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Military Photo Thread (Discussion)

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    #182
    whydave
    Registered Users Posts: 4,061 ✭✭✭whydave


    Medal of Honor: Staff Sgt. Salvatore A. Giunta
    Staff Sgt. Giunta is scheduled to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions while deployed with Battle Company's 1st Platoon in Afghanistan's remote Korengal Valley. It was widely considered to be one of the most difficult and dangerous assignments of the war.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Giunta
    5179272052d679efbe25o.jpg


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    #183
    Lemming
    Registered Users Posts: 14,148 ✭✭✭✭Lemming


    whydave wrote: »
    Medal of Honor: Staff Sgt. Salvatore A. Giunta
    Staff Sgt. Giunta is scheduled to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions while deployed with Battle Company's 1st Platoon in Afghanistan's remote Korengal Valley. It was widely considered to be one of the most difficult and dangerous assignments of the war.


    The first living receipient of the Medal of Honour in about 35 years; no small feat, and from reading the account of how he earned it - all I can is the lad has balls of steel.

    I'm sure he just says he was just doing his job and trying to save the lives of his buddies, but none the less ... balls of steel ...


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    #184
    Decoy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,395 ✭✭✭Decoy


    Lemming wrote: »
    The first living receipient of the Medal of Honour in about 35 years

    That's what I found astonishing, that in the last 35 years all MoH winners were awarded posthumously!


    It's all too easy for us civilians who play at war to say he was trained to do it but unless we have actually served in a frontline unit in an active warzone I don't think we will ever appreciate what any armed forces personnel does in the line of duty. It's a real cliché but when I read the account of the action that resulted in the MoH all I could think of was Eric Bana's monologue at the end of Blackhawk down - "It's about the man next to you".


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    #185
    whydave
    Registered Users Posts: 4,061 ✭✭✭whydave


    whydave wrote: »
    Medal of Honor: Staff Sgt. Salvatore A. Giunta
    Staff Sgt. Giunta is scheduled to receive the Medal of Honor
    [5179272052d679efbe25o.jpg
    Lemming wrote: »
    The first living receipient of the Medal of Honour in about 35 years; no small feat

    from Stars and Strips http://www.stripes.com/war-excerpt-about-staff-sgt-salvatore-giunta-s-actions-1.117774


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    #186
    Puding
    Registered Users Posts: 6,261 ✭✭✭Puding


    Cyprinus Carpio wrote: »
    That's what I found astonishing, that in the last 35 years all MoH winners were awarded posthumously!


    It's all too easy for us civilians who play at war to say he was trained to do it but unless we have actually served in a frontline unit in an active warzone I don't think we will ever appreciate what any armed forces personnel does in the line of duty. It's a real cliché but when I read the account of the action that resulted in the MoH all I could think of was Eric Bana's monologue at the end of Blackhawk down - "It's about the man next to you".

    well there was a little bit of talk about that and the very small number of MOH awarded in the current conflicts, will try and dig up the article


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    #187
    Lemming
    Registered Users Posts: 14,148 ✭✭✭✭Lemming


    Puding wrote: »
    well there was a little bit of talk about that and the very small number of MOH awarded in the current conflicts, will try and dig up the article

    There have been another nine medals awarded since 1993 - all posthumous, and the only ones awarded since the end of the Vietnam war as far as Im aware. Two in Somalia (covered by Black Hawk Down), four during the second Iraq war, and three others during the conflict in Afghanistan.


    Source


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    #188
    OzCam
    Registered Users Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭OzCam


    Op Rock Avalanche was covered in detail in the movie Restrepo. The team has made a 14min short about SSGT Giunta's story, it's on YouTube. Well done that man.

    It's pretty clear from that movie that Petraeus (and McChrystal before him) have some idea what they're doing, and the guys/girls at the bottom are as brave as can be, but there's a bunch of complete gob****es in between. They never should have been in that valley in the first place, and gave it up after a year.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50RFJfUzNsY


    Dave, if it's at all possible, can you put the captions below the photos? It's wrecking my head. :)


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    #189
    Stercus Accidit
    Registered Users Posts: 8,758 ✭✭✭Stercus Accidit


    OzCam wrote: »

    Dave, if it's at all possible, can you put the captions below the photos? It's wrecking my head. :)

    +1 I am having to take a double check each time to figure out which caption relates to which pic myself, thanks Dave.


