vehicle mounts
  Rheinmetall MG 3 - used on former Bundeswehr vehicles (Leopard 2A4/2A5 and respective ARV's)
  LMG variant of MSBS - 7,62 mm NATO, possibly to enter service in 2015 (image not available)
  HMG: WKM-B - Polish variant of the NSV MG, adapted to use .50 BMG NATO
  NSW - Polish variant of the NSV MG, still using the original 12,7 mm WP ammunition. In the process of being replaced by WKM-B
Both used on variety of vehicles or standalone   Sniper/Marksman rifles:   SWD/SWD-M - Polish designation for SVD Dragunow. SWD-M is a Polish upgrade. 7.62x54 mmR WP
  Sako TRG (TRG-21 and TRG-22) - 7,62mm NATO Sniper Rifle
  Bor - Polish made, 7,62 mm NATO Sniper Rifle
  Tor - Polish made .50 BMG Sniper Rifle
  Granade Launchers:   Underslung:   wz. 74 Pallad/GPBO-40 - 40mm Granade launcher for Kbs wz. 1996 Beryl
  Standalone:   Mk. 19 - on vehicles and tripod
  wz. 83 Pallad-D/GSBO-40 - single shot 40mm launchers
  RGP-40 - six shot revolver mag launcher. On order, should enter service in 2015
  GA-40 - may enter service before 2017
  AT Weapons Unguided:   Carl Gustav M3 - (Airborne and Spec Ops forces only)
  AT4 - (Airborne and Spec Ops forces only)
  RPG-7 - in service, unknown which warheads are in service in the Polish Armed forces
  RPG-76 Komar (in storage, requested and used by forces in Afghanistan for smaller targets upon which RPG-7 (or other weapons) would be a waste)
  Guided:   Spike-LR - Stationary launchers as well as launchers based upon HMMWV and ROSOMAK vehicles. 4km range, Fire & Forget, Fire Observe & Update, Lock-On After Launch - what more do you need ?
  9K115 Metys - limited use by airborne forces
  MANPAD:   GROM - reportedly a "copy" and vast improvement upon the Soviet designed 9K38 Igla. Several new versions made since then. Also used on variety of vehicles
  PIORUN - improved version of the GROM, should start entering service in 2015/2016 (launcher is reportedly the same, it's the missile that will be vastly improved)   VEHICLES:   MBT:   T-72M1 - no major/significant changes since the Warsaw Pact times, it's an export variant of the T-72A produced in Poland under license (chances are if you are seeing one of those anywhere near a frontline, then you are within a stone's throw from the Warsaw), reportedly Polish made T-72M1 were of higher quality and make than average among the Warsaw Pact countries (mentioned in passing in a book or two).
  PT-91 Twardy variants:   PT-91 - Polish Modernization of the T-72M1
  PT-91M
  PT-91MA1 - Same as above, majority of modifications is internal, such as better Radios and better electronics.     Leopard 2A4 - nothing much to say, not much different since the days of them watching over the Fulda Gap. They however have access to better ammo since those days.
  Leopard 2A5 - Unchanged since they rolled off the assembly line. They do have access to more modern ammunition though.
  Leopard 2PL - Poland has expressed interest to modernize our Leopard 2 fleet to 2A7+ like standard. First would go the 2A4's, then 2A5's. There are several proposals, but it's a bit of a mess right now (to say the least), hence it's doubtful it will be  ready or deployed in a significant capacity within Polish Armed Forces before 2017.   APC/IFV:   BWP-1 - BMP-1D variant "Good" old BMP-1D. Not much to be said. (We used to have BMP-2 and BMP-2D but our idiot paper pushers sold them). A program to develop new tracked vehicle to replace BWP-1 has been initiated, but extremely unlikely to produce anything of substance before 2017.
  KTO ROSOMAK variants: ROSOMAK is a family of variants developed upon AMV PATRIA family.   Rosomak - first initial variant, features Oto Melara Hitfist-30P turret, armed with 30mm autocannon ATK Mk 44 along with a coax 7,62mm UKM-2000C MG. Also equipped with Obra laser warning receiver connected to smoke granade launchers and an amphibious vehicle capable of swim.
