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R.A.T.

R.A.T.

Randall's Adventure & Training
Joined
Feb 4, 2004
Messages
10,400
Mike and I just got back from the Illinois Tactical Operations Officer conference. Great show and a great bunch of folks.

This was the first time our new booth had been displayed. Thought I would post a pic here:

booth.jpg


We also talked to Ed Pepping, a medic for the "Band Of Brothers" E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne. These are the guys that HBO did the mini-series on. Ed is a real American hero.

mike-itoa.jpg
 
Great looking booth. Now let us see what we really want to see -- a close up of the table:D
 
The RC-3 was the biggest hit at the show. The RC-6 prototype was just too big for the tactical guys. And the desert tan and OD green (with Orange handles) knives didn't get near the attention as the black.
 
Sounds like it was a great success! Nice looking booth as well.
 
R.A.T. said:
The RC-3 was the biggest hit at the show. ... And the desert tan and OD green (with Orange handles) knives didn't get near the attention as the black.
Click to expand...

One of the "standards" for LEO: paint it black or call it "tactical" and market it to cops and we are likely to buy it...:p

I've often thought about creating "tactical paperclips" in black for reports for LEOs...I'll make a million. ;)

It doesn't surprise me, especially from the "switched" on crowd. :D

Glad the show was a success.

I still want my RC-6 and can't wait. I have other blades for duty carry - this one is for me!
 
Old Ed gets around. I met him at the Spec Ops show in Tacoma last year. Saw him again in Vegas at SHOT.

Too bad he was in the "Puking Buzzards" instead of a real Airborne outfit like the 505th. When those cherry boys from the 506th were making their first hot drop at Normandy the 505th was making their third. :)))

Like I told Ed in Tacoma, it was reading "Currahee" that made me go Airborne in the first place.
 
Anybody that hit the beaches during that time is a hero in my eyes. And there's not a whole lot of 'em left to tell the story either. Maybe that's for the best since the younger generation nowadays wouldn't give the first shit about their story. And it's not just the WWII vets, it's also the Vietnam vets such as yourself that the new generations don't even seem to know about. There is no history being taught anymore. It's not politically correct to be proud of a soldier nowadays. Well, screw 'em, I'm proud of every damn one of them.
 
R.A.T. said:
Anybody that hit the beaches during that time is a hero in my eyes. And there's not a whole lot of 'em left to tell the story either. Maybe that's for the best since the younger generation nowadays wouldn't give the first shit about their story. And it's not just the WWII vets, it's also the Vietnam vets such as yourself that the new generations don't even seem to know about. There is no history being taught anymore. It's not politically correct to be proud of a soldier nowadays. Well, screw 'em, I'm proud of every damn one of them.
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HOO-Freakin!!-AAAHHHH!!!!!
 
But Ed didn't hit no stinking beach!! He dropped out of a C-47 on the end of a T-7 long before anyone was in the surf. Curahee!
 
R.A.T. said:
Anybody that hit the beaches during that time is a hero in my eyes. And there's not a whole lot of 'em left to tell the story either. Maybe that's for the best since the younger generation nowadays wouldn't give the first shit about their story. And it's not just the WWII vets, it's also the Vietnam vets such as yourself that the new generations don't even seem to know about. There is no history being taught anymore. It's not politically correct to be proud of a soldier nowadays. Well, screw 'em, I'm proud of every damn one of them.
Click to expand...

Heh, heh.

Well, thank you.

It's not as bad as you think, though. Spend a little time with this new generation ... maybe share a little real history ... they're not that different from us (old-timers, that is).

Maybe I'm lucky, but I've seen more respect than I expected.

If it matters, I'm a USAF-lifer who dropped off the plane in Northern Virginia.
 
Well, to be fair, i bet a lot of the "old timers" didn't care much about history when they were teenagers ;)

But it's true, knowledge of history is actually pretty poor in our country. We know the basics but if you ask your average person the details of Korean War, Vietnam, and even both WWs, it's pretty shocking how little they know. Most people probably couldn't find Korea on a map.
 
Hey Jeff,
Nice display, hope you had a great show!

Talk at Blade,
John
 
Ed Pepping is a genuine pleasure to talk to. SO are all the vets I've talked to. It is great I think that Ed and other vets are willing to talk about their experiences and what motivated them (besides just staying alive). My stepfather never would talk about Iwo Jima and so I never got a grasp of what was going on in his head. Ed seems focused on telling his story for the younger folks to understand a little more of history. He talked about the younger people not listening to what the 'grandfathers' have to say and how the young generation is 'destroying' the importance of the grandfather image. History has a lot to teach if folks listen and I am very glad Ed and others like him are willing to try. Mike
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
But Ed didn't hit no stinking beach!! He dropped out of a C-47 on the end of a T-7 long before anyone was in the surf. Curahee!
Click to expand...

You know, I sit there and talked with Ed and he never even mentioned much about the war. We were mainly taking about today's generation (which he and I see eye to eye on). So, whether he hit the beach or not just really didn't matter to me. The guy is still an American hero in my eyes, as is every other man that was part of history during that period of time. There always seems to be a lot of competition among the ranks. You were 101st so you know this. The same way that Army will bitch about Marines, Marines bitch about Army, etc. But the bottom line is any man who served (or is serving) has my respect. I just simply don't have an argument against what Ed is doing, what company he was from, or what type of cigarettes he may have smoked back then. :D
 
A little birdy whispered in my ear and said I made a mistake by stating that you were with the "hundred and worst" :D instead of the 82nd.
 
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