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    #190
    Manic Moran
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,227 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manic Moran


    well there was a little bit of talk about that and the very small number of MOH awarded in the current conflicts, will try and dig up the article

    I actually disagree with that movement. I support the strictness of the MoH requirements. Audie Murphy took on two infantry companies and a few tanks whilst armed with a .50cal on a burning tank destroyer. It is not the fault of today's soldiers that such incredible odds are not provided to them to warrant such a high honour. SFC Paul Smith tried something similar, manning a .50cal on an M113 against a swarm of Iraqi infantry, and ended up with the same award, albeit dead, an outcome which should statistically have happened to Murphy. Audie got lucky.

    It simply happens that the Taliban or Iraqi insurgents tend not to be attacking in company strength combined arms forces, and similarly hazardous circumstances are rare. So be it.

    NTM


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    #191
    whydave
    Registered Users Posts: 4,061 ✭✭✭whydave


    Manic Moran wrote: »
    Audie Murphy took on two infantry companies and a few tanks whilst armed with a .50cal on a burning tank destroyer.
    for those who don't know of the Legend that is Audie Murphy !
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy


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    #192
    Manic Moran
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,227 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manic Moran


    I can't help but notice that the replica Curtis has a single foreplane, whilst the one on the historical photo has a bi-level foreplane...

    NTM


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    #193
    whydave
    Registered Users Posts: 4,061 ✭✭✭whydave


    Anyone got any pics .......
    spot the Irish MP
    Nordic Battle Group on exercise
    http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/sv/

    107o.jpg


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    #194
    Paddy The Pirate
    Registered Users Posts: 332 ✭✭Paddy The Pirate


    whydave wrote: »
    Anyone got any pics .......
    spot the Irish MP
    Nordic Battle Group on exercise
    http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/sv/

    107o.jpg
    What camouflage is the guy on the left wearing? :)


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    #195
    Lemming
    Registered Users Posts: 14,148 ✭✭✭✭Lemming


    Paddy The Pirate wrote: »
    What camouflage is the guy on the left wearing? :)

    Swedish pattern (dunno if there's an official name for it)


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    #196
    Paddy The Pirate
    Registered Users Posts: 332 ✭✭Paddy The Pirate


    Lemming wrote: »
    Swedish pattern (dunno if there's an official name for it)
    Ah yes, thank you :)


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    #197
    whydave
    Registered Users Posts: 4,061 ✭✭✭whydave


    Paddy The Pirate wrote: »
    What camouflage is the guy on the left wearing? :)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M90_%28camouflage%29


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    #198
    OzCam
    Registered Users Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭OzCam


    See also:
    Original and Desert

    There was also a privately funded M/90v "snow" version developed by Taiga in 2007, though the Swedish land forces use a plain white oversuit.


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    #199
    Danin
    Registered Users Posts: 578 ✭✭✭Danin


    Hi Lads,

    Just wondering if someone can tell me what rifle is in one of the photos whydave posted up in the military photo tread recently. In the photo the soldiers are in desert flecktarn and the first guy has a G36 its the guy to his right that has the rifle I'm interested in.

    thanks in advance
    Danin


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    #200
    whydave
    Registered Users Posts: 4,061 ✭✭✭whydave


    Heckler und Koch 7,62mm HK 11

    http://world.guns.ru/machine/mg18-e.htm


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    #201
    Danin
    Registered Users Posts: 578 ✭✭✭Danin


    cheers WhyDave,


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    #202
    Inari
    Registered Users Posts: 3,152 ✭✭✭Inari


    whydave wrote: »
    800xw.jpg

    All I could think when I saw this was "Oh sh!t, was I supposed to drive??"


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    #203
    Lemming
    Registered Users Posts: 14,148 ✭✭✭✭Lemming


    Does anyone know - taken from this post - why that guy is doing what he's doing?

    pzh2000oldschool.jpg


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    #204
    OzCam
    Registered Users Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭OzCam


    A reasonable guess is that he's firing the artillery piece from a distance to reduce the concussion effects. Square of the distance and all that.