  Rosomak-M1 – Modification for the needs of Chad and Afghanistan deployments. Changes include: additionf of Pilar "Fire direction detection" system, new and improved comm. systems, additional radio, two additional cameras on hull sides, connected to screen in infantry compartment. Water propellers have been removed, and the Vehicle was up-armored with Israeli Rafael Armor Package, bringing the vehicle to all around STANAG IV protection levels.
  Rosomak-M1M – further development of the version for Afghanistan Deployment. Changes from previous variant includes addition of American Qinetiq RPGNet, cabling and sockets to mount Duke IED countermeasure system and of Blue Force Tracking system (those systems are not integral part of this variant and were on loan from the US military). Infantry compartment went from 8 to 6 soldiers. This version has been up-armored by default by the original manufacturer, giving it the same STANAG IV protection levels as M1.
  Rosomak-M3 – version armored anologically to Rosomak M1. It's turret is armored up to STANAG III standard. The turret can carry WKM-B 12,7mm HMG or 7,62mm UKM-2000C MG or Mk. 19 40mm grenade launcher. Those vehicles usually carry either two of the above, one on the turret, second within the hull near the turret, allowing them to be swapped "on the go".
  Rosomak-S - unoficially called "Spajkowóz" (Spikewagon) – infantry carrier variant of the base version (ergo still capable of swim), equipped to carry 2 Spike LR launchers, a load of spare missiles, along their respective weapon teams. Otherwise unarmed.
  KTO Rosomak - Hitfist-30P turret with Spike LR variant and KTO Rosomak - Unmanned ZSSW-30 turret with Spike LR variant The former is no different than the Base Rosomak (aside from integration of the Spike ATGM with the turret) and has already been developed, built and tested, however the latter has been designated as next step in the Rosomak development hence the former most likely won't enter service. However (at the time of the writing) there only exists a first iteration of the ZSSW-30 turret, which is being tested, but is not integrated with the Spike ATGM yet, afaik only a mockup of the double launcher can be seen on the right side of the turret.  As both vehicles, for all intents and purpouses, will serve the same role and function within the game, either could be added.
  KWWO Wilk - Kołowy Wóz Wsparcia Ogniowego (Wheeled fire support vehicle) (105/120mm) Prototypes exist but appears extremely unlikely at this point to enter service.
  Recon: BWR-1D and BWR-1S  (BRM-1K and BPzV "Svatava" respectively) Basically a BMP-1 without ATGM, having somewhat better NVG's and optionally carrying a recon squad.
  BRDM-2M-97 "Żbik-B" Polish modification/modernization of the BRDM-2 vehicle. New turret, Obra laser warning receiver and smoke grenade launcher, new NVG's. Armed with WKM-B and a UKM-2000 as coax.
  Rosomak-R1 and Rosomak-R2 – Recon variants based upon the base Rosomak (hence still amphibious capable). Armed analogically to normal Rosomak, with 30mm AC and 7,62mm coax. No infantry carrying capacity. Crew compartment instead has been remodeled to house operators of additional equipment. Upon extendable 4 meter mast a FLIR System video camera, Thermal camera and laser rangefinder/target designation system were mounted, allowing for recon at the distance of up to 20 km. R1 variant has been additionally equipped with Turkish Aselsan ACAR Ground Surveillance Radar. Reportedly allowing detection of an infantry man from 12 km away, and vehicle group from 40 km away. Radar has been mounted on a mast behind the turret.  Both has been equipped with additional camera with directional microphone.
  Tank Destroyers:   BRDM-2 KONKURS
  Tumak-5 (M1045A2 HMMWV) with Spike-LR ATGM
