Hmm, maybe it was fireguard duty then...

A cookout? For morale purposes.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

A cookout? For morale purposes.

A chilly april night during exercise and live shooting on another fortress we were asigned to guard the ammo dump, a pile of ammo crates stacked up on a dirt road actually.
Since it was both cold and boring, we made a fire of the empty crates and cardboard boxes.
When we were relieved by the next team they continued feeding the fire with more empty crates, plus some twigs and bransches.
It all went well untill morning when the CO gave them a barking for breaking the rules, both by having open fire near the ammo dump, regulations call for minimum 100 meters distance from any open flame, and for burning the crates wich were considered "special waste" and to be disposed in certain containers.

The next night we set a small island on fire with tracers, that wasn't mentioned at all in the reports...

Originally Posted by gonzo11b

well... thatss... not interesting at all but tell you one thing, our fister platoon is most ate up platoon ive ever seen

I think a lot of FISTERs are ate up for the following reason. Some FOs see their roll as providing fire support and that is all. When I was an FO, I tried to help out the PL in every way possible. I would allow my radio to be used as a second means of commo so the PL could have better command and control of his platoon. The SLs used those small radios that did not have much range. But by using my radio, the PL could have one way coms with the SLs. I am sure there are new coms by now. I have been out of the look for 3 years now. Rather than sitting back, I was always proactive in helping out the platoon whenever possible. Fire support is there to support the INF so by God, support the infantry.

Originally Posted by AussieNick

You had a fire? In an infantry platoon position. At night? WTF?

Who came up with that genius idea?

The idea comes from the fact were were in a FOB according to the training. Our real position was in the woods a few clicks from the village. Since we were in a secure location, we were allowed to have a fire and security was 2 men up at all times. I saw no problem with it. So the main point is that no one is really tactical in a FOB so at the time, we did not have to be tactical either. Every once in a while, common sense prevails!

BTW left over cheese charges from mortars makes for good firemaking

Yes, left over cheese charges from mortars makes for good firemaking, and not as messy as kerosene or other liquid fuels.
Just don't make the same mistake as one chap who tried to make fire with some granulated powder he found in a bag stored in one of the old cannon bunkers.
It turned out to be a left over "cartouche" for a 150 mm. gun with separate loads, and the cartouche-bag contained blackpowder!

It went off with a "WHOMP" and he found himself sitting on a collapsed tent with a new hairdo and a face tint normally seen on rap-singers while the twigs and branches that was supposed to be a camp fire rained down on him...

Would have given anything to actually see that, but as I was at the machinegun post I only heard it.
The guy was pretty shaky afterwards, but no severe burns.

CLASSIC!! hahaha

opps...too funny

I forgot to mention about coffee heated by C4. I'll have to dig that picture up from my Iraq war pict collection. Engineers get to play with lots of toys...little boys with their little toys

Just put some in a rollie for the guy always bumming durries. I have a video of this on our latest live fire ex but my memory card doesn't fit in my laptop and I can't find the cord to connect it to the laptop.

An assault pack is a small bag that holds enough equipment for a day or 2. The soldiers saw thing and tried to get it back. When the civilian started to take things out of the pack, things got messy. One or 2 soldiers on the ground fired warning shots. A soldier on the roof fired an aimed shot into the crowed. The crowd was in full retreat when the 240 (the new M-60 machine gun) opened up on the crowd. A little bit later, a soldier fired 2 shots into the chest of a civilian in response to a thrown rock. The soldiers on the ground found nothing wrong with their actions while the BN (battalion) and BDE (brigade) commanders were pissed.

This is unbelievable. Honestly, common sense. Still can't believe it. Useless.

What was in the pack? The microfilm containing the true identity of the shooter who shot JFK?

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

What was in the pack? The microfilm containing the true identity of the shooter who shot JFK?

I really cannot remember but if the pack had something important I would of remembered.

Everyone must realize that this type of training is designed to piss soldiers off so they make rash decisions and mistakes. That way they can learn from them so they are not repeated in combat. We had a 1 star general tell us, the civilians, in a Kosovo training event to do everything possible to piss off the soldiers. That we did thru snow balls, taunts and a good riot to get the blood pumping. He commended us on our good job. And yes a few punches were thrown but we had a good time of it