Happy Veteran's Day
11-13-15, 11:02 AM
#51
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I deployed several times to Northern Europe, and liked the area.
During my era, the young people were not very welcoming, but their parents were, and their grandparents thought we hung the moon.
I completely understood the "not relating," but was confused about being considered the enemy.
Neatest thing I ever saw was a "force-down" of an aggressor observation plane by a pair of F16's.
The next day, a British RF-4 had comm and hydraulic failure in WOXOF conditions (literally zero visibility).
Marine controllers got him down, safely, despite his landing speed of 240 knots and his inability to dump his fuel.
He ripped the first arresting tape right out of the water barrels, and pulled the anchor chain right to the cable barrier.
I always thought the controller should have gotten some kind of commendation, but he didn't. All in a days work.
He went on to the FAA and finished out his 30 in Bangor Maine. 6'5" 245lb Marine. "Tiny" of course.
A British captain came to see us the next day, said "thank God you rich Yanks have all this equipment."
The funny thing, we were technically dead, having been killed on day one as we disembarked, by SAAB Viggens.
One thing they always laughed about, though, was the Cold War.
They did not consider the Soviet Union a threat.
Only the Brits seemed as up on it as we were.
I never did get a good explanation on that.
I often had to leave behind supplies, and on one NATO trip, was left with about 2000 rolls of toilet paper, 4 55-gal drums of kerosene, and about 40 cases of C-rats, We were left with a jeep, a Dodge pickup, and a 5-ton truck, and there were only 3 of us. It's called "rear party," and you basically get to stay behind with no responsibility except to get the equipment to the dock at a certain time. I drove from small rural house to small rural house until the 5-ton was empty, and ate some really good meals with some really nice people. The premise was "if the Cold War becomes hot, you want to have friends in small places."
On another NATO trip, a tactical fuel station was set up, and the tanks filled. After that, the pumps were basically free, and after 7 pm or so, you'd see all kinds of NATO troops lining up with cans to fill up and take home. I kept thinking we should be at least trading something for all that fuel. 72 octane, but it worked, I suppose. We called it "mo gas," because you always needed mo' gas. Terrible mileage.
It took a while to get a grip on the culture; not sure I ever did figure out how they operate; I learned more by watching "Lillihammer" with Little Stevie.
During my era, the young people were not very welcoming, but their parents were, and their grandparents thought we hung the moon.
I completely understood the "not relating," but was confused about being considered the enemy.
Neatest thing I ever saw was a "force-down" of an aggressor observation plane by a pair of F16's.
The next day, a British RF-4 had comm and hydraulic failure in WOXOF conditions (literally zero visibility).
Marine controllers got him down, safely, despite his landing speed of 240 knots and his inability to dump his fuel.
He ripped the first arresting tape right out of the water barrels, and pulled the anchor chain right to the cable barrier.
I always thought the controller should have gotten some kind of commendation, but he didn't. All in a days work.
He went on to the FAA and finished out his 30 in Bangor Maine. 6'5" 245lb Marine. "Tiny" of course.
A British captain came to see us the next day, said "thank God you rich Yanks have all this equipment."
The funny thing, we were technically dead, having been killed on day one as we disembarked, by SAAB Viggens.
One thing they always laughed about, though, was the Cold War.
They did not consider the Soviet Union a threat.
Only the Brits seemed as up on it as we were.
I never did get a good explanation on that.
I often had to leave behind supplies, and on one NATO trip, was left with about 2000 rolls of toilet paper, 4 55-gal drums of kerosene, and about 40 cases of C-rats, We were left with a jeep, a Dodge pickup, and a 5-ton truck, and there were only 3 of us. It's called "rear party," and you basically get to stay behind with no responsibility except to get the equipment to the dock at a certain time. I drove from small rural house to small rural house until the 5-ton was empty, and ate some really good meals with some really nice people. The premise was "if the Cold War becomes hot, you want to have friends in small places."
On another NATO trip, a tactical fuel station was set up, and the tanks filled. After that, the pumps were basically free, and after 7 pm or so, you'd see all kinds of NATO troops lining up with cans to fill up and take home. I kept thinking we should be at least trading something for all that fuel. 72 octane, but it worked, I suppose. We called it "mo gas," because you always needed mo' gas. Terrible mileage.
It took a while to get a grip on the culture; not sure I ever did figure out how they operate; I learned more by watching "Lillihammer" with Little Stevie.
Last edited by RobbieTunes; 11-13-15 at 11:06 AM.
11-14-15, 03:25 PM
#52
Retro on steroids
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Marin County, California
Posts: 540
Bikes: Breezer Repack 650-B, 2011 Gary Fisher Rumblefish II, Gary Fisher HiFi 29er, 1983 Ritchey Annapurna, 1994 Ritchey P-21, 1978 Breezer #2, 1975 Colnago, Ritchey P-29er
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Drafted in 1966. US Army, E-5, Honorable. I don't have a single photo of myself in uniform. But I have this.
