Posts made by Redleg13A

Are we doing the deal? I’ve sent 3 PMs with no response. All I need is your pay pal stuff and I can pay in full. Awaiting a yes or no so we can either move forward or I can move onto something else…

@CWO:

@Redleg13A:

I would say you’re absolutely right CWO. We do complement each other. I see it more as a brotherly relationship…we can beat the hell out of each other all we want, but if anyone else tries to, we’ll go to hell and back to make sure they regret that decision.

One could even say (upcoming pun alert) that these two services often complement each other but rarely compliment each other.

:-D Now that’s a pun I can get behind! Just for the ben-e-fit of my Devil Dog breth-r-en, I try to break down the words with more than two syl-lab-les! Otherwise you might invoke a MARINE SMASH!

I would say you’re absolutely right CWO. We do complement each other. I see it more as a brotherly relationship…we can beat the hell out of each other all we want, but if anyone else tries to, we’ll go to hell and back to make sure they regret that decision.

@sgtwiltan:

You’re absolutely right. Marines were and are used to establish the beachheads so that the superior numbers and equipment the Army could bring to bear wore down the Japanese.
We are the Marine Corps, by definition 2 or more Divisions. I agree that Marines have been made into some Super Human war machines in the popular imagination. Being one, I know the reality. It’s not easy becoming one but popular perception is above and beyond reality. Just look at the games and TV representations. Our promotion dept does a good job promoting our worth because many times in our history, we have come under the gun for disbandment and it was popular support that kept us in existence. Our rep is part real and part self promotion but all necessary for self preservation. My grandfather fought as part of the US Army when the Phillipines were a US territory in WW2. It was the Army that bore the brunt of the Japanese invasion forces. The rivalry between the Marines and Army are simply because of all the services, we are most alike. Friendly but a rivalry none the less.

Semper Fi

No worries devil dog. This dog face has nothing but respect for the Corps. Even if I do like to give them sh!t every now and again. I proudly wear a 1st Marine Division combat patch that was awarded to soldiers like myself that were assigned directly to Marine task forces fighting side by side in Fallujah and in Ramadi. We sweated and bled over the same ground. We covered each other and came to each others aid when necessary. I love working with you guys because I know I’m dealing with professionals, even if you guys are self propelled sand bags lol. Semper Fi

PS… it doesn’t matter what we say, the finest human beings out of all us grunts are the medics and corpsman!

@Spitfire38:

Hey guys! I’m selling my fully painted 1942 set over on the Marketplace; in the process of preparing the set for sale, I took photos of all of the pieces. They are the pieces that I began painting as a beginner, so you can see the development of the quality over time. I thought you might like to see them for ideas, questions, laughs, etc. If for no other reason, A&A painters love photos!

Here is the link to my Flickr page, where you can see them all. http://goo.gl/SbKgLZ

Happy Wednesday!

Looks awesome! Um…how much for the whole set!

@sgtwiltan:

@Redleg13A:

@CWO:

@Redleg13A:

I have a lot of devil dog buddies and whenever they start talking “hoorah” and patting each other on the back with how great they are I like to point out that the Marine Corps may win battles…but the Army wins wars!

Here’s an anecdote along the same lines that I mentioned in an earlier discussion:

Back during the First Gulf War, I saw a news item on television in which a reporter spoke (on separate occasions) to a guy from the US Marines and a guy from the US Army.  When he asked the leatherneck why he was in the USMC rather than the Army, the guy answered (as I recall) “Well, I think the Army is kind of ordinary, and I think of myself as somebody who’s more than just ordinary.”  When he later asked the GI why he was in the Army rather than the Marines, the soldier answered, “I know some guys who are in the Marines and they’re all crazy.”

LOL, and that’s basically the crux of it. Marines revolve their lives around their Marine identities it seems. For instance, you’ll see MANY more Marines/former Marines wearing their respective Marine shirts, hats, jackets, license plates, etc than you will for soldiers. I think it is great that devil dogs are proud of their service and want everyone to know it. At the same time, I believe soldiers are just as proud, they just don’t feel the compulsion to let everyone around them know how proud they are. I think soldiers simply prefer the quiet professionals approach.