  ROSOMAK with unmanned Spike Launcher Turret - there exists an existing presentation model with combined GROM launcher on top. The military has stated desire for such/similiar variant to replace aging BRDM-2 based Tank destroyers, however there haven't been much word on it since.
  Car transports: Tumak-2 (M1043A2 HMMWV) Tumak-3 (M1025A2 HMMWV) both come with Shielded/unshielded manned turret with UKM-2000, WKM-B or NSW, or mk. 19/GA-40
  Tumak-4 (M1097A2 HMMWV), transports up to 11 people depending on the exact setup, unarmed
  Skorpion-3 - light multi purpouse vehicle, 7,62 MG on the roof turret. 1+4 crew
  Star 266M - Working horse of the Polish army. Unarmed truck. Up-armored driver cabin variant may also enter service "soon" (see Hibernyt-3 below)
  AA Assets:   ZSU-23-4W1 Szyłka (ZSU-23-4V1) - no known changes since the Warsaw Pact times (possibly just some minor changes to make it compatible with modern AA Command and Control systems of the Polish Army). In the process of being upgraded to ZSU-23-4MP Biała standard.
  ZSU-23-4MP Biała - Polish upgrade, removal of the radar with mounting of completely passive opto-electronic detection and fire control systems, new ammo with slightly longer range (approx 3,5 km), and 4 GROM missiles for additional firepower (GROMs might be changed for PIORUN's in the future as they become available), all weather capability as well as Thermals and new AP rounds.
  Żubr-P - carrier of the POPRAD System using the GROM missiles (may use PIORUN as those become available). POPRAD is basically a passive detection suite, four GROM launchers and some spare missiles.
  9K35M Strzała-10M - About unchanged since the Warsaw Pact days (as far as I can tell)
  Osa-AKM-P1 "Żądło" - Polish upgraded OSA-AKM, not sure if it fits CM scale however.
  Hibernyt-3 - uparmored Star 266M truck carrying ZUR-23-2KG system. ZUR-23-2KG upgrades since the good old ZU-23-2 includes: CP-1 night-and-day sight with laser rangefinder, electromechanic gun turn system and twin launcher for "Grom" missiles. The truck carries additional ammo and spare missiles.
  Off Map Support:   AHS Krab - (aka THE MOST embarrassing project of the modern Polish Military industry) a division (at least) planned before 2017
  AHS Kryl (possible to enter limited service before 2017)
Both are 155mm NATO compatible Self Propelled Howitzers   Armatohaubica wz. 1977 DANA-T - 152mm Self Propelled Howitzer
  2S1T Goździk - Polish upgrade of venerable 2S1 Gvozdika
  SMK-120 RAK - 120 mm self propelled mortar system based upon ROSOMAK chassis - on order 80 vehicles to enter service in 2015
  2B11 mortar - 120mm Mortar
  M-98 Rodon mortar - 98mm mortar
  LM-60 mortar - 60mm mortar
  Air Support Helo:   Mi-24W (Polish designation for the Mi-24V)- Reportedly the Kokon ATGM are long past expiration date and they have only unguided ordinance now at it's disposal (!! REPORTEDLY !!). So either they won't have any or we assume we borrowed some Kokons from the Ukrainian stocks.
    Planes:   F-16 Block 52+ I have made this informative info-graphic about what kind of stuff it can carry. Not sure which of those fit scale of CM:BS, but that's everything we have for them or have planned for them at the time of writing.
  Su-22M4 - as much as it would be even a bigger of a suicide than flying A-10 into a modern ADN, a number of Polish Su-22M4 can carry a pair of Kh-29T's - TV guided Anti Tank missiles. Beside that, it can carry to up to 8 dumb bombs - FAB-500 max or ZK-300 Polish made cluster bomb (anti personnel).   MiG-29 (9.12A) - it can drop some dumb bombs, either FABs or ZK-300's   UAV:   Boeing ScanEagle Aeronautics Defense Orbiter WB Electronics FlyEye   I imagine that would be all. If there are any questions or anything else that might fit the CM scale, please feel free to ask questions and I shall do answer them best to my abilities/knowledge.   Apologies if I posted this in a wrong place.   Thank you for reading !   EDIT: Formatting was gone for some reason. Should be all good now.

