Comments for Cannoneer Zen

Cannoneer Zen

2006-03-22T12:24:40Z

Especially since it makes Infantry duck and tankers go into at least "open protective". And that's the ones on your side.

Some Redleg Marines having a moment of gunner zen on Bougainville, December 1943.

I will leave it open for the snarks sure to emanate from the CANZSTAAC* Denizens.

]]> Canada And New Zealand Snark The Artillery/Armorer Corps...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-03-24

2006-03-24T07:40:02Z

Just in case there are any functional brains left... since the change in soutache came with a promotion, you just needed to budget your promo party better... I've kept my old Mess Dress. I'll be damned if I'm giving up my cannon for the lazy bastages. I can still fit the jacket. I shudder to think about the trousers, what with that high waist and all.

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-23

2006-03-23T22:32:42Z

Yeah, and the trefoils comprising the soutache cost an arm and a leg, too. But it used to be a chuckle watching the gavotte that ensued as the Ladies peered at various wrists trying to figure out their pecking order while the wrists' owners were utilizing them in conjunction with 8-ounce elbow-curls. *sound of additional brains shutting down*

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-03-23

2006-03-23T21:37:35Z

Bill - Cavalry were called Yellowlegs when in disfavor... Jim - you are partially correct - on the Army Dress Blue uniform, there *is* a branch color stripe in the center of the gold *sleeve* braid. And on the Mess Dress, it's the facing color of the lapels. On *my* Mess Dress (the old, and far superior style with soutache on the sleeve denoting rank, you also had branch insignia nested inside the trefoils of the soutache. (how many people's brains just shut down over that sentence, I wonder). But people whined about they couldn't tell what people's rank was, so we ditched the branch insignia and put rank insignia there instead. Which means that I could (horror!) be taken for an Duckhunter or an Earthpig, as we shate the same basic branch color. Sigh.

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-23

2006-03-23T18:41:33Z

Ah, yes--the really cool-looking (but totally useless) Branch-Colored Bib. Since I used to was a Field Artillery (red) branched Aviator (golden orange) commanding an Infantry (blue) company, guess what color scarf I was told I had to wear for parades? Teal. I never even knew there *was* such a color. I'd always thought of teal as something to hang on the wall and I called that particular color "turquoise". Silly me...

Comment from jim b on 2006-03-23

2006-03-23T18:13:31Z

My bad, I seem to have remembered a thin red stripe down the center of the yellow stripe, during our 'orientation to Army uniforms' while at Fort Swill, some time back. I also seem to remember a red neck scarf thingie they wore. Infantry wore blue, Engineers orange and so forth. There is the fog of war, and the fog of memories of long past events.

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-23

2006-03-23T17:46:18Z

Jim - Alas, the Army Dress Blues have a plain gold stripe on the pants. But at least nobody's hit on the term "Yellowlegs" yet. The red stripe originated in the Civil War, probably as an aid to help nearsighted Confederate scouts differentiate between a Union artillery outfit and a cavalry one, since both were found in close proximity to horses...

Comment from jim b on 2006-03-23

2006-03-23T16:00:02Z

As we all know the tag "Red Leg" has to do with a center stripe on the Army Dress Blues. There are also blue legs, orange etc (not pink or so I hear) Marines do not feel compelled to put colored markers on their artillerymen, so they can develop branch pride. To my knowledge the only people who wear 'red tabs' in the Corps are Shore Party people so that they can be readily identified on the beach as they direct traffic.

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-23

2006-03-23T14:33:03Z

The helmets are probably on as much for psychological value as physical protection. There are times and places you just don't feel right without one. I used to work with a WWII vet who made the trip from Sicily up the boot to the Mannerheim Line with a pack howitzer battery. He was the muleskinner--nobody else in the outfit could get the beasties to hold still when it came time to CSMO.

Comment from TmjUtah on 2006-03-22

2006-03-23T04:56:07Z

December 1943? Bouganville? High Summer down under, and in a particularly nasty,hot, humid, muddy jungle. I think those helmets are on because they, unlike shirts, might deflect an infiltrator's bullet or a mortar fragment. Or possibly because helmets are part of sarge's "by the numbers" for live fire. No flak jackets for ground troops until Korea, if I remember correctly. The 75 pack howitzer was often deployed where an FO could adjust fires by shout. Or pointing a finger. Or they just aimed at the moonlight reflecting off of swords and bayonets.

Comment from cw4billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-23T04:31:38Z

Well, the upstairs neighbor showed, finally. "Okay, lads, the Major said if we keep looking this good in practice, tomorrow he's gonna give us a *live* round..." Since Murray hasn't checked in yet, I figured I'd comment for him.

