Re: Tank Riders {SG2]

A note about riding around on the outside of AFV's!
Riding on the vehicle was always preferable to walking anywhere,
anytime. The
vehicle ride becomes a hazard when artillery fire come in. Fragments
reflected
by the tank armor do not give a rider anything but the chance for two
entrance
wounds for one piece of shrapnel.
In VietNam the customary practice was to ride on the top deck of the
M113. The
greatest fear was landmines. (Some of which were dud one thousand pound
bombs
buried in the road by VC and NVR's who dug them out of the ground for
"recycling".
The APC squads figured they could always drop in the hatches if taken
under
A/P fire or shrapnel, but the mine was the biggest fear.
	The "desantniki" tank riders of Soviet WW II rode on top in the
assault so
they could dismount when the tanks needed infantry support. They often
died
like flies in machine gun fire or shrapnel storms, but Soviet doctrine
was
willing to make the "sacrifice". 
When heavily armored infantry and Hover transports come into regular
use, they
should be able to drop through floor hatches, hug the ground and let the
APC
glide over them. Then they are dismounted without ever giving up close
cover.