19D vs 11B

goon175 said:
That's a good point about the curfew, we worked almost exclusively at night so that is a different situation entirely from what you were doing. But on that note... if you are heading to an OP, it's my opinion that you should be conducting the movement at night if it is in urban terrain regardless. I wouldn't feel comfortable with half the population in a city block seeing me move to my OP.
Click to expand...

I agree, and I would say about 75% of our missions were conducted at night/early morning hours. However, the other big issue was at night (during the summer) all the fucking hajis sleeping on the roofs and side walks. Again, it was very METT-TC dependent. We knew some neighborhoods better than others, we knew how the population would act, how they slept, when they ate, which A/O’s had wild packs of dogs that would literally chase your ass, what time frames most people would be working, kids walking back from schools, etc-etc.

Most of the SOF guys in our A/O (Haifa St, and central to S/E Baghdad) used helo’s almost exclusively or were completely low-pro.
 
Thought this would be an interesting place to put this. I'm a Reconnaissance Platoon Leader in Armored Reconnaissance Squadron. The last two days we conducted PLT STX, funny, how we're the only troop to figure out where we can train, even though we're on Division Red Cycle.

First part of the mission was to conduct Area Recon of a very large village (Batt/SQDN size obj) and On Order to secure a foothold for the SQDN TAC, we inserted via UH-60s north of the village. I moved my PLT(-) to the west of the village to set an ORP and then push out my recon teams. After awhile based on seeing only a few civilians we saw ENFOR. That ended up being the trigger to receive the mission to secure a foothold. What really helped with this mission is that we had conducted MOUT training three weeks before. Secured the original target building, possible HME, took the building next to it which I had ID'd as alternate. We had secured four civies that were agitated having searched that house. One of the dudes ended up running off (annoyed me). We then started taking potshots from North, didn't see the direction, as my second maneuver element came up from the South and taking residence in the alternate foothold. Systematically I took a team and began clearing a complex of buildings, took contact, got pinned down, took a casualty (ambulatory). I ordered a maneuver element to come up on the eastern side of the building we took contact from, they got the one ENFOR that had us. Pushed back to the foothold and established a CCP. Had two buildings secured, the other PLT came forward to secure the building for the TAC.

As it got dark ENFOR started messing around, we'd been attempting to push a rest plan. I have to say the other PLT was asleep for most of it, we captured a dude, dropped him off at the TAC and they searched him, they got credit for the intel, at one point I expressed displeasure on comms. That triggered a FRAGO, we had to plan a raid on a town Ks away. The EPW had intel on a meeting with our primary HVT. With when the UH-60s were again available we'd missed our hard time and had to land on the X. We'd only done cold-load training and disembarked the day prior, so LZ movement was rough. Secured a foothold, the other platoon maneuvered and immediately took contact. We ended up getting our target, but spent a crazy amount of time in the town, chasing civilians and the bad dudes. The night before the police attempted to get the prisoner and the other PLT stalled...saying they didn't have him, and that led to an altercation. In the Village they weren't cooperating and even placed weapons within the mosque, when things got kinetic for them they turned as we assisted them when they took a casualty. We ended up killing the HVT.

All in all in was solid training...but the other platoon could screw up a goat fuck.
 
@lindy we've used Vigilant Pursuit here in AF a bit in the last year. A lot of issues with it and the GS MI BN basically stopped using it. Looks like a case of not adapting the system to realities on the ground in terms of connecting to networks. PM me your SIPR email if you like and I'll send you the report the 303rd MI BN did on their issues with the system.
 
Il Duce said:
@lindy we've used Vigilant Pursuit here in AF a bit in the last year. A lot of issues with it and the GS MI BN basically stopped using it. Looks like a case of not adapting the system to realities on the ground in terms of connecting to networks. PM me your SIPR email if you like and I'll send you the report the 303rd MI BN did on their issues with the system.
Click to expand...

So very sorry to hear that. PM sent.
 
