Few more pics...

[Michael Tompkins]

Here are some of our gun jeeps and my defensive position in the German woods. I had about 1000 rounds of blank ammo to shoot up against the "aggressors".
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h116/tinbender-mike/81440028.jpghttp://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h116/tinbender-mike/81490002.jpghttp://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h116/tinbender-mike/81490008.jpghttp://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h116/tinbender-mike/81490007.jpg

[Guamsst]

I love the buried ammo cans. Something I have never seen before.

[Nick Riviezzo]

Guamsst, I don't know if you are kidding,but those are lids on the ground not buried ammo cans. Nick

[Ltdave]

Guamsst, I don't know if you are kidding,but those are lids on the ground not buried ammo cans. Nick

picture 3 shows the cans next to the pig and THEY are buried. or they certain look that way to ME (as well as SSgt...)

[Michael Tompkins]

They are buried. When I had the time, I always did that. I was by myself and it fed easier when I was alone. I didn't knock them over in the dark either. Mike

P.S. I had placed Hoffman charges in front of my position. I always piled some small rocks and sticks on top of them for a little extra "kick". We'd also take the blank adaptors off our 16's when we wanted to punish the aggressors with hot sealant at close range. I'd also take the adaptor off the 60, stick a spent cartridge neck-first into the flash surpressor and then fire off a blank round when shooting at vehicles. I stopped doing that when I finally knocked a hole in the windshield of an M151. We blamed it on a rock.

[Griff Murphey]

Happy days in the field with blanks. I never got a belt-fed but an M -14 with a BFA was cool even without a selector.

[Guamsst]

Never got to do much wargaming over the past couple decades. I did have one exercise with blanks while training for convoy duty. They had me driving the Command Humvee and when they said drivers could not shoot I about went off. We got "ambushed" and the convoy stopped due to an IED ahead. Now, despite what they said and the fact that they explained how it was not "Possible" I felt the need to return fire. Our gun truck was basically exchanging broadsides with the "aggressors" who were firing from behind a small berm. Everyone in the back of the convoy was just watching. I shouldered my M-16 right handed, but against my left shoulder as this was the only way to get an angle on the aggressors. When I started firing I realised my hot brass was bouncing off the windshield toward the MSgt in the passenger seat. I quit aiming at the agressors and started working on my bank shot. A few rounds later and I had the brass hitting him in the neck and was trying to get it to go into his shirt. He started screaming "Cease fire, conserve ammo!!".....ROFL!!! The Major in the back of the hummer did not say a word to me about my "Waste of ammo" :)

On a positive note, I did get the rear of the convoy to start laying covering fire for the guntruck that was getting 100% of the ambush.

[Nick Riviezzo]

I stand [or sit] corrected. I didn't notice the "laid in" boxes. As Michael said it made for easier feeding . But Michael where's the C rat can? Nick

[Michael Tompkins]

[QUOTE But Michael where's the C rat can? Nick[/QUOTE]

I had seen that done, but never knew how it attached. Did it attach directly to the feed tray or...? All of my platoon sargeants were 'Nam vets, but never thought to ask if they knew. One in a particular, we nick-named "Snuffy Tent Peg" was always about, "Well, we used to do this and we used to do that" kind of thing and we always thought he was kinda full of sh*t. One day in the field, he was showing us how "they" used to string booby-traps. He tacked the booby-trap simulator to a branch and then tied the wire around a small tree. He stretched the the branch across the trail with his thumb next to the charge. Right in front of us, he stretched it too far. Boom! Split the end of his thumb open. Then it was time for a first-aid class before leaving to go to the Dispensary to get sowed up. Good lesson in what NOT to do!

[Guamsst]

Uhm ......not an expert, but I am thinking when you arm the booby trap you need to A.) be real sure you aren't setting it off, and preferably B.) be out of the way of the blast.

I've got a buddy who is a "Cold war vet" He has a few really good espionage type stories...only they are told as the boring truth except for the few bits of humor revolving around a non shooting war with random gunfire. As with my experiences, his stories also seem closer to a sitcom than a spy novel.

Seems to me his fondest memories are of pulling the pins on tear gas and putting them back in the shipping tubes in the supply warehouse, he hated their supply guys....LOL

[Michael Tompkins]

Booby trap simulators are an explosive device...explosive devices just like the grenade and artillery simulators. Just like giant firecrackers. He should have planted the device and then stretched the WIRE, not the device. Much safer!

I have a few espionage stories as well. As an MP spending my entire tour in W. Germany, I was exposed and privvy to a few happenings. Most involved terrorist bomb threats and SMLM (Soviet Military Liason Mission) vehicles. SMLM vehicles usually got the blood flowing 'cause you never knew how things were going to go. Their jobs were to spy on and report troop movements, excercises and whatnot in places they weren't supposed to be in. Our job was to try to catch them and detain if possible. That was the hard part. Most of the time it ended in failure and they got away. We (me and my partner) thought we had one trapped once, but they drove into a ditch and got away at a high rate of speed. We were in a '76 Valiant. Need I say more? Only once did we win and in quite spectacular fashion. A SMLM was following a convoy we were providing TCP's for. It involved one of my MP buddies diving inside the open driver-side window while the van was moving and wrestling with the driver to pull the keys out of the ignition. He did so and slid back out while the van rolled to a stop. MI and CID did the rest. We were never allowed to talk to them. He was the local hero for a bit. Fun times!