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Low Morale In Ukrainian Artillery


DocWard

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1 hour ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

It's the 'type' part that I wonder about. Is a 'non-facebook type' tall, distinguised-looking and deep thinking, like me? After all, anybody can be 'non-facebook', but only a few can be the 'type'!

"distinguished-looking" Then who's picture did you use for your avatar?

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2 hours ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

"distinguished-looking" Then who's picture did you use for your avatar?

 

He meant "extinguished-looking."

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7 hours ago, Fort Reno Kid said:

Howdy Pards

 

Thanks to DocWard for injecting a wee bit of humor into an otherwise grim situation.

 

As others have mentioned, it brings back memories of when I matriculated at The Fort Sill School for Wayward Boys.

 

IMHO, those tracked artillery pieces will never replace memories of a towed 105mm howitzer and giving the lanyard a yank to fire the round. In those days the Army didn’t require hearing protection. Somehow my hearing remains in a normal range. Our NCO’s, many of whom had hearing impairment as a result, advised us to holler as the lanyard was pulled. Said it equalized the pressure on the ear drum.

 

Must have worked.

 

Keep on the sunny side 

 

Adios

 

Fort Reno Kid 

 

After me and my fire team came as close to death and walk away as I care to experience during my final deployment, when we all realized we were alive and likely to remain so we laughed hysterically and uncontrollably for a good minute or so. There were other times we laughed like idiots not knowing what was going to happen the next day. Those artillerymen were no different. Keeping their sense of humor intact. I couldn't help but share it.

I got to pull tail in an M109 a few times, but when we went to the 105 towed, it was the M119, which was fired by sitting on a metal seat on the gun carriage itself and flipping a lever. The M777 was just being introduced to my battalion as I was retiring, so I never got to fire one of those.

As for my hearing... My tinnitus is impressive. When I listen carefully, I can usually make out at least three distinct tones in my left ear. My right, while not as bad, is bad enough to be a constant companion. According to the VA, my hearing in my left ear is degraded enough to warrant a service connection at 0%, while my right ear is not quite bad enough to be service connected. Interestingly, the worst my ears ever rang was after going through the shoot house at Ft. Hood for CQB training. Even with hearing protection, my ears rang for a couple of days after.

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There was a time in Grafenwoehr, I was hanging out with my squad, maybe 100’ from the M110s which were wet (firing). We heard a very loud click. Crap, the primer did not go off when the lanyard was pulled. Protocol was to let the barrel cool off for thirty minutes, open the breach, lower the barrel and the crew rams the round and powder out of the gun. Can you holler “Ready heave” eight or ten times? Nobody wants to. Then BOOM. The kid pulled the lanyard again and this time it went off, followed by a collective sigh of relief.

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