Things are far more rigid these days. When I went before the board for 173rd LRRP in 1966, what they wanted was high GT and high PT scores, MOS was unimportant. Half the guys in LRRP were not infantry MOS: MP, engineer, artillery, QM, administration, etc. Most of us were draftees. My original TL was Vladimir Jakovenko and the TL after me was Patrick "Tad" Tadina, with my good friend Laszlo Rabel (Rabel Hall at Ranger School is named after him) following Tad. Three of us were draftees when I became TL: one artillery surveyor, one truck driver, one pay clerk and three infantry. All were first string high school athletes with one college wrestler. Three of the team had GTs of 145 and above. All of the other seven TLs were Ranger or Red Raider cadre and of at least second enlistment (one a former Marine). One TL was on 7th enlistment with third award of CIB and three combat drops (503rd in PI and both with 187th in Korea). Three TLs, XO and CO in my time frame are in RHOF. Team 4 is in photo below
 

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Reed Cundiff said:
Things are far more rigid these days. When I went before the board for 173rd LRRP in 1966, what they wanted was high GT and high PT scores, MOS was unimportant. Half the guys in LRRP were not infantry MOS: MP, engineer, artillery, QM, administration, etc. Most of us were draftees. My original TL was Vladimir Jakovenko and the TL after me was Patrick "Tad" Tadina, with my good friend Laszlo Rabel (Rabel Hall at Ranger School is named after him) following Tad. Three of us were draftees when I became TL: one artillery surveyor, one truck driver, one pay clerk and three infantry. All were first string high school athletes with one college wrestler. Three of the team had GTs of 145 and above. All of the other seven TLs were Ranger or Red Raider cadre and of at least second enlistment (one a former Marine). One TL was on 7th enlistment with third award of CIB and three combat drops (503rd in PI and both with 187th in Korea). Three TLs, XO and CO in my time frame are in RHOF. Team 4 is in photo below
Click to expand...

Awesome. You might want to think about posting an intro. Stick around though, with a background like yours you are very welcome here!
 
We had a reunion in September which included folks from the entire lineage of N Rangers, it was the same unit, they just changed the name. 173rd LRP which existed September 1965- June 1966. The Provisonal 173rd LRRP formed under then Captain William Palmer (later Colonel in SF) was formed from same personnel. This became 74th LRP in July 1967. 74th LRP became N Rangers in 1969. Hadn't seen most of the guys for 47 years and it was like yesterday. 5 of team 4 showed up and we redid the photo from the cover of Lanning's book. O' the sad and horrifying ravages of time.

The lineage of 74th LRP is most interesting. Tome Roubideaux has written a monograph on this. Tome had an interesting career (2/502, Tigers and Recondo Platoon within 101st getting transferred around as a medic; 1st Bde of 101st LRRP; transferred to 173rd to join 173rd LRRP but got stuffed into 2/503rd since they were short of medics - and, poor bastard, made the combat jump with them at Katum; then got into 173rd LRRP to 74th LRP. Got out and went back as an advisor to RVN Airborne for 18 months and transferred back to what was now N Rangers. Got a nice cushy job in Hawaii with Pacific Command and came down as request to be original member of 1/75th. Made E7 and was on E8 list before 30 but was medically retired.

The 474th Infantry was formed in 2nd World War as a combination of the Norwegian-American Battalion and the breakup of Special Service Force and 2nd and 4th Ranger Bns (may have the bns wrong). The combat patch is the Red Arrowhead of SSF and a Viking Longship with a Ranger scroll on the sail. This is the only actual lineage from the Rangers into modern world for 45 years ago (SF did get lineage directly from SSF and indirectly from WWII Rangers - they did not know what to do with it). The brigadier commanding the 173rd when it was set up 20 years ago or so chose historical lineages and the LRSU became the 74th LRSU. Unfortunately, some idiots changed this to 93rd Cavalry (or something like this) which has the absolutely ugliest emblem in the world.

Forgot to mention; Jakovenkos, Tadina and Rabel are in RHOF, as were two later TLs (Boatman and someone else). The TL who served in WWII and Korea had been busted via an Article 15 from E8 to E5 the day he was to have been promoted to E9 in SF. He was the consummate professional. His advice and counseling (just BS'ing around) kept a lot of us alive - things that are just not taught except by old soldiers. Since he was busted by Article 15 and not by General Court Martial, he reverted to E8 upon retirement. He died several years ago and we do not have contact with family. He should be in RHOF. I was Unit Director for the N Ranger lineage within 75th RRA for 7years and we got 5 outstanding guys into RHOF. We just messed up in not getting him nominated.

Reed Cundiff, ATL and then TL of Team 4, 173rd LRRP
 
Says the guy from the same branch that doesn't wear their NVG's on a night mission, requiring an LT to half drag a TC out of their turret by their CVC because they were about to run over a dismounted friendly squad.

You can crunchy all you want, but the only thing you crunch is friendlies.. what's that say about cav aptitude?
 

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