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My first campaign was in Aerorifle in the 101st Abn., a Division asset, 2/17th Air Cav. The 911 & "eyes and ears of the 101st". But of course, with missions different from Infantry, often reactive. The SOP for Delta Troop, the ground component, was 600 rounds...thirty 20-round mags, PLUS, 200...

One of my three failures was the transmission, on commuter driving in San Diego. It was the last failure and when the trans light came on later, I called home and told the wife I'd be late and not sure what I'd be driving, but it wouldn't be the Jeep so don't be alarmed.

My Sqn. CO in 2/11th ACR was former SF, the CO of A-342 at Dong Xoai, a CIDG camp overrun in '65, we speak a couple of times a month. All their weapons were WWII apart from a couple of the early AR15's. He personally carried an M1 or M2 carbine, as did most of the Team. Vietnamese military age...

I drove nothing but Jeeps for 23 years. Five of them, one CJ-7, three Cherokees, and the worst purchase of my life, a Grand Cherokee, which had to be towed three times in <25,000 miles. I'll never own another product from Jeep. P.S. My second car, essentially my toy, is an SRT8 Challenger with...

I believe the Mattel story owes it's persistence to the film "The Green Berets". In the film, the John Wayne character famously smashes an M16 against a tree. It was a toy M16 & made by Mattel. You can see the manufacturer marks in this thread...

It was not a "new" powder, it was older existing stocks of government powder that was not approved or even evaluated during the development of the gun, which was engineered to use a designated formulation. Combined with no provisions for adequate cleaning (no kits issued early on) the system got...

The reports that precipitated the near-mystic belief in guided missilery, "ARCOVE" and "Mobility, Firepower & Protection" fairly gushed with fanboy language extolling the virtues of this solution. It was also an attempt to leapfrog technology rather than the typical measure/counter-measure...

I'm sorry I missed it, but that was at least five years after my service.

It took a very long time to address the issues of "premature detonation" of the XM409 HEAT round. And there were two types of PD failure....in-tube and just beyond the muzzle. The were repeated appeals from Combat Dev. Cmd. to not field it with HEAT. The probability of "catastrophic failure"...

In the absence of any valid documentation I simply do not believe such a report. It would have been the most publicized tank kill since WWII, though it would have had no impact on the vehicle generally as they were being pulled from regular service by the '80's (apart from the 37th AR). I have...

The M551 never fired a shot in anger in Desert Storm/Shield. It's presence was more of a "fleet in being" that did not influence the fight. No Sheridan, anywhere, has ever fired upon a tank manned by an enemy. If it had, any kill would be the most reported and exalted tank battle since Michael...

I just dodged the TRICAP Hood/Riley bullet. A clerk was flown out to our NDP in Tan Uyen District with a little folding desk. I asked another crew what was up with that and was told you advised him what you'd prefer for a CONUS assignment after Vietnam. I had done several training cycles at Ft...

In another life I worked at the main acute care community hospital in Salem, OR...the state capital. As such, it is also the home of the Oregon State Penitentiary, The Women's Prison and the Oregon State Hospital...the actual facility from Kesey's "novel", "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". When...

Are you sure? Fully 22% of all the B-58's that ever flew, crashed. Many of these were ground incidents & early experience but that's the stat. Classic technological over-reach for the time.

I recommend Michael Doubler's "Closing With The Enemy" & it's excellent chapter on "Busting the Bocage". It is a well researched, scholarly treatment in the arts of WWII.

The XM409 HEAT round had been an issue since the late '60's. They were reluctant to use them due to a history of premature detonations (both in-tube & just beyond muzzle) for a couple of reasons. This was completely independent of the combustible case issues. In fact, there had been four...

Depended on it's role at that time. Many M48 tanks were left for the ARVN (it was passed it's shelf life for top tier main battle tank) but M551 Sheridans were all brought out even the destroyed ones because it was still an active system in Europe & we didn't want to leave examples around. Many...

No Sir, no M60 variant of any kind saw service in Vietnam. The M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle saw limited service, but these are highly modified vehicles with only the suggestion of the shape of an M60A1.

As membership everywhere gets younger the norms of earlier periods are not recognized. Since references to earlier practices are typically generated by the provocation of historical photographs you can be sure it wasn't part of their stream of consciousness. I don't recall there being any...

Given the title, shouldn't there be at least a mention of the M1909 (Colt New Service) that was chambered in the long Colt .45 but was pushed into storerooms by the M1911? By it's 1892 design, it might have made the M1917 & half-moon clips unnecessary. The cartridge was already proven.