RE: [OT]Wither Canada? And Australias Abrahms

G'day,

> I havn't noticed a 'will get bogged easily' tendency in the
> Abrams chassis, but I only operated them in Texas and Iraq.

I'm guessing you crossed some "soft" dunes in the desert though? I was
going on the PSI rating of 93 that we were given for equipment
deployment for experiments in the wet tropics and sandy deserts (though
in reality things in our deserts don't so much sink as get blown over
the top of infuriatingly fast).

> Pseudoreligious ones.  Everytime the issue is raised of
> theoretical game polities that refuse modern technology
> for religious/social reasons, I keep telling myself
> "but a civilized country wouldn't do that".  Just goes to show.

Product of democracy in action.

> When was the last time the Aussies got into a pissing
> match with the US that bad? 

We don't need to be in a pissing match for our suppliers to cut us off.
Biggest military one was when the band was actually playing at the hand
over of some old US Navy ships and a US politician decided that you guys
couldn't be parting with them even if they are rust buckets ;)

We did get the ships... in the end...

In my own neck of the woods every time the US government wasn't to make
a point or remind Australia where its rightful place is it tightens the
strings and cuts off supply of parts for equipment they guaranteed
wouldn't be interrupt come hell or high water. We've lost many thousands
of dollars in having to work around "sorry you've become the latest
casualty of the free trade deal negotiations" ;)

Funniest thing is now we've got guys in the US asking us over to teach
them how we do x-y-z because our make-do has turned out more efficient
than what comes from their economy of scale. A silver lining to ever
cloud ;)

> But what would be the odds
> that German politicos could have sold to their communist
> ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H socialist constituiencies supplying
> Leopard parts to Aussies involved in the invasion of Iraq?

>From the bottom of the stack view we have in Australia it looks as
likely as any of our "bug buddies" saying "oh no no no" if we're not
aligned with them on something. Its what you get for being a ways down
the pecking order ;)
 
> Which coral islands was Australia planning on duking
> it out on?  And with whom?

I said that mostly tongue in cheek (taking a lesson from you own book
there). Recently (some time in past decade through now) we've had peace
keeping forces in the Solomons, Bougainville and Timor to name a few.
Tanks are unlikely to turn up on peace keeping missions though (we did
think about it for Timor apparently). Beyond the nations Glenn mentioned
Australia has to worry most about failed states (and a police role in
them) not rogue states around us.

> All American miltary vehicles run off of JP-8.  It's
> jet fuel.  US Specification MIL-DTL-83133 and British
> Defence Standard 91-87 Kerosense-based, mostly.

Ok next dumb tank question. Does this mean the diesel engine Aussie M1s
(apparently they get a slightly different engine put in to make diesel
efficient) would have to supply their own fuel anyway or is it general
practice for the diesel users to be able to go back to JP-8?

> And yes, we still stock old-style APDS rounds, although
> in the heat of battle I doubt any politicians will be
> looking over your tanker's shoulders to make sure no
> DU rounds accidentally come near Australian hands.

If the Aussie airforce in Iraq (not allowed to drop cluster bombs) was
any indication they will be, even more so because people are more apt to
make-do in battle. There was fine tooth comb scrutiny on that one.

Cheers

Beth