When I got out of the Marines my office was in an old WW2 barracks. The building across the street was being demolished so was used by Force recon for a live fire urban assault excercise.
We are rah rah about being Marines because we have the scraps of the navy budget and at the time of my exit, deployable Marines were expected to deploy 7 months out of each year and that was a peacetime commitment. We’re good cause we have to be to crack the defenses. There are not many of us so once we’ve made the hole, the army with more and heavier equipment takes over for the long haul. Combined with the Navy’s air assets and our rides, our mission is offensive power projection. We were tasked with attacking the the Iraqis head on to fix their units in Kuwait during the 1990 gulf war. We attacked exactly where they were expecting us to attack so the rest of the coalition could take them from behind. Out of ~500k US troops in theatre, there were 80k of us. That head on attack was however helped by the Army’s Tiger brigade since our armour assets were not enough and the original British armored division allocated to us were reassigned for the encirclement. Hell even our armored battalions had to borrow Abrams from Army units since we took M60A3 tanks with us to war. ( Not to mention the vehicles we unofficially borrowed from the army)

I’m proud of what we did since we did it with with what we had. That was just an example of why we are so proud. We do a lot with less. Pride is the only that drives us since we get the scraps of the military budget. If you want to mention Peleliu then let me bring your attention to Kasserine. By the way the officers and Staff NCOs from my unit went to war with .45s since we hadn’t been issued the Berrettas yet.

Also on topic, There were Marine contingents in Normandy in the Battlewagons. The were scraped together as a secondary assault force for the point du Hoc attack since the rangers were getting splattered. However the assault succeeded so the Marines were never used in Normandie and why we don’t have that Battle honor.

If you want to know if I am talking out of my ass or from experience, check out my thread here and make your own opinions.
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=28013.0
page 3

Semper Fi and Hoorah

The point about Pelelieu was that outside of military historians, few know about it. Kasserine Pass is well documented and everyone seems to know about it. The Brits even coined the Americans as their “Italians” because of the cluster f*ck of that battle. It was also the US Army’s first major battle against the Germans. The 1st MAR Div had already experienced Guadalcanal and Gloucester by the time they hit Pelelieu. I’m not taking anything away from the valor of the Marines that participated in that battle, what I am pointing out is that the Army was there too and in many cases had to take over where the Marines simply could not overcome the Japanese forces.

I think there is a modern perception that the Navy and Marine Corps won the war in the Pacific largely on their own…This is simply not the case.

Redleg13A

Lawton, OK

All A and A board game variants. Also, FoW, conquest of the empire, napolean in Europe, shogun, basically any military strategy board game. If I don’t know how to play it I don’t mind learning…

I also have a cut throat, very engrossing, almost weekend killing board game a friend of mine and I made based off the medieval period that has a tendency to bring out people’s true character lol.

I was at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma going through Advanced Individual training to become a Forward Observer.

Our Drill Sergeants called us all down into the bleachers. We thought they were about to do a “health and welfare” inspection.(That’s where they throw all your stuff around in the squad bays looking for contraband) Then they told us what was up.

We were pissed.

The training got very intense after that and I think both the Drill Sergeants and us trainees approached the remainder of the training with a new sense of purpose and urgency. It’s as if we knew we were on the precipice of something very big…little did we know how big that something would be…

about a year later I was in Kuwait…we knew what the deal was.

21 March 03 I crossed the LD into Iraq with 3rd Bn 15th Infantry 2BCT 3rd Infantry Division…The first of many

@General:

And another side note civilians lose wars not the American military.

Agreed, terrible policy has been the bane of the US fighting man for over half a century. (or longer even)

We give the people all the battle wins, and spineless leadership and ineptitude takes those victories and squanders them.

From one trooper to another “Brave Rifles!” and thank you for your service!

