LHookins

In the above scenario, all my vehicles were programmed to back away from the crest and move to an alternate firing position upon taking effective return fire. Everything was automatic except the timing of the advancing of the Bradleys which was triggered manually. I wrote several scenarios for that sim demonstrating various techniques like the one above. The most interesting was turning an entire battalion 90 degrees to attack in a different direction, based on a real world War Story told by my brigade first sergeant about a general doing the same thing with an entire division. This was considered highly unusual and probably occurred during a training exercise. 😄 Hook

And that is the exact argument that has been going on for a long time. 😄 Bradleys can't directly oppose tanks. This was brought home to me in a scenario I developed for Steel Beasts. A force equipped with Soviet equipment was coming down a road in a valley between two hills. On one hill I had a platoon of Abrams, on the other a platoon of Bradleys. They were triggered to attack when the opposing force hit a minefield on the road. In every case where both platoons advanced to hull defilade at the same time I lost the entire Bradley force. I was finally able to keep the Bradleys alive by advancing the Abrams first and waiting until the opposing tanks were fully engaged before advancing the Bradleys. Steel Beasts was developed as a training simulation and is used by several countries, but not the USA. I was able to aid in the development of the sim. Hook

Ah, thanks. That has been taught as "unsupported by infantry" but the ATGM was also supposed to be the end of tanks. By 1972 we were taught how to deal with ATGMs. Methods probably developed by the IDF. Hook

This is not a new argument and has been going on for a long time. For example, the Israelis in the 1967 war found out that sending tanks unsupported by infantry didn't work. I doubt tanks were very useful in Viet Nam (I haven't studied it). But the battle of 73 Easting in 1991 was won primarily by tanks. Tanks are very useful in the situations where they are very useful. They won't go away. When conditions are right, the battles will still be tank vs tank. The fact that tanks are not universally useful doesn't matter. I didn't stop studying warfare when I left the tank unit in 1973. The military parades are impressive no matter who is doing them. 🙂 Hook

When I got married, my wife flew to live with me in Germany. She was from Texas and had the heavy Texas accent common at the time. When she flew through New York, she couldn't understand anything they said. 😄 That accent has since mellowed a lot in Texas. I only hear remnants of it in older people occasionally. It was even worse in older people when I was very young. I lost my own Texas accent after a while, only hearing it in my own voice when I was really tired. I played one of my wife's audio tapes from before she joined me in Germany several years later and she was horrified at her accent! 😄 Hook

I knew about Al Jazeera from previous contacts, and three of the India media sources were recommended to me by YouTube. Even the most credible sites may not have all the facts, or get some of them wrong, and everyone bends stories to their own editorial preferences. If you've seen ads for Ground News you've seen examples of how various stories are reported across various media. If not, check their site at ground.news No, I do not have a subscription. 🙂 I follow a few independent center-right news aggregators and like I said, take them all with a grain of salt. Hook

We didn't have any mammarian tankers in those days. They probably would have made superior gunners. But the loader needed considerable upper body strength to "juggle" the 65 pound main gun rounds. We had one guy, short and stocky and about one beard away from being one of Tolkien's Dwarves who was so fast that it was claimed he could keep two rounds in the air at the same time. That would have bent a few procedures but knowing these guys they probably tested it at least once. The rest of the crew had to "hump ammo", loading the rounds from the supply trucks to the ground to the loader's hatch and stowed in the tank. Some of the maintenance required a bit of heavy lifting. Hook

You mean like Al Jazeera or Times of India? 😄 Sometimes you can get good information from someone who "doesn't have a dog in that race." I can't give examples without going into forbidden territory. Hook

For aviation related news we generally trust Avsim, but not any one specific post. Eventually we get a reasonable picture. For general news, I've found it best to take everything with a grain of salt and compare sources. Hook

I was just watching videos of the various military vehicles being staged for Saturday's parade, drooling over the Abrams tanks, and my first thought was, "I wish I could be in that." I was a tank crewman on the M60-A1 in Germany in the early 70's and just realized how much I can sometimes miss it. Those tanks were hard enough to climb on when I was young and fit, but at 75 there's just no way. Yeah, it would be nice to stand and watch the parade go by, but nothing like riding in the loader's hatch of one of the tanks. I can't express how much fun they were. Hook

I missed something. Why are they calling this a "rocket" engine if it breathes air? Hook

I suffer physical discomfort every time one of these tiny monsters wraps itself around my foot when I'm trying to walk! Frequent swabs with alcohol on a cloth are necessary. But it's worth it, every bit. Hook

OS/2? Hook

Hey, not bad for someone who is actually allergic to cats! 😄 I didn't care. I just totally ignored it for years until it finally went away. The last time I had any problems was many years ago. I was petting a very fluffy long haired white cat when I felt a sneeze coming on. I put my petting hand in front of my nose and mouth, and reflexively inhaled for the sneeze. I ended up with something resembling industrial pneumonia for a while. It was worth it. Never had a problem since. Lordy, that was 40 years ago! Hook

"One can never have too many cats." The most permanent cats I've ever had at one time was 12... then one had 6 kittens. The kittens all found homes. Generally we only ever saw 3 at a time. I recently ran across an old message bringing a very old friend up to date and mentioning we had 11 cats. This was during the time I was going on "cat walks" every evening, where the most I ever had go with me was 9. And three dogs. Anyone who made it all the way to the far end got special attention and "Thank you for walking with me, I do appreciate it." I was a self-described "cat rancher." Yes, they all had names (and some would even respond to them). Yes, they were all fixed (except that one). 🙂 Why so many? Some were born here. Others... well, you know how people tell kids their pet went to the country to live on a farm? We were that farm. Some of my most beloved pets were someone else's unwanted animal, or one they couldn't keep for whatever reason. My son and his wife acquire various animals for their own reasons, often for food. I wouldn't mind keeping the remaining 5 kittens except they are pretty rough around the edges and we need to find someone who will give volume discounts on neutering. I used to be able to afford that. Leo and Layla sleep with me most nights, and they help keep me sane. This has somehow gotten more important as the years go by. 😄 Hook