In war, truth is the first casualty.
Aeschylus, Greek tragic dramatist (525 BC - 456 BC)

Most war games, including the average-to-good ones, enable the player to rationalise his losses even -- or in fact especially -- when he wins, because it is often possible to blame some or most of them on "game" issues such as faulty LOS mechanics or "cheating" AI.  The very rare truly exceptional war game does not allow this because player losses can only be attributed to player error such as flawed tactics, impatience or bad judgement.  Without a doubt, IMO, Black Sea falls into the latter category.
 
In my last QB, leading a group of Blue armour (mainly M3s with a single M1A2 SEP) in the attack against a Red group defending with mainly T-90s, I won a convincing Total Victory on Veteran with ten minutes to spare, having killed all nine enemy tanks and the single "tank killing" vehicle.  In almost any other game I would have been gleeful at this result, especially if relatively inexperienced at playing it.  However, in this battle, because I was unable to lay off the blame for a single loss of mine (four Bradleys, too many) on iffy game mechanics, I felt the way a r/l commander would, i.e. I experienced a painful sense of responsibility that made the victory less sweet.  This is a huge tribute to the game.  I lost two vehicles to very high quality enemy AI and the other two purely to player error on my part.  In my own mental AAR, therefore, I blamed myself for at least two of these losses and IRL I would have found it particularly difficult to write letters to those next of kin.  I felt determined not to let this happen again, and not just to win next time but to do so with at least 25% less attrition.
 
I have never felt this way, including in previous CM titles.  Even in Steel Beasts, a very good sim, I have "rewound" the game when I've been sure that a tank in my platoon or company got killed because bad AI pathfinding led it somewhere I hadn't directed it to go, or an AI TC did not see the attacking unit first when he had the superior relative position on the battlefield.  In the eight or so hours I've played in CMBS, I have never yet been able to rationalise failure as the result of being "gamed".  Considering how many complex calculations a game like this has to make in order to be consistently realistic, this, I think is the ultimate tribute I can pay to the developers of a superb title.  It's why I abandoned CMSF in the first, difficult months of its release and why I will continue to play CMBS for several years to come.  ChrisND and his team deserve tremendous kudos.

Clarification:
 
To establish I'm not a ghoul or wasn't saving the hand "for later" I happened to be heading to a base that had a US run forensics lab on it, and they wanted to try to get fingerprints off of the hand (and it was better described as "hand, fragment" on the bag, it was missing the whole thumb assembly).  The backpack is just the standard issue "Assault Pack" I was issued, and I've never thought to get a new one (and I plan on keeping it once I separate because it is one of the few items I have had everywhere I went in the military).  
 
On Killing:
 
Never had to do it.  By the time I went to Iraq the direct fire shooting Iraqis sort of events were largely gone, the Iraqis had gotten their teeth kicked in and now only attacked via IED, mortars/rockets, and some limited shoot and scoot type attacks.*  The most damage we'd gather evidence from the attacks or other illegal activities (like fingerprints found on weapons in caches) and then go do a SWAT team style arrest.  They usually weren't expecting us to come for them in their house/did not understand our ability to find both them and what they had left at the attack scene so mostly it was dragging off confused terrorists into the night (we made a few bad busts largely thanks to informants being....special**, but the guys we tagged usually had left fignerprints on the bombs they planted, or we'd intercepted phone calls that amounted to "praise allah, I hope to kill many americans with this bomb I shall plant" and we found the bomb in their bathroom or something).
 
On the occasion were the ambushes went bad and we had a shot at people, it was an oddly remote thing, like a sports team you liked scored a point.  So you felt sort of good, but it was not elation, nor any sort of mixed emotions as the person killed was 100% bad guy trying to kill people you knew.  
 
The only "dead" person that bothered me especially deeply was we had a woman get dropped off at our JSS (Joint Security Station like a small FOB, but with Iraqi forces also working out of it).  She had "tried to commit suicide" by dousing herself with gasoline (her husband set her on fire was both the subtext, suspicion, and given what we knew the most likely scenario), and her other family had wrapped her up in a blanket to transport her to us with the expectations we'd be able to do something for her.  At that point we were no longer allowed to treat or evacuate Iraqis that had not been A. Injured by US forces, B. Were in a danger of death, losing eyesight, or a limb without immediate medical attention***.  The blanket had fused to her burned skin, but she was not close enough to death to mandate we treat or evacuate her.  So our only recourse was to have the Iraqis on our compound evacuate her to an Iraqi hospital.  The Iraqi police unit refused to have anything to do with it.  Like it just wasn't worth the attention, allah will sort it out, we're eating lunch/playing cards/almost time for prayer and simply cannot be bothered.
 