@Mallery29:

It was a sad attempt to replace the working uniform…the problem is that they are expensive as hell and don’t clean well…give me the coveralls (poopy suit) any day…it’s how I get work done…plus these things are pain in the arse to wear in warm weather climates like Hawaii or Japan in Summer.

LOL, I just wondered if that was the writing on the wall by the Dep of the Navy saying, “if you go overboard, we really don’t want to find you!”

No worries, the ACU’s that the Army has been wearing for quite a few years are about the most easily ripped (especially in the crotch region) and about the most non camouflaged uniforms one could ask for. At least your uniform blends into the environment you most often work in…ours doesn’t blend into anything…save for a certain type of forest green couch.

Of course, after a few weeks in the field or in theater, we start to blend into wherever we’re at due to filth as opposed to any real attempt at being camo’d up.

@Mallery29:

…the thread is about Veterans.  While I appreciate some of my civilian colleagues, they are not, nor shall be considered veterans.  While I have never had the luxury of face to face combat with guns (hoo-yah Navy…where’s my liberty port!!!..Boo…A/C units are down again, it’s hot!  :cry:), this thread is about those who served in the military (correct me if I’m wrong).  Everyone has a role in the aspects of the military (from the E-2 cook to the E9 salty Master Chief, to the dumbass O2 leading his squad when we all know it’s the E6 and ups carrying the load, to the Admirals and Generals playing bureacracy to the civilian contractors doing work on our gear or providing intel.  So let the Vets speak up…if the civilian union scum want a thread…MAKE ONE!  :lol:

Thank you.

You’re the smart one here. This is one time where I will not say “beat Navy” but instead say amen. Simple question that I’ve been dying to ask an anchor clankor…what’s the deal with the blue cammie’s?

That’s precisely the point I was trying to make. I don’t expect GOs to know the day to day stuff. I don’t expect you to know to my curriculum. I don’t have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is when GOs or GSs try to put their names on things at my level just because they want to make sure everyone knows their stick measures longest. You may not be aware of it, but guys like me have to deal with the shotgun blast knee jerk reactions of guys who have never been in the game or have been out of the game for a long time constantly. That’s when it becomes a problem. We are entirely too contractor heavy and we are paying for it through the nose.

@rjpeters70:

A and A is at best a game of grand strategy.  It has zero operational or tactical utility.  Hence, I’m not sure why you’d use it for ROTC guys, who will be doing tactical stuff for well over the first decade of their career.  They won’t even start to think about operational stuff until they are 05s at the earliest.

Most of the games/exercises I run are at the strategy to grand strategy level.  I am going to an operational to strategy level game in Newport in a couple months.  We’ll have Blue, Green, Red, Orange, Yellow, and White (control) cells all playing in separate rooms over five days.  About a hundred of us.  Kind of excited, as the most complex game I’ve played is a forty person, three cell game over three days.

But for ROTC?  A and A is borderline useless as a training tool.  Fun?  Yes.  Educational?  No.

You just flat out say it is useless. Show me where you say it can be proven wrong?

What you also need to understand is that I can’t demand participation in that curriculum. So it has to be on my own, and the cadets own time. Therefore, they have to give a Friday night of theirs just to get a chance at learning concepts ahead of what they would otherwise. That means I have to make it worth it for them, an 18 or 19 year old college kid, to be willing to choose going to this instruction as opposed to the litany of other things that is pulling these kids in multiple directions on a Friday night.

Battalion level is likely the very limit of where an officer may see the day to day operations going on in an AO. Most of their picture is going to be filled through story boards and power points while the rest of their time is going to be filled attending various meetings. If they’re lucky they’ll leave the wire once a week. That doesn’t mean they’re out of touch, it’s just different and I would prefer it that way so they stay out of my way. Maybe, and I mean maybe a BC just coming off the line might have had a company command at the very beginning of GWOT. Most did their deployments up to that point working as a brigade or division staffer. Seen plenty of BCs and higher playing PL down range when a SIGACT happens though. On the other hand had plenty just shut their mouths and let us do our jobs so they can do theirs. I never said 3 years time in the suck equated to knowing all. But it does amount to quite a bit more than most. Especially the tours I pulled and where I pulled them. I know precisely the duties and responsibilities of all those pay grades you mentioned which means if I can make the curriculum pertinent to the cadets in the tactical sense, you know, because it’s all I’ve ever done and it’s likely the most up to date first hand experience available….Then maybe you should just take my word for it. I don’t need some civilian to point that out to me, especially one who honestly didn’t know that there were principals of combat that were pertinent from the team to the army level.

