Back From the Dead (well...Basic Training)

DarthTaco123

DarthTaco123

Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
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Today marks the day I'm back home from Army Basic Training, but not exactly in one piece. I got sent home for medical reasons, I'll be able to reenlist but for now I'll probably be lurking here and finding a job until I can reenlist in two years. Til then I'll scout out a job, and probably a khuk or two while I'm waiting. It's good to be back!
 
glad to have you back man, sorry your medical issues got the best of you, but you have the right attitude!

wb darthtaco
 
I got to do most of the training, basically found out the last week of training I was getting sent home. I got to shoot LMG's and grenade launchers one day, and throw hand grenades on my Birthday so I think I got the better of THEM.
 
And what a birthday! Was the grenade launcher awesome to shoot?

What am I saying...of course it was...it's a grenade launcher...
 
So jealous right now. Yeah I expect it would, on top of that all the grenades you'd have to carry. Does every soldier have a grenade launcher or is there one or two guys with it?
 
Glad to see you around again DT123. Sucks about getting sent home early, but things always have a way of working themselves out in the end.
 
Welcome back Mr.Taco! Good to see ya again here. You got a good taste of service no less. Sounds like you almost had some fun:thumbup: Take care of yourself man!
 
Doing the best I can, swinging any kind of...anything hurts like a bugger after a while, I just want to grab an axe, khuk, or tomahawk and just play in the woods :(. My bladesmithing endeavors are on hold for a little bit too. At least I get the last two weeks of deer season in. And Dan, the typical squad has one grenadier, of whom packs a combat load of rounds (270 rounds dispersed in 30 round mags), and as many grenades as he can. It's not fun being that guy, but you do get to see what 40 mm of high explosive can do.
 
Welcome back DT123. Sorry to hear they slipped you a mickey. 2 years before they will let you try again? Ouch must have been painful.

LoL, funny thing about the grenade launcher is that no one wants to carry it, but everyone wants to have one available when lead starts coming back uprange (and everyone loves to fire it). When I first started as a butter-bar grenadiers were issued M-79s, the 40mm grenade launcher on a wood stock and he usually carried a 1911 for CQC, though he could choose a Colt "Commando" (XM177, it was an SBR version of the M-16 before the M-4 became available and even shorter than the 4) if he wanted one and we could get ahold of one. We transitioned to the M16/M203 over/under configuration later. In my unit I implemented a rule that everyone carried for their squad. The grenadier carried 26-28 varied grenades then everyone else carried their own ammo plus either belts for the M-60 or rounds of 40mm for the 203. We also made everyone except the grenadier and 60 team carry claymores so weight wise it all evened out pretty well and everyone agreed the extra rounds were a good thing to have available.
 
The same thing would happen when it came to carrying the 249 or 240B, noone wanted to carry it on FTX's, but on the range? All of the sudden everyone is scrambling to get at the beastie and start putting lead downrange. I usually got to be the poor sod pulling rear security, carrying the extra ammo for the automatic rifleman :(
 
Hehe, Yep, the 249s and 240Bs are the replacement for the old M-60s right? Belt-fed squad sized general purpose machine gun? I have to admit that was in the top 5 of the weapons we got to fire at OCS right up there with the 75mm Recoiless and the M79, But I think my favorite will always be Ma Duece. Something about .50cal at that rate of fire. On the plus side, once you reach permanent duty most commanders are smarter than to make 1-2 guys carry all the ammo.
 
Shavru said:
Hehe, Yep, the 249s and 240Bs are the replacement for the old M-60s right? Belt-fed squad sized general purpose machine gun? I have to admit that was in the top 5 of the weapons we got to fire at OCS right up there with the 75mm Recoiless and the M79, But I think my favorite will always be Ma Duece. Something about .50cal at that rate of fire. On the plus side, once you reach permanent duty most commanders are smarter than to make 1-2 guys carry all the ammo.
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M249 replaced the M60 at the squad level, and the M240 replaced it as a heavier weapon for use as a mounted weapon and in some cases as a portable but heavier machine gun.

And while I've never used the M203 in real life, I tried it out in one of those simulators, the ones the Army uses to train against moving targets, kind of like a big game of Duck Hunt, and I always went for the M16 that had an M203, because that thing was devastating. I also figured it out pretty quickly and instinctively. Even without the sights I was taking out plenty of targets.
 
Thanks, I wasn't sure the differences between the 249 and the 240. That clears it up nicely.

Yeah 203s surprisingly are really pretty easy to use if you have a general feeling for trajectory. Sort of like shooting a basketball or shooting pool if you just do it you generally are pretty accurate, if you analyze it to death you mess up your inate ability) The 79s I am more used to we generally fired with the butt against your thigh instead of the shoulder, they were not usually direct fire type weapons unless you are being over run by a jeep/truck. I always thought of it as lobbing a grenade but with more distance than you could throw it. If you needed to hit something straight on direct fire though a 40mm certainly is capable of being used that way if necessary. I watched one grenadier who was trying to teach a unit full of female officer candidates how to fire it easily put round after round of powder rounds inside the cab of a duece and a half target through the side window to show us it could be done LOL.
 
Shavru said:
Thanks, I wasn't sure the differences between the 249 and the 240. That clears it up nicely.

Yeah 203s surprisingly are really pretty easy to use if you have a general feeling for trajectory. Sort of like shooting a basketball or shooting pool if you just do it you generally are pretty accurate, if you analyze it to death you mess up your inate ability) The 79s I am more used to we generally fired with the butt against your thigh instead of the shoulder, they were not usually direct fire type weapons unless you are being over run by a jeep/truck. I always thought of it as lobbing a grenade but with more distance than you could throw it. If you needed to hit something straight on direct fire though a 40mm certainly is capable of being used that way if necessary. I watched one grenadier who was trying to teach a unit full of female officer candidates how to fire it easily put round after round of powder rounds inside the cab of a duece and a half target through the side window to show us it could be done LOL.
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I'm no good at basketball or pool, but I'm good with the M203. Helps keep me from feeling inadequate when I am forced into playing a sport with someone. They may be good at a sport, but I'm good with knives and guns. And isn't that what really matters?
 
Heal quick and good luck!

Will be nice to have your company for a while. Hope your dreams continue.
 
So I've got a scary idea, and it comes from having spending money. On Atlanta Cutlery Corp.'s website they have longleaf and bhojpure khukuri blades for sale, just the blades. Would it be some form of taboo if I bought a tulwar hilt and seated the blade in it? I've seen it with some antique khuk's and it looks completely badass. Just wondering if I'm violating some sacred code within the community or not before I go and make an ass of myself!
 
nah I think projects with knives are cool, and the old armory blades have lots of character with the devangari script on the spine-- I want to buy a good half dozen of those blades before too long, though it does not seem like they are running out
 
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