National Dick Winters is the Man Day

Penguin Incarnate

Wren, before we continue this conversation, consider for a moment the fact that you are Wren. Now that you've done that, are you still sure that you're right?

Wren

no pretty sure I'm still correct

consider that you're penguin and you'll come to agree with me

Weaver

No Wren, he's right.

I was air assault. 101st. Participated in combat drills against battalions of the 82nd Airborne. With an air assault unit, the birds can close in on a tight LZ in a short formations, dispense troops in a fast and orderly manner, and be gone in under two minutes.

With an airborne drop, units land, with severe risk of injury due to the speeds at which they hit the ground (the chutes they use, they drop fast) and in a very wide dispersion. They spend a significant amount of time recovering the chutes, rescuing troopers who landed poorly or were injured on landing, securing gear, and reforming into proper units. This takes hours.

Weaver

Plus, in an air assault unit, your formation of blackhawks can fly very low to terrain, under radar, insert, deploy troops, spin around and return quickly to pick up more troops.

Can't do that with C-130's. Why do you think we haven't done airborne drops into warzones in decades except for very small special operations incursions?

Penguin Incarnate

Not to mention you can't parachute in on insurgents.

Wren

but people jumping out of planes is still used so saying theres no reason is rather moot

Penguin Incarnate

Now you're arguing semantics in an attempt to technically not be wrong.

Shoo. Go away. Git.

Weaver

These are the guys that my unit worked with a lot during training at Ft. Campbell and flew us to the fight in Afghanistan. They were also the unit that inserted several SF teams into occupied Kuwait and Iraq back in Gulf War I.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxeiG8IGN1c

Penguin Incarnate

Night Stalkers are gangster as fuck.

Wren

if people still jump out of planes how can there be no reason to use them.

Penguin Incarnate

Weaver, if you don't mind, I would like to bug you about your experience in the service one of these days.

Weaver

1/60th SOAR are the guys you go to when you want a helicopter to do things you never thought you'd want a chopper to do.

They don't operate Apaches or Cobras or anything that would normally be considered a combat helicopter but they will either fuck your shit up themselves or they will place some hard, stone-balled bastards at your back door to do the job themselves.

Weaver

Penguin Incarnate wrote: »

Weaver, if you don't mind, I would like to bug you about your experience in the service one of these days.

PM me whatever chat client ID you want to use and I'll schedule something.

Wren

I like blackhawks because you can have 4 engineers sitting in the passenger seats repairing the thing with their wrenches and you're basically invincible as you camp the enemies spawn point

Veretas

What about HALO jumpers?

Wren

halo is pretty good

Veretas

The game or the actual high altitude jumpers

Weaver

It's a thing that can be done but is almost never used.

NotASenator

haha

Wren

Weaver wrote: »

It's a thing that can be done but is almost never used.

almost never is pretty different from never

Weaver

Wren, you're not making me angry or distraught, just a bit disappointed.

Wren

I'm arguing with penguin anyways. you're just an interactive wiki for the argument

Penguin Incarnate

Weaver wrote: »

Penguin Incarnate wrote: »

Weaver, if you don't mind, I would like to bug you about your experience in the service one of these days.

PM me whatever chat client ID you want to use and I'll schedule something.

Sure thing.

Weaver

Wren wrote: »

I'm arguing with penguin anyways. you're just an interactive wiki for the argument

a huge reference engine

Pharezon

The United States and Russia maintain the largest airborne drop units don't they?

Wren

Weaver wrote: »

Wren wrote: »

I'm arguing with penguin anyways. you're just an interactive wiki for the argument

a huge reference engine

the hugest

Weaver

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKlIqcTqH24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg_lcN9VUdQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uuuoHvp5Yk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj9KxFaKb2k

Wren

see this is something normal wiki doesn't have; embedded youtube videos

Penguin Incarnate

I posting 'Nam videos, 'cause fuck it, these videos are amazing.

Intro to Rescue Dawn

Weaver

I was actually assigned to the 2/187th INF, 101st before they received their first squadron of Apache attack birds. Watching them fly in formation over the unit fields was something I'll never forget.

Veretas

The 101st is no more right?

Pharezon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBc41_f8eZI

Penguin Incarnate

You know what? Screw fighting in Khe Sanh.

I does not look pleasurable.

A Dabble Of Thelonius

Man, some of the vietnam interviews are goddamned heartbreaking.

Weaver

So I was trying to watch Band of Brothers for the second time, and I got halfway through Carentan before I realized that I was cutting into my right palm with my fingernails. No more war films for me for a while. Should go finish cutting the grass.

Lost Salient

Veretas wrote: »

The 101st is no more right?

Nno, the 101st is still around. My friend is in the 101st Airborne and just finished Ranger School. They're sending him and his squad to Afghanistan.

Weaver, when were you there? My buddy was 1/187 INF - I don't know if he's still with them now or how that goes, though, since my mailing address for him needs updating.

L|ama

Wren wrote: »

I like blackhawks because you can have 4 engineers sitting in the passenger seats repairing the thing with their wrenches and you're basically invincible as you camp the enemies spawn point

Didn't they patch that out? Or was that just capping points with them that they really badly attempted to patch out?

Weaver

Lost Salient wrote: »

Veretas wrote: »

The 101st is no more right?

Nno, the 101st is still around. My friend is in the 101st Airborne and just finished Ranger School. They're sending him and his squad to Afghanistan.

Weaver, when were you there? My buddy was 1/187 INF - I don't know if he's still with them now or how that goes, though, since my mailing address for him needs updating.

Up until around May of 2002.

Burning Organ

I thought Ospreys pretty much made parachutes obsolete?

Speed of a plane, versatility of a transport chopper.


I think I'm late to this discussion.

necroSYS

Weaver wrote: »

1/60th SOAR are the guys you go to when you want a helicopter to do things you never thought you'd want a chopper to do.

Like actually transport people to the LZ