Well, it was Korea...recreational mountain climbing/Spelunking?

Hay Gary, I was 13F before being tagged to be a 63D. I LOVED being a FO.

As for 13B's, don't get me started...

And yes, I think if you are modelling the 1970's National Guard, just about anything goes. I have a picture somewhere of a 105mm Artillery batter 2 1/2 ton loaded with nothing but cases of beer and a portable toilet going to the firing range at Camp Ripley. And no ammo or any other army material.

The grappling hook is used to remove barbed wire or concertina (razor) wire obstacles. One end is tied to the front of the tank, the other end is tossed into the wire. Tank backs up and drags wire until it either breaks free from its anchors or the wire itself breaks. Sometimes the rope breaks, but many units use cable instead of rope.

When I was in "Heavy Company" 2/3 Armored Cav at Fort Bliss we used to carry our field toilet in the bustle rack of the XO's tank (Bumper number H-65) It was a folding metal chair with a hole cut in it the size of the hole in a toilet seat. They slit a lenght of black rubber hose that went around the cut edge like a gasket. Many a time I saw a young troop headed behind a dune with "the chair" a shovel and a roll of toilet paper. We even took it with us to Germany on REFORGER 83

As a tanker from the mid 70's I also can reinforce the no ammo outside of tank. Everything else we had except the toilet brush (sure wish we had known about that) We had webgear that we put on the back of our seats. Didn't have butt packs but did throw the dufle bags in the bustle rack along with spare oil, water cans, and junk food caes--ravioli was a favorite that and Heinz baked beans. We filled the empty 50 cal storage bins up (inside tank) with coke candy and canned food.

The casings for the tank rounds of the M1A1 are part of the propellant and burn up easily and quickly. Even a hot afcap can set off a live round.
We were never allowed to hot seat a round. The live round is kept in its tootsie roll container until loaded on the tank in the ammo rack. One should never see a live tank round on the outside of the tank turret .


Just my 2 cents worth,

Mark

I remember Reforger one year in Germany, the interior of our 5/4 ton CP was so full of beer that only 1 operator could be in it at any time, and ALL our gear was strapped to the sides and roof of the veh. When the beer ran out, radio siilence was called down while the CP went on a resupply run to the local gasthof.

My first tour in Iraq we had most of our personal 782 gear outside the LAV, along with our most important piece of gear -- a toilet seat from Home Depot which was hung on the antenna mount. All our ammo and demo was inside the hull.

What's Reforger?


Sean

I believe its short for REturn of FORces to GERmany.

It was basically a yearly exercise for fast deployment of troops to Europe incase of a Soviet invasion.

Or atleast thats how I understand it

That's exactly right. I don't know precisely what year the first Reforger took place, but if I'm not mistaken it was in the late 60's.

I belive it began when as part of an earlier draw down of forces, it was decided to keep a forward deployed Brigade of a Division (and for a long time it was the 1st Inf Division) in Germany, and the concept of Reforger was to show that the Division could quickly be placed in combat back in Germany although it was for the most part stationed back in the Continental United States (CONUS).

Each year, (almost always in the fall) there would be a HUGE Field Exercise involving both of the Divisions in one of the two Corps stationed in Germany, as well as quite a few German units.

The Reforger unit would fly over and draw equipment out of depots where it had been in storage and everyone would drive around the German countryside for about two weeks.

By the time all the bills were paid (including huge "maneuver damage" payments to local farmers and foresters) they must have cost a fortune, but still less than keeping the Division overseas full time.

I never missed a single one for 5 straight years, while stationed in Germany, 72 - 77, either as a participant or as an umpire when my unit wasn't on the troop list.


Tom