Comments for Big Brother is watching you!

Big Brother is watching you!

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:53:13 -0600

Not always a bad thing. U.S. Army 1st Lt. Patrick Higgins surveys a village from a cliff while Spc. Aaron Trapley, Sgt. Gary Fordyce and Sgt. Nicholas Gauthier provide sniper overwatch and security during a foot patrol near Forward Operating Base Mizan, Afghanistan, Feb. 23, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher S. Barnhart

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-03-02

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:39:19 -0600

Ahhhh. Nicely done, Sergeant Barnhart, nicely done!

Comment from Josh on 2009-03-02

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:36:22 -0600

There was a Green Beanie High Ranker who did exactly that on the Vi Thanh canal. Every Sunday, at about 1500.

Did he bark at somebody, "CHARLIE DON'T WATERSKI!" before doing so?

I kid, I kid...

Comment from Christopher S Barnhart on 2009-03-02

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:54:42 -0600

Since this isnt a 360 degree picture, you cant see the large cropping of rocks to my immediate right, nor can you see the full extent of the incline they are on. Nor can you see the other members of the platoon pulling security toward the rear and the flanks.

Yes photographer Mancini's photos may seem less posed, but this photo isnt posed at all.

Thank you very much.

Comment from BillT on 2009-03-02

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:29:06 -0600

Someone up in logistics probably thought y'all might need to redeploy toward Vladivostok

We opined that some outfit at Ft. Wainwright was trying to figure why they got a Conex full of jungle boots, bug spray, lightweight ponchos and collapsible 2-quart canteens.

Comment from BillT on 2009-03-02

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:11:43 -0600

You were supposed to go waterskiing, duh!

There was a Green Beanie High Ranker who did exactly that on the Vi Thanh canal. Every Sunday, at about 1500.

Until the command-detonated 155mm went off...

Comment from Fishmugger on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:46:03 -0600

Look...I agree with all the need for camo stealth and concealment and all that stuff. But I have no idea what the red haired spotter is supposed to be. If he was hanging out in St Croix, he could be a hibiscus.

Yah think all that camo is defeated with ol' red glowing like that?

Comment from Josh on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:23:34 -0600

[Argent]Well considering these wars are kinda slow lately maybe they could have a team of colour co-ordinators who get photos of the locales fought in and make the fabric suited exactly to the environment produced pronto for perfectly clean dirtywear.

As I understand it, that's exactly what some hunters do, since they know precisely when and where they will be hunting, whereas military camouflage is designed the way it is purely so that they can get away with only a few different patterns/color schemes to cover most of the world.

[BillT]In February of 1970, we got a Conex delivery of parkas, winter-weight wool overpants, insulated boots, and skis.

We were in the Mekong Delta.

You were supposed to go waterskiing, duh!

Comment from Grimmy on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:02:39 -0600

"In February of 1970, we got a Conex delivery of parkas, winter-weight wool overpants, insulated boots, and skis.

We were in the Mekong Delta."
-BillT

Someone up in logistics probably thought y'all might need to redeploy toward Vladivostok or some such. If you dug around enough, you'd probably find a grunt unit in your AO got a delivery of military issue Spanish to English dictionary for the same reason lol.

Or, maybe it was a IG inspection inbound to a log unit and they needed to get rid of stuff that wasn't supposed to be in their warehouse.

Comment from BillT on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:29:45 -0600

Then you guys won't clash with the drapes.

This is *combat*! You're *supposed* to clash!

Comment from BillT on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:24:30 -0600

You know, the same folk who can manage to deliver stockpiles of jungle boots to troops stationed in the arctic and cargo plane loads of compressed sponges to troops that are in need of winter sleeping bags

In February of 1970, we got a Conex delivery of parkas, winter-weight wool overpants, insulated boots, and skis.

We were in the Mekong Delta.

Comment from Grimmy on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:12:39 -0600

Argent:

Please remember, this is the US military we're talking about. You know, the same folk who can manage to deliver stockpiles of jungle boots to troops stationed in the arctic and cargo plane loads of compressed sponges to troops that are in need of winter sleeping bags and such like.

Gotta keep it simple. Real simple.

John of Argghhh!:

Yep. I do remember when in the field, if the pattern on our cammies could still be seen, "you ain't doin' it right". And a good way to earn a cauliflower ear from an NCO was to do that fancy boy face paint. The shiny stuff, mixed with bug juice, that sparkled so nicely in the dark, and tended to get applied in all manner of pretty stripes and such, from just above the eyebrows and down the side-burn line and along the jaw line.

I remember one young Marine getting squared away on face/head cammie by a Sgt who said "If I can see any piece of your skin anywhere above your shoulders or collar bones, I'm gonna stick my bayonet in it."

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:42:25 -0600

Argent: Or need to roll around in the mud for the same effect.

The difference between us and the boys and girls who wear some form of blue, is that we green/grey clad types see that as a feature... not a bug.

Comment from Argent on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:26:31 -0600

Well considering these wars are kinda slow lately maybe they could have a team of colour co-ordinators who get photos of the locales fought in and make the fabric suited exactly to the environment produced pronto for perfectly clean dirtywear.

Then you guys won't clash with the drapes.

Or need to roll around in the mud for the same effect.

Comment from BillT on 2009-03-01

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:04:14 -0600

Grimmy -- Bingo. Big drawback was walking in a crouch. Whoever was to your front saw a torso-shaped patch of sky walking through the weeds.