Eventually after much screaming they tossed her in the back of one of their pickups and went somewhere.  Maybe a hospital, maybe a ditch, maybe back to her husband, who knew.  It was a singularly depressing occasion at the end of it.
 
Re: Army of Volenteers
 
You still have a wide range of why people sign up.  The die hard I <3 America! type is not as common as you'd think.  Marginally more patriotic than average is how I would describe the average US serviceperson, but in the "I love America as a societal/cultural concept" vs "I love the American government and its policies without question" sense.  There were a lot of tattoos, flags, and pride in the country as a concept, but when all the junior enlisted were out, the senior enlisted, and officers talked a lot of "what the hell are we thinking" about what the country was up to at the moment.  
 
*The preferred method in our AO was using the old Russian RKG-3 Anti-Tank grenades.  They'd pitch a few of them from an alleyway or a crowd then run like hell.  Funny story about them sometime when I'm bored.
**Another amusing story for some othertime.
***It wasn't a cold "Iraqis are not worth American medical attention!" system, but it was the realization that US bases had become the defacto hospitals for the local communities.  At a time in which we were trying to build up the Iraqis enough to leave, it was deemed essential to only treat what we absolutely had to, to force people to start using Iraqi hospitals, so those hospitals would actually be ready when we left instead of just suddenly "poof" US forces leave and no one can handle anything more than a papercut.

It is saying "done talking" ie: over

After hearing of his failed attempts to get the CMBN demo going (some Windows issue), I learned Charles, my youngest brother,  preferred ARs to M1 Garands, so suggested he try the Demo of CMSF. Happily, this one worked, and he dove in headfirst. When last heard from, he won his training mission (turn based single player; figured RT would drive him mad), but unsurprisingly, found the experience "frustrating." But how frustrated can he be if he plans on having another go right after dinner? I believe he's hooked and have so notified him. Taste E-crack once, and you're done. He's also run into Mr.Clausewitz and his friction.
 
Since I've been talking up the wonders of CMBS and the latest version of the game engine for some time now, I believe that the CMSF Demo will prove to be his gateway to CMBS, though the Stryker Effect may come into play, for now retired brother George was an SFC in the first SBCT to ever be deployed, though he didn't actually crew a Stryker, being busy running the TOC or driving around in bad places (Anbar Province, Iraq) in an armored Hummer with Ma Deuce or MK-19 on the roof. Even if this is the case, I believe brother Charles will inevitably be seduced by all the cool toys in CMBS, and he's already predisposed to such seduction, having worked with the Night Stalkers when at MD Helicopters, being an avid shooter and tech junkie to boot. Time will tell.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler 

Served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 17 years. Started in the artillery as a gunner, then went officer after a few years.  Served in 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and 3 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery at various times in my career.  Current status is retired, rank of Captain.
 
Memorable moments:
 
Served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia in 1993.  Back when it was more 'peacemaking' than 'peacekeeping'.  Got lots of stories that I can tell about that experience.
 
As a forward observer, adjusted and fired a 'Fire Mission Division' during one of the few Division exercises the Canadian military did during the 1990s.  About 40 tubes of 105mm and 155mm fired some 160 rounds total rounds for one fire mission.  I am one of only a few artillery officers who have fired a division fire mission from that time period.  I don't think that Canada has done a Division live fire exercise in the last 20 years, near as I can tell, since I took early retirement in 1996.
 
Did a winter exercise for three days of winter warfare training (winter infantry training and living in tents)where the temperature varied between -45 C and -55 C and one of those days, the temperature with windchill was -83 C.   Discovered at those temperatures that a book of matches will burn out while floating in a bowl of white gasoline (used as fuel for lanterns and stoves).
 
I remember the one year where I was unlucky enough to go on three winter exercises back to back and literally, except for two weeks, I humped the boonies and lived in a tent from the beginning of January to the end of March (nearly 3 months) on exercises in Alaska, the Northwest Territories (northern Canada) and Manitoba (center of Canada and the coldest of the provinces in winter).
 
