We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2007 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:51:33 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2008 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Well, actually, White made M16s. Not the Plastic Fantastic Rifle -- this: This beastie made the annual Summer Camp trip from West Orange, NJ, to Fort Drum, NY, between 1946 and 1967, along with about thirty others. Legend has it that the traffic backups created by the convoys got so intense that New York State created the Thruway just so vacationers could speed on their way to the cooler climes of Canuckistan without having to nip between the half-tracks and the Shermans whenever oncoming traffic appeared on Route 9W. This sterling example was still operational in 1992 -- *and* for... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html Mon, 24 Sep 2007 08:53:24 -0600 real Armor in Dix and Drum though. ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64890 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64890 Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:46:33 -0600 I was priviledged to drive the restored M2 they keep on hand at Ft. Irwin for ceremonial purposes and it was remarkably simple...you could see how any kid straight off the farm in WWII would have felt right at ease (if they'd had a family truck), 'cause that's all it is. The "rubber band track" is smooth, relative to tanks and easy to change, by comparison, if you've got the compressors for the suspension. Our design was SO much more simple and practical that the "other guys", which was stupifyingly complicated (of course, theirs could also get quite large and suitable for towing tanks, when you got into the FAMO's). Neat pic! I sneaked the 11th Cav one off to the desert for some "atmosphere" shots ;-) http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64854 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64854 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:02:49 -0600 More here, of both varieties.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64847 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64847 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:21:24 -0600 Built tough. How did the ammo feed to the quad, 4 boxes, one box with four compartments? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64845 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64845 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 11:50:00 -0600 When I was the XO of a Mechanized Infantry Battalion, we "rescued" six of these puppies from the Belgian Army. The battalion commander was jealous that the neighboring armor battalion had a M24 static display in front of their headquarters, so the BMO was very proud of himself when he signed for six M16 (minimum lot size) from the Kaiserslautern PDO. Problem was, they were in Belgium and we had to pick them up. Got the first four by sweet talking the Division G4 into giving me a couple of lowboys for trip 1, but he wouldn't budge for any more trucks. Fortunately, we found a Chinook company without any experience sling loading M16s, so they took it on as a training mission. Still have a picture somewhere of a M16 hanging underneath a CH-47. We gave two away to those who helped retreive them from Belgium and used two as hanger queens to keep the remaining two operational. The BMT converted them to 24V, and we took them to the field whenever we could sneak them on a lowboy or train. We also took the quad 50 mounts off, didn't want to be confused for duck hunters. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64840 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64840 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:13:11 -0600 I'm actually *licensed* on one of those things. Not the M16, it was an M2A1, I believe. Amazing what you find yourself doing when you've got two weeks between the next-to-the-last and last redeployment flights from a REFORGER and you're the Senior Junior Person Present, therefore on the Last Flight Home. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64836 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/yes_they_do_mak.html#comment-64836 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 09:27:25 -0600