@rjpeters70:

“There are fundamental concepts that work from the squad all the way up to the Army level that can be displayed through this game.”  Which ones?  Honest question.  I’m just not sure what concepts could be learned from A and A that can be transferred to the platoon/company level.

You admittedly can’t make that leap, which is a red flag to me that you’re out of your depth when it comes to the actual application of the tactical level both doctrinally and in practice. Then insist I’m the asshole because I don’t know my place when all I’m trying to say is that I know I can make it work and I am making it work. The examples I’m using are simply to show your level of experience is not applicable to what I’m doing. Mine is.

@rjpeters70:

@Redleg13A:

@rjpeters70:

My work is in the Policy and education side of the house. � So, yes, I do spend a lot of time on what an 05 should know versus an 06 versus an SES versus a 02.

So what do you think an “O-1” should know? (I find it strange you call it by pay grade, it’s just something we don’t do in the service) and what specifically do you do in DoD? I don’t know of anyone who has such a range of responsibilities when it comes to the military education system, any level of the military education system would seem to be a full time job let alone 3 or 4 echelons of education. You must be a very bright and important person to wear so many hats.

I know for military guys, getting called by your paygrade is odd.  It is something civilians (and even military officers) do in the Joint world, when you interact regularly with different ranking officers from different Services and civilians from various CSAs, JS, and OSD.  We do the same thing with civilians who we don’t know, because it’s the easiest, quickest way to identify who counterparts are.

I’ll give you an example:  In the Joint, NCR world, unless you’re part of a military organization, you’ll pretty much call everybody by their first name, or in conversations.  “Do you know Tom Walker?”  “No, who’s he?”  “Oh, he’s an 05 in A5XS, working global strike issues.  Works for Gus Bailey, in Jay Belcher’s shop.”  “Oh, ok.  Gus and Jay are good people.”  Gus in this situation could be a senior GS-15, while Jay is the USAF two-star on Air Staff.  It’s a good way for civilian and military folks to figure out who’s who on what pecking order in an environment where not everyone wears rank on their clothes, and 32 year olds regularly outrank Lieutenant Colonels (this can, as you can imagine, cause some friction at times).

As for what I do:  Like I said, I’m a civilian in the NCR, who regularly does Policy support to the two and three star level, with a heavy focus on education through the J/PME in one of the J/PME focal points, as established in a CJCSI.  So, while yes, you “don’t know of anyone who has such a range of responsibilities when it comes to the military education system,” I’d just say 1) I never claimed to know everything of what every pay grade show know, but I do understand broadly what they’re supposed to be doing and learning at various points in their career, and 2) I’m not surprised you don’t know.  You’re a Captain in the Army.  That’s wonderful.  God bless, and thank you for your continued service to our country.  I say that with all sincerity.  But at the risk of sounding condescending, an 03 is pretty low on the totem pole and you, by definition, are supposed to think about the tactical.  There are lots of places in the J/PME system (my office is one of many) where people get paid to map out what specific kinds and levels of knowledge various officers and civilian counterparts should focus and develop course modules that support those efforts.

That said, I focus far more on the Policy side of the house than on the education.  I only get out to the classrooms (at the War College level) a couple time a semester.