    Question for NTM... The "public" reason for not sending tanks to Afghanistan until now (apart from the Danes) was that a) the terrain is wrong and that b) they weren't needed. Since command obviously think they're needed now, do you think it was more to do with public perceptions of the campaign or that the tanks were all in Iraq?


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    #205
    Manic Moran
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,227 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manic Moran


    reasonable guess is that he's firing the artillery piece from a distance to reduce the concussion effects. Square of the distance and all that.

    He'll actually receive a lot less concussion inside the vehicle. (Same happens with tanks).

    Real reason is it's a test fire, and you don't want to be inside the vehicle in the event that something goes wrong. Breeches rattling around inside the vehicle tend to be rather destructive.
    e "public" reason for not sending tanks to Afghanistan until now (apart from the Danes) was that a) the terrain is wrong and that b) they weren't needed. Since command obviously think they're needed now, do you think it was more to do with public perceptions of the campaign or that the tanks were all in Iraq?

    Much of the terrain in the American sector, such as where I was, is indeed highly unsuitable for MBTs. In the last year or so, the US has moved to have a greater presence in the flatter SouthWest, which is definitely better tank country (and in which the Canadians and Danes have been using their tanks).

    We've figured it'd just be a matter of time before some get sent after the US moved to Helmland and Zabul. Surprised it took this long, but it certainly wasn't for a lack of tanks, the US has plenty of them.

    NTM


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    #206
    OzCam
    Registered Users Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭OzCam


    Manic Moran wrote: »
    We've figured it'd just be a matter of time before some [tanks] get sent after the US moved to Helmland and Zabul. Surprised it took this long, but it certainly wasn't for a lack of tanks, the US has plenty of them.
    NTM

    Thanks for that, & sorry I forgot the Canadians earlier. I'm also sorry to see the USMC having just as hard a time of it in Sangin as the British did. I read some accounts from the Royal Marines yesterday (on the Guardian website, iirc), they were saying how hard their tour was. Basically the whole area is an unofficial minefield. Progress there is very slow.


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    #207
    Puding
    Registered Users Posts: 6,261 ✭✭✭Puding


    OzCam wrote: »
    Thanks for that, & sorry I forgot the Canadians earlier. I'm also sorry to see the USMC having just as hard a time of it in Sangin as the British did. I read some accounts from the Royal Marines yesterday (on the Guardian website, iirc), they were saying how hard their tour was. Basically the whole area is an unofficial minefield. Progress there is very slow.

    Just finished reading 3rd para and ground truth ( got them for my birthday but only just read them)


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    #208
    Lemming
    Registered Users Posts: 14,148 ✭✭✭✭Lemming


    Puding wrote: »
    Just finished reading 3rd para and ground truth ( got them for my birthday but only just read them)

    3 Para was an interesting read alright. I have Lone Survivor sitting beside my bed. Not heard of Ground Truth though, and there's another book I'm keen to seek out called something like "A day in the life of an airborne ranger" or some such which is an account from a tour in Afghanistan by - if I recall - a Canadian serving in the US forces.


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    #209
    Puding
    Registered Users Posts: 6,261 ✭✭✭Puding


    Ground truth is the follow up to 3rd para

    I have the last discworld novel to get though then I might take a look at 'the road up' ( think that was the name, somone recommended it to me )


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    #210
    Puding
    Registered Users Posts: 6,261 ✭✭✭Puding


    whydave wrote: »
    ratsy.jpg
    A baby giant African pouch rat is rewarded with a banana by its trainer after accurately finding a dummy mine during a training exercise at the grounds of a pioneering Belgian NGO in Morogoro, Tanzania on October 27, 2010. Light, with an acute sense of smell and easily motivated by food rewards, these kind of rats have been found to be highly effective in mine detection. It takes two human deminers a day to clear a 200 square-metre (2,150 square-feet) minefield, but if they work with two rats they can sweep it in 1.5 hours. So far they have helped re-open almost two million square metres of land


    know that is clever


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    #211
    McGilla
    Registered Users Posts: 553 ✭✭✭McGilla


    Hi lads,

    Just wanted to say big thanks to the lads for posting quality photos everyday. I thoroughly enjoy looking at them.

    I just wanted to make sure they know its appreciated.

    Thanks and keep up the good work,

    Robbie


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