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A most excellent Veteran's Day.

"If it ain't raining, you ain't training!" That was the comment on a post several days ago - and so it proved yesterday, as parade participants and spectators got some good cold, wet, training in. I was supposed to have today off, but I find that the engine of business churns on and requires my presence. So I'll leave you with these pictures - and a promise of a more fleshed-out post to come.

But most of all, Thank You Monteith! You've got a hell of a ride, and yesterday certainly reignited that itch!


This is the Armorer, Monteith, and a fellow-collector in the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, whose jeep you will see later.


This is Montieth, prepping his Ferret for the parade. The Armorer is pleased to note that while he casts a large shadow, he can still clamber on these things and get in. He wouldn't want to have to get out under pressure, however!

And a big thank you to parade organizers, the Police, and, most importantly, the citizens of Atlanta who took time out from a work day for most of them to line the parade route in a cold, drizzly rain!

7 Comments

I'm glad you had a good time! You should come out again in time to come. If you can get a WWII BD/Denim uniform together, I'm sure I can drag you to a WWII event or two.
 
Interesting rig, that Ferret. It must be fairly old, I don't think I have ever seen one before. When was it in use? it looks rather small.
 
It's a Brit two man scout/reconaissance vehicle. Lightly armed and armored, it was intended for scouting duties and the troop's job was to scout, not fight, so it wasn't built in such a way as to encourage them to slug it out with anyone. They carried a machine gun for self defense, armor enough to stop small arms - they were supposed to run like hell (and it's quite a scooter) if spotted. Entered service in 1953 or so, and stayed in service with British and Commonwealth forces through the 1st Gulf War. It's cold warrior.
 
JC: The Ferret's a golden oldie. It made its debut in the days when half-tracks ruled the armored scout vehicle realm (note to Willys fans--I said "armored"). It was still in active service in the mid-90's; I had to ID one for my annual gunnery evaluation in 1997 (yer a lucky lad, Instapilot, 'cuz "good guy/bad guy" doesn't cut it in the attack helicopter world). I haven't kept up with the latest Brit iron, but dollars to dipsticks the Armorer will fill in the inexcusable gaps in my knowledge sometime soon, though...to include engine specs... =[
 
Looks like I hit 'send' fractionally before the helo-driver did. Actually, Bill, I think I'll leave the details to Monteith - because I'd have to look 'em up, and he can rattle 'em off from the top of his head! I got an off-the-cuff discussion of an epicyclic gear system, so I suspect he's got the rest down pat, too. Actually - I ought to have Monteith do up a descriptive post, that I can plug in the pictures I took.
 
An epicyclic gear sounds intriguing. Does it have an epicollective gear and epiantitorque gears too?