You’re right, in the big picture I am pretty low on the totem pole. And you’re also right about sounding condescending. It is as if you’re pinching my cheek with praise while trying to subdue me so the “grown ups can talk.” But us “low totem pole” officers and NCOs are the ones that produce our officer corps. An “O-5” and especially an “O-8/9” is simply out of date and out of touch to what is pertinent today. I’m not surprised you can’t think of ways that these skills transfer because you’ve no idea what it is we do on the ground.

You claimed to be versed in what basically every officer pay grade should know. Then you ambiguously stated you worked in the policy/education side of the house without further elaboration. How did you think that was going to be interpreted. Or was I supposed to read between the lines and suddenly be afraid because you rub shoulders with generals and I’m just a lowly captain who needs to know his place.

Something to consider. I think if anyone would be able to make a judgement call about what’s going to useful to brand new LTs it would be the senior LTs and CPTs that have been on the line their entire lives IN COMBAT. Guys like me, especially with my time as an NCO, know what works. Generals wouldn’t even know how to turn on a BFT or fill a radio with encryption. So while you guys are are running simulations in your think tank, we are doing our 5s and 25s, executing missions, and putting the muzzles of our weapons in the enemies faces and blowing their heads off. We’ve been doing it for tour after tour for over a decade.

I’d say you stick to your policy and simulations.

I’ll stick to the training of these officers and the actual prosecution of the combat.

And if it sounds like I’m pissed off or offended, it’s because I am. You’ve never served in the military let alone combat. Lambs leading lions as far as I’m concerned.

@rjpeters70:

My work is in the Policy and education side of the house.  So, yes, I do spend a lot of time on what an 05 should know versus an 06 versus an SES versus a 02.

So what do you think an “O-1” should know? (I find it strange you call it by pay grade, it’s just something we don’t do in the service) and what specifically do you do in DoD? I don’t know of anyone who has such a range of responsibilities when it comes to the military education system, any level of the military education system would seem to be a full time job let alone 3 or 4 echelons of education. You must be a very bright and important person to wear so many hats.

@General:

Yes,armored reconnaissance specialist was my MOS. Bamberg,Germany.� � �Scouts out.

Good to go, I bet it made for some interesting experiences!

@rjpeters70:

Civilian here DoD’er here, working in the NCR.

I’m surprised based off your response to my A and A as a training tool thread. You seemed to have a lot of opinions about what a LT through COL should know or should be doing by rank…I figured those opinions were based on experience.

@General:

F trp. 2/2 ACR 11D10 June 71-June 74

11D? Have never heard of that. Perhaps cav scout? (Which is now called 19D) I’m assuming Germany?

Spent a lot of time with 3rd ACR on my first tour, lots of firepower…just not a lot of troops. Got my gold spurs from them as well.

One can never go wrong with a Springfield.

I’m actually thinking of buying a Springfield XD 45. I have an XD9 and am quite pleased with it. The only gripe would be that the magazines aren’t as beveled as I’d like which causes me to be a little more focused when doing an emergency reload…but that just means I have to practice harder which will improve that skill across the board since most magazine fed pistols have a wider mag port or magazines where their tops are more angled for easier insertion.

I’m just curious if there are any current or former members of the military in here.

I’ll start

US Army 2001-present

Started as a joe and made it to the nco ranks.

Went Green to Gold and obtained my commission and am currently a Field Artillery officer in the rank of Captain.

Served in multiple duty stations to include, Ft. Sill, Ft. Riley, Korea, and Southwest Asia. Currently an Assistant Professor of Military Science within an ROTC unit in Oklahoma.

Multiple tours in Iraq.

@Spitfire38:

@Redleg13A:

It takes me back to my military modeling days. When I was a teenager I would spend countless hours painting 1/72-1/35 scale miniatures to build military dioramas. I even did one for my Senior project in high school where I made a diorama of the US Special Forces camp at Lang Vei being overrun by PT-76 tanks and NVA in 1-35 scale…

Wow, those sound like really cool projects! You don’t happen to have any photos of these dioramas, do you? I bet you have a lot of experience in terrain and weathering as well. Really neat.

@Redleg13A:

Maybe when my kids get a little older I can start the hobby back up and practice on my Axis and Allies pieces since they look (the infantry at least) about the same size as 1/72 scale.