Comment from J.M. Heinrichs on 2006-03-22

2006-03-23T03:59:21Z

"I think it went that-a-way ..." "Aim, before firing? Wow, I'd never thought of that!" "Heh, if you look through here, you can see they're a lot bigger." "When Joe turn that crank there, when we fire the gun, we get what we call a zone of dispersion. Like all over there." "It's easy! As soon as they stop, like over there where we're aiming, BAMM, they're dead!" "Well, we can shoot "All over the place". Cheers JMH

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T23:03:26Z

Heh. And the CANZSTAACs haven't made an appearance...

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T21:58:56Z

eyes gleaming brightly That's the reflection off yer glasses...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T21:57:21Z

There are no Marine "Red Legs". That will come as a great shock to the Marine Det at Fort Sill.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T21:54:29Z

Heh. Go to bed... and wake up to find a mess! MAJMike - ya might find the HEAT round for that thing somewhat disconcerting... And, like Bill said, comparing your recent mounts to older stuff is... so declasse. And I seemed to recall that all those gallant COTLB tankers who cavalierly disregarded and dismissed artillery at the NTC were a buncha cautious whiners during Desert Storm, alla time asking if we'd killed the Iraqi artillery yet, had we, huh? Huh? Huh? Had we yet? Had we? Apropos of nothing, of course. lanyard gripped loosely gun ready eyes gleaming brightly

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T20:04:28Z

Awwwww, thanks--but you *know* how acrophobic I am...

Comment from Were-Kitten on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T19:52:56Z

Come on up and inspect it yourself, Chief. I'll give you the personalized tour....

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T19:33:59Z

Reminds me--I've been meaning to ask you how the padding is holding up in the chandelier...

Comment from Were-Kitten on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T19:20:38Z

Bill, I've never turned *anything* in a helmet- inverted, or not. Of course, I've turned *other* things while inverted.....but that's another story.

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T17:20:03Z

I *knew* that pic would get her nose out of the N2O beaker... There's no technical term for it, but it's commonly known as going into "we're so far from the real shooting that we can work on our tans" mode. They're still wearing helmets because there's just *no* place in a gun pit to put the darn things where they won't be constantly underfoot. Ever turn your ankle on an inverted helmet? I know a guy who did and said it was really, really painful. But he was in a VIP-flight outfit and considered eating cold C-rats really, really painful...

Comment from Bad Cat Robot on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T17:05:28Z

Concur yr analysis, Were-Kitten. Hooah! Is the technical term for this BUU -- Battle Undress Uniform?

Comment from Cricket on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T16:04:07Z

Oh goody. Cannon haiku. Lessee: He gives direction Gun ready Blasts others to h***

Comment from jim b on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T15:28:55Z

God loves leeches he made so many of them.

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T15:21:14Z

No Marine Red Legs? Ever see a Tiger Team after they went for a stroll in the paddies? Lotta red legs--especially after they started Leech Removal Ops...

Comment from jim b on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T15:15:39Z

There are no Marine "Red Legs".

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T15:14:22Z

The pack howitzer's light enough to drag around the dance floor but big enough to give the target a nosebleed. And I *do* b'lieve that the M4 Sherman (aka, "The Ronson") used the 75mm popgun, too...

Comment from Were-Kitten on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T15:09:45Z

btw, John... "Especially since it makes Infantry duck" What I want to know is... What makes Infantrymen goose? I'm MUCH more interested in being goosed by an Infantryman than being ducked by one. *shakes tail feathers at boys*

Comment from Were-Kitten on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T15:07:00Z

Gotta luv half-nekkid boys firing off big guns first thing in the morning! WOOT!

Comment from MajMike on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T14:17:43Z

what a cute little pop gun... looks just like something that could get mildly annoying (might go to chin strap defilade, but the hatches are staying open).

Comment from Fuzzybear Lioness on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T14:16:46Z

I see our Sugarbuttons is in fine form today... :D

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T14:15:31Z

Q. How can you can tell that's a Marine howitzer? A. By the bayonet stud...

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T14:13:19Z

The sound of one Fred posting Echoes in the Great Hall. Small 'trons die Unmourned.

Comment from Fred on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T13:56:15Z

I thought Gunner zen came from when they have elevation set zero/negative, shot is loaded, and all the gun crew have decided that twiddly little infantry small arms would be welcome addition to their usual repertoire. In fact, isn't satori achieved when the gunner's are happy to see the infantry sharing positions with them?

Comment from Fred on 2006-03-22

2006-03-22T13:56:10Z