Not Work Safe .

@Gunz what were the smokes for, using Huey's as FAC's or for marking friendly positions?

471581013_1023896173116367_1068156354783638207_n.jpg
 
Gunz said:
Pop a green to denote friendly. Yellow to mark an LZ during daylight, strobes to mark LZ at night.

We tossed purple in tunnel entrances and covered the entrance, the purple would drift up through the hidden air holes revealing the extent of the complex. Then we’d drop C4 down the air holes and blow the fuckers up.

We also carried pop up flares, red and green.

Army Hueys did most of the Marine medevacs for 2nd CAG, escorted by Marine AH-1s. Marine 46’s for resupply and transport and OV-10s for spotters when we could get them.

I got started again, sorry
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I could listen to this all day papi!
 
Muppet said:

@Gunz
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You ever watch videos from the American Veteran Center channel on YT? Bro...it's a goldmine of our mil's legacy and heroes. The one that got me to tears was the UH1 medevac pilot and all of the feelings he had and still has, especially saying to the most painful memory that the ones he was in his opinion, too slow to save, that he'll hopefully see them again soon enough.
 
The Quartermaster said:
You ever watch videos from the American Veteran Center channel on YT? Bro...it's a goldmine of our mil's legacy and heroes. The one that got me to tears was the UH1 medevac pilot and all of the feelings he had and still has, especially saying to the most painful memory that the ones he was in his opinion, too slow to save, that he'll hopefully see them again soon enough.
Click to expand...

I will watch now! Thank you sir
 
Gunz said:
On the one hand, I think, gee, wish we had that stuff. And on the other, I think, when push comes to shove, young riflemen now are probably carrying about the same weight of stuff we did, only it’s strapped on better, 🤣
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Probably more. This isn't a "new guy" "old guy" take, "back in my day" nonsense, I think there's merit in looking at the individual loads from WWII to 2013 GWOT.

I'd bet if the individual soldier's load decreased from the 1940's to the 70's, it is because today relies more on tech and the vehicle/ gun truck carrying water, food, and ammo resupply. That in turn allows for an increase in other stuff. In other words, I doubt today's 11Bs carry less than a 1945 11B. If anything, today's 11B carries more. Look at the M-16, M-16A2, and M-4 with attachments. Take a pound or or 3 of the rifle, but add 2-4 pounds of gadgets. Lethality increased, but your spine and knees do not care. 1945 didn't have batteries. A C ration is roughly half the weight of an MRE, but add platoon gear like ammo and med supplies.

I'm not shitting on my grandfathers or Gunz, I think the game changed because of technology. At the end of the day, even my fobbit ass recognizes being Infantry is an extremely shitty, but strategic-level necessity. A lighter rifle or whatever means you can now carry an extra 5 pounds of ammo, 3 pounds of batteries, etc.

Your knees and back do not care.

1945 and 2012 are now terrain and weather arguments. At least to this Bagram To Go tray outsider.
 
Gunz said:
Pop a green to denote friendly. Yellow to mark an LZ during daylight, strobes to mark LZ at night.

We tossed purple in tunnel entrances and covered the entrance, the purple would drift up through the hidden air holes revealing the extent of the complex. Then we’d drop C4 down the air holes and blow the fuckers up.

We also carried pop up flares, red and green.

Army Hueys did most of the Marine medevacs for 2nd CAG, escorted by Marine AH-1s. Marine 46’s for resupply and transport and OV-10s for spotters when we could get them.

I got started again, sorry
Click to expand...
“Replying” to memorialize this post after you go back and delete the original!
 
AWP said:
Probably more. This isn't a "new guy" "old guy" take, "back in my day" nonsense, I think there's merit in looking at the individual loads from WWII to 2013 GWOT.

I'd bet if the individual soldier's load decreased from the 1940's to the 70's, it is because today relies more on tech and the vehicle/ gun truck carrying water, food, and ammo resupply. That in turn allows for an increase in other stuff. In other words, I doubt today's 11Bs carry less than a 1945 11B. If anything, today's 11B carries more. Look at the M-16, M-16A2, and M-4 with attachments. Take a pound or or 3 of the rifle, but add 2-4 pounds of gadgets. Lethality increased, but your spine and knees do not care. 1945 didn't have batteries. A C ration is roughly half the weight of an MRE, but add platoon gear like ammo and med supplies.

I'm not shitting on my grandfathers or Gunz, I think the game changed because of technology. At the end of the day, even my fobbit ass recognizes being Infantry is an extremely shitty, but strategic-level necessity. A lighter rifle or whatever means you can now carry an extra 5 pounds of ammo, 3 pounds of batteries, etc.

Your knees and back do not care.

1945 and 2012 are now terrain and weather arguments. At least to this Bagram To Go tray outsider.
Click to expand...

The mantra the entire time I was in was "your deuce gear is lighter so you can carry more", so in spite of lighter 782 gear, I think the weight just increased.

You are right....no change in weight on water and ammo, and decreased radio battery weight just meat you could carry more of them.
 
Gunz said:
Regarding load-out, I can only speak for CAP units that lived continually in the bush and had to carry everything they needed. In addition to 782 gear, rifles, mags, flak jacket, extra bandoliers, knives, frags, full ruck, rations, two canteens, helmet (which we rarely wore but still had to carry), we had to share the weight of M60 ammo belts, HE and lume for two M79s, two radios and spare batteries, a dozen LAAWs, claymores, C4, smoke grenades, flares and a few other items I can’t remember, all told about 80-90 lbs a man—maybe more.

The reason we had to carry more than regular Marine infantry units is because the nearest ground react force for us was the nearest 12-man CAP unit. And since each CAP had roughly a 5-square klick AO, reinforcements could potentially be as far away as 8 or 9 klicks depending on relative position of each team. And if we were getting shot up bad enough and called for react, we had to have enough ammo to hold out. Generally our contacts were at night…so best case scenario, if the react unit was only a klick or so on the other side of the river, humping toward us in the dark with their full gear, chances are they’d get there in time to help with medevacs.

We had CAS and arty of course, but there was no reserve ground unit that could hop on helos and be at our poz in ten minutes.

Your assessments are probably correct, but I think small autonomous units operating independently in remote areas would be the exception.
Click to expand...

A-Stan 2002. My three man PSYOP team was attached to a SF team for my deployment, which included a USAF TACP.

Vehicles: soft skinned Humvees / and Toyota Trucks
Weapons: 50 cal / M240B / M249 SAW / M4's / M203 / M4 Benelli Shotgun / M9 pistols...a few locally acquired AKs
Armor: old Ranger plate armor, which we never wore...Standard Helmets, which we never wore.
Gear: LBE's, but we used personally bought Blackhawk chest rigs (wasn't much avail on the market at the time)
Misc: AT-4s (Min 2 per vehicle), Frags, Smoke, Flares, MBITR radios, SATCOM vehicle radios, PVS-7 NGV
Uniform: DCU Tri-color and civilian clothes. Ops inside 20 KM of safe house you only had to have one uniform item on...usually pants. Issued desert boots and civilian hiking boots, and baseball hats.
(Note: We took our DCU tops to the riggers who moved the bottom pockets to the upper arm, added velcro, and sewed glint tape to the shoulder area.)

QRF: was usually the four guys we left back at the safehouse with the remainder of the Afghan warlord guys. Air assets were a couple of hours away and ground support were about six hours away, minimum. Night was better, two AC-130s were up at night doing racetracks every night...weather permitting.

Iraq 2007: Typical big army issue gear, too much stuff you never used. Armor too big and clunky.
 
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