I have painted some 1/72 infantry, and it is almost the same size; probably a bit closer to 1/76. Good luck on all future customization projects!

Unfortunately I don’t…I did a whole bunch of them when I was growing up though.

The first thing about terrain and weathering I would say is doing a lot of research. This hobby is really how I became super interested in history because I had to make these things very very accurate since many of the judges in the modeling contests I would enter were experts themselves or even veterans of the pieces I was portraying.

For example. The first time I did this my dad came in (a Marine multiple tour infantry/door gunner Vietnam Vet) with a Dragon set of 4 US Marines from Vietnam and said, we’re going to build a diorama and submit it in a contest that was 2 weeks away. So I diligently started putting together and painting the Marine figures based off the colors that the box had set for their uniforms and equipment. After finishing a few he came in to inspect my work and flatly said “the uniforms are the wrong color”…I said that forest green was the color the box had on it. He mentioned “sure, maybe when they’re issued, but not after they’ve been exposed to sweat, dirt, and the sun for months on end. They should be a very light green to almost a white color because this portion of the battle takes place after the monsoon season and the sun will bleach those uniforms several shades lighter then when they were issued.” I was only about 12 at this time and didn’t really have any concept of what my dad did in Vietnam at that point…but it was at this point that I realized that 1. my dad really seemed to know what he was talking about…and I wondered why that was and 2. if he saw that, then the judges would certainly see that. The following week he dropped off a stack of books on the subject in my room and basically said; “If you want to make this right, you need to start reading.” And boy did I start reading lol. I ended up taking second in that contest but it lit a fire to really get into the nitty gritty of the research portion of not only the soldiers, their equipment, and their battles, but also on books that were published that concentrated on making your figures “come to life”. It took a lot of trial and error and I must say my neck, shoulders, and eyesight probably paid for it being hunched over for hours looking through a magnifying glass trying to get that oh so small piece of equipment just the right combo of OD green and weathered dirt color. It paid off though because my hallmarks ended up being:

A 1/72 scale diorama of a city block in the battle of Hue city near the citadel. It had about a platoon and half worth of US Marines and about a platoons worth of NVA. It also had an M48 Patton tank as well as a mechanical mule with a 106mm recoiless rifle mounted on it. Lots of weathering for the city damage and the battle damage on the tank.

The first one I did was of a portion of the line at Khe Sanh in 1/35 scale complete with a trench line, bunker, lots of sandbags, and jarheads either taking cover from incoming or shooting the “pig” (an M60 machine gun). Not to mention getting the mud the right reddish. In the trench line the level of detail went from expended C ration cans, spend shell casings, to rats running along the edges.

I did a 1/35 scale one of a PBR river boat extraction of a SEAL team under fire in the Mekong Delta. That was a very difficult one to do trying to get the resin I used as water to look realistic with the motor wash of the boat, the splashes of the team scrambling in the shallow water to get to the boat, and the splashes to make it look like rifle and machine gun fire was landing in the water around them as they exfilled. I don’t know how many times I had to start over getting it just right…but once I did…it looked awesome.

The senior project I did was on the evolution of Special Operations forces within the US military from WWII to present. I made a timeline over all types of different units we’ve had throughout the years with a description of their mission set, training, and utility. I mounted 1/35 scale representations of each group I had made on a board to the appropriate area of the timeline for graphic representation of what those troops would look like. Then I capped it off with the Special forces compound diorama set in Vietnam since that was Special Operations most prominent role they had fulfilled up to that point in their history. (9/11 hadn’t happened yet)

Sadly, once I joined the Army, most of my stuff either got destroyed in PCS moves or was unknowingly thrown out by my parents throughout the years…plus that hobby has kind of gone by the wayside. I still have a bunch of the unfinished models from those years sitting in a plastic Rubbermaid container somewhere in my garage…maybe by picking up the hobby again I can get my wife to get off my back about getting rid of it LOL!