Re: [OT] Question from the news

> 1) I read about US forces skirmishing with
> Republican Gaurd. The reporter mentioned
> (repeatedly) 50mm machine-gun fire.

.50 Caliber. Ma Duece. 1/2 inch caliber. Virtually everything that rolls
that's American has one

> 3. I've heard about several 'friendly fire'  incidents. One involved
two
Brit tanks (Challengers I'll assume, but I could be wrong).

Life gets exciting when people are shooting at you. It's easy to get a
bit
over enthusiastic in that circumstance.  There is also the fact that
many of
these crews have been denied horizontal sleep for 70+ hours, wearing the
same clothes for a week (including essentially a rubber suit) unable to
bath.  I can't imagine what the inside of that tank smells like.  There
is
something called sensory overload that everyone can experience when so
much
information is being thrown at you at once and the need to be hyperalert
because of death from every direction.

These are not lead soldiers. Many are in need of real rest, without
which
mistakes will be made.

> 4. I have heard that the Iraqis are using pickups  with TOW mounts.
Ignoring the question of how
> they got there, does this remind anyone else of  the DS2 size 1
vehicle
with GMS/H which we
> always tend to lament about? Panzer Nissan  anyone? (and effective, by
all
accounts)

Russians invented the TOW (Generic term for optically tracked and wire
guided antitank weapon. I think that we called them saggers way back
when.

> PS - Is anyone else annoyed that they keep differentiating servicemen
and
women on  combat operations killed in aircrashes etc. "accidental"
casualties as differentiated from "combat" casualties? That really burns
my
butt. The distinction will be largely lost upon the  families I suspect.

I would expect that sort of reporting. Indeed, it seems that the
accidents
are winning.  Of course flying helicopters in sandstorms can't be called
a
normal peacetime operation.

Note: I was Air Force, but flew so I understand sensory overload and
fatigue.