I have been mortared by the 1 PPCLI mortar platoon by accident, fired on by an American 155 gun battery by accident, shot at by a German Leopard 1 tank by accident, and bombed (with practice bombs thankfully) by the Canadian Air Force by accident.  Yeah, training accidents with live ammuniton do happen and can be deadly serious affairs. Had some pretty close calls in Bosnia but someone was actually trying to kill me in those cases, but such is the case in a war zone.   My wife says I got more lives than a cat.

Was hunting for something else when I came across this useful writeup. Regrettably, the details on the firing test parameters are few. Even so, I believe having all this information in one link is worthwhile.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

It seems every Army has a surplus of paint. In the '80 we still had the M33 helmet (yes, 33 means 1933) and a guy of the armory told me that they were repainted regularly every 3-4 years.

Just passed my 7th year of service in the British Army. Did 1 year and 3 months of initial and combat infantryman's training which was.... horrific! Joined the 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment (Vikings) and was deployed to Afghanistan in late 2009. My company was posted to Musa Qaleh in Helmand province, IED's and small arms were common and a couple of times we encountered some very close IDF from an AGS-17 the Taliban had acquired which was probably the scariest thing I've ever come up against. Handed the AO over to the USMC at the end of tour and we freaked the **** out of them and stole an entire pallet of Gatorade, sorry about that!
 
I deployed to Kenya on exercise in 2011 and nearly got killed by an elephant, this sucked.
 
2012 saw me return to Helmand Province as an IED detection dog handler and my pooch found the largest IED of the summer campaign. Transferred to become a dog handler in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps and its where I'm at now.

Enlisted in the regular United States Marine Corps (USMC) at 19. Served four years as an F4-B, RF4-B, and F4-J hydraulic/pneumatic mechanic, and six months as a cell-block sentry in a "red-line" brig (as part of a fleet augmentation program). Deployed to Fleet Marine Force, Western Pacific (FMFPac) and spent a year in Iwakuni, Japan. I believe I was one of four Marines who never went to Viet Nam. Largest "pucker factor" was when I was on duty as Assistant Squadron Duty Officer (aka radio watch), and a North Korean cruiser shot down an American weather plane over the Straits of Japan. Two squadrons of F4s, two squadrons of A4s, and two squadrons of A6s scrambled with armor piercing bombs and rockets. The Wing Commanding General came into our ready room and kept the 60 plus combat airplanes from obliterating that crusier.
 
I then served eight years in the USMC reserves (USMCR) as infantry; 0311 - rifleman, 0331 M-60 machine gun section leader, 0341 60-mm M2 mortar section leader, and finally 0369 - Infantry, Small Unit Leader (rifle platoon sgt). Biggest pucker factor in reserves was when we were "activated" for a three-day readiness test that seemed an awful lot like Staging (where as "airwingers" we refreshed our infantry skills before deploying to FMFPac). Learned about 10-years later that it wasn't a test. We were being activated to invade Iran to rescue the hostages. The Soviets had our Navy Crypto codes and massed 26 divisions on the border. They said "if you invade, we will drive you out. Carter called off the invasion. Got out of reserves in 1981. Qualified evey year with M-14 rifle at 500 yds, M-16 at 300 yds (all with open sights), and M1911A1 .45 caliber pistol at throwing distance (my issued pistol was manufactured by Singer Sewing Machine Co. in 1943, so it was a bit loose, that is to say worn out).
 
At that time, the transportation for Marine Infantry was primarily "leather." Our normal combat load out was helmet, flak jacket, two canteens of water, eight 20-round magazines for an M-14 or eight 30-round magazines for the M-16, four fragmentation grenades, two claymore mines, two 60mm mortar rounds if the platoon had mortars attached, two boxes of 7.62mm rounds if we had M-60 machine guns attached, six to eight 40mm grenades for the M-79 "blooper" and if unlucky, an M-72 rocket launcher. Add to that three meals, clothing changes, health and comfort items, and we generally weighed in a more than 100 lbs (45kg) over our normal weight. Maybe that's why they referred to us as "heavy infantry."
 