Comment from Justthisguy on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:51:17 -0600

Oh, that's not the whole pic. Now, I understand. When I read "security" I giggled and thought to self, "Why are they all looking in the same direction"? Photographer Mancini's pix seem less posed and more real than this one.

Comment from Grimmy on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:48:35 -0600

I remember reading something about that invisible suit gizmo. From what I recall, it was made of image projectors like BillT described in conjunction with mini camera. The suit transmitted pics of what was on one side of it and transmitted those pics to the other side. So, no matter what direction you were looking at the suit from, you saw the same terrain/foliage on the suit that was on the other side of it from you.

Comment from BillT on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:45:18 -0600

LEDs would have cut down on the weight of the "invisible" LOH, but they're way Olde Tech for the Warrior 21 suit. The fabric was -- for all practical purposes -- a fiber-optic TV screen.

Comment from Argent on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:30:18 -0600

I wonder if led and other mass-light-energy technology will change this issue. It'd at least make it cheaper.

Comment from BillT on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:48:56 -0600

It would be cool if they could make uniforms that would change color tone with the surroundings, I bet they can, actually, but the cost would be prohibitive.

Correct on both counts, beth.

We made an "invisible" OH-6 in the '70s and Land Warrior 21 featured a uniform that functioned pretty much like the alien's suit in Predator.

The "invisible" LOH had electrical problems and the Land Warrior uniform just had problems -- not the least of which were that it was too fragile to be worn in the field and it was battery-powered, so it was *heavy*.

Comment from Argent on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:45:57 -0600

So that's what getting acquainted with the local colour means.

Comment from Grimmy on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:40:54 -0600

beth:

"It would be cool if they could make uniforms that would change color tone with the surroundings..."

That's what mud and dust are for. A grunt aint camouflaged proper until he's dirted up with the local color.

Comment from beth on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:56:36 -0600

As a know-nothing civilian, I am very impressed with how well their uniforms blend in with the background. It would be cool if they could make uniforms that would change color tone with the surroundings, I bet they can, actually, but the cost would be prohibitive.

Comment from Argent on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:11:17 -0600

hehe at Castle Argghhh! every snipery Big Brother has a snipery Big Brother.

Comment from Bruce on 2009-02-28

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:38:23 -0600

I do hope that is a PR type shot. Bunched up, silhouetted, etc. Not to mention that the "spotter" is in the second worst place to be when a Barret is fired.

Then again, if it were a real situation, and someone was undisciplined enough to be taking a photo from that angle, you would be hard pressed to see the carefully dispersed and camouflaged indivduals.

cheers

Comment from AFSister on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:38:42 -0600

Actually, it looks like HF6 is throwing down the challenge, John.

Comment from HomefrontSix on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:24:59 -0600

Yes! Yes it IS a challenge. I double-dog dare you!!! (can you tell I'm in need of a distraction?)

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:35:53 -0600

Thank you Steve, for that breaking news report.

AFSis... izzat a challenge?

Comment from KCSteve on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:27:14 -0600

I just saw on Yahoo! that the Kiowa crash that killed four soldiers last month (including one from the KC area) was caused by enemy fire - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090227/ap_on_re_us/soldiers_killed_helicopters_3

Comment from AFSister on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:51:22 -0600

Excellent call, Sis.

Scary, isn't it?

Next thing you know, I'll be identifying fiddly bits in John's gun pron "whazzit" pictures....

Comment from BillT on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:18:28 -0600

Excellent call, Sis. Also, the number of regular US troops toting RPKs in combat can be counted on the fingers of one foot.

Comment from BillT on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:12:48 -0600

I'm really impressed with the new "digitized" camouflage pattern.

Grey pixels work well in grey pixilated rocks.

In beige terrain, *not* well. Come to think of it, in *any* terrain that's not grey, *not* well.

Comment from AFSister on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:59:59 -0600

I'd hazard to guess that "crunch boy" is Afghan Army. I'm pretty sure they wear woodland with maroon berets.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:55:41 -0600

You guys are a tough audience today! Yeah, I cropped it to better show what I was interested in.

You can see the original here.

Funny thing is, in the full picture you see... woodland pattern camouflage on the guy guarding the back door, who apparently is armed with an RPK.

And doing crunches.

Or not.

Comment from Barb on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:28:32 -0600

Well, isn't that an M240 in the back left? Presumably there's at least one more person manning that one.

Comment from mike on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:07:18 -0600

11B, I'd hope the rear security got cropped out of the picture. Cool pics coming out of the 1/4 AO.

Comment from 11B40 on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:30:26 -0600

Greetings:

Never mind the "Hunting Orange," who's watching the back door?

Comment from Grumpy on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:14:09 -0600

@Fishmugger, I can not argue with you, Your last line says it all, "People can get hurt." Those "people" were at the wrong place at the wrong time, doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. What can I say? It happens. (Staying 2 letters within the rulez.)

Have a great weekend!
Grumpy

Comment from fdcol63 on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:07:02 -0600

I don't know about you guys, but I'm really impressed with the new "digitized" camouflage pattern.

I think the old woodland pattern woulda stood out against those rocks.

Comment from Fishmugger on 2009-02-27

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:21:08 -0600

Great picture...but where's their "Hunting Orange"? You can't go out in the field without proper identification to let people know you're there. People can get hurt.