Re: [sg] platoon stuff and combat engineers

"K.H.Ranitzsch" wrote:

> But I guess that we have somewhat more of them than the average US
city,
> especially in that they are trained to deal with WWII ordnance. Though
there
> are now fewer of them than in, say, the 1950's. And due to the
location the
> bombs may be in, blowing them up in place is often not an option. They
have
> to be defused, even if the fuses are rusty or the bombs leak
explosive.
> When I went to school in the early 1960's, we were taught to recognize
> ordnance, not !!!!! to handle it and to inform the police.
> 
> Maybe I exaggerated my original statement about everyday mine
breaching, but
> in a mine-ridden country, the population will know better how to deal
with
> the risks and there will be more trained disposal personnel.
> 
> BTW, from some of the documentaries I have seen on the subject,
third-world
> mine clearance workers often get pretty basic training and equipment
for the
> job.

I guess we no longer have Ludo Toen on the list, as he's not piped
up. I gather that in his neck of the woods the farmers just toss
all the unexploded ordnance they plough up into a big pile by the
road for the military to pick up as they sweep past every so
often.

...and they say Belgium is dull.

--