I had very little work with "combined arms" when infantry, and the lethality of Black Sea weapons absolutely terrorfies me. I wouldn't want to "see the elephant" in this new environment.

Peeling potatoes is a supreme way to occupy a soldier. Everyone knows that a soldier with free time is a disaster waiting to happen. 

Since Poesel too was a draftee I jump into the thread. 1 year in the '80 in a artillery rgt. Barracks was so close the yugoslavian border that you almost could throw a stone and hit a "graniciari", yugo's border guards, in the head. Anyway was a really quiet period. There were people of my unit sometimes crossing the border in civilian clothes in order to join some local festival on the other side. Patrol. Yugoslavian hills in the background.

Pretty much a mix.
 
MBTs - Leopard 2A4 and 2A5. But there are still more T-72s, some of them upgraded (PT-91, essentially reactive armor, thermal sight for the gunner and new stabilization system with fire computer). No sane commander will send T-72s against modern Russian force, the upgraded model isn't exactly cutting edge either.
 
IFVs - Patria AMV, locally known as "Rosomak" ("Wolverine"). Exists in a few variants, the most interesting being one armed with the Hitfist turret (30 mm cannon). Roughly similar to the Stryker variants. Proved to be a good vehicle in Afghanistan. What else? BMP-1...not changed in any way since the seventies.
 
Individual equipment has seen some significant upgrades, at least forces used in Afghanistan had your usual sets of night vision, GPS, modern comms and body armor. Israeli Spike missiles are the main AT asset.
 
In the Air Force there are 48 F-16, about 30 each of MiG-29 and Su-22. Only the F-16 have a reasonable chance of being used against ground targets in CM battles (forget about Su-22, it would be suicidal).  In 2017 there is a chance that new attack helicopters will be in service, nowadays we have just the Mi-24 (which are left only with unguided ordnance, as guided missiles have reached end of shelf life and nobody is going shopping to Moscow...)
 
I think Poland would make an interesting addition. Perhaps together with other neighobouring countries, Czech Republic also has some interesting equipment.

SPC O’Brian was good and ready. They had to reposition twice, but now he saw it clearly on the distant southern hill.  Through the thermal on his Command Launch Unit, he distinctly saw the outline of a T-90, the latest Russian tank.  He was pretty sure he saw others on the ridge behind hit, but could not see enough of them to be certain, but the vehicle closest was hull up and unmistakable. 
“Alright, Metcalf, we good?”
“Bit test was good.  We’re armed and ready,” he responded.
“Well then, here goes nothing.  Firing!”
With a dull pop, the missile left the tube, then seeming to sag in the air as its rocket motor ignited, it nosed up and flew up and away. 
“C’mon, we’re gone.”  Even before the missile had closed half the distance to the distant tank, O’Brian and Metcalf were sprinting from the launch point.  They ran a good 75 meters, then flung themselves down, snapping the empty canister from the CLU, and snapping a new heavy one in its place.  A distant ‘Boom!’ announced the arrival of their missile, but neither knew for sure how they had done.  They knew the Javelin was deadly, and trusted that they had spiked their target.  The carefully began to creep up to set up another shot.
 
http://youtu.be/YNN-FiTmyqE
 
SPC O’Brian and PVT Metcalf engage a T-90 of the Southern MRC.  They really wanted to engage the Tunguska, but could not get line of sight.  Expect this engagement, coming immediately prior to arrival of Speed and Power Main Body, should throw a nice wrench in the Russian plan.  End of video (note, I learned how to ‘pause’ though I still don’t have a video editor <sigh!>) is Brytva 21 showing what to do when your infantry target runs into a shack.  Will be curious after the match to see if this engagement caused any casualties…  or if there were any survivors!  A few end-of-turn snaps to wrap up.
 

 

 

 
At this point I am officially caught up, and am sending the main-body turn back to Bil in about an hour.  Thanks for bearing with me.

this thread is NOT a question from battlefront.com and it doesn't influence developers choices, i just wanted to know what others people thinks
 
RULE: on the second question don't choose your country because if everyone does it the thread would be "where do you come from?"
 
i personnally chose France because i would like to see Leclerc tanks!
 
sorry for my bad english, but i'm an italian high school student