When I reported to my unit in Germany, this 19K was disappointed to discover there were M60A3 (TTS) tanks in the motorpool.
They weren't there for long.
We replaced them with brand new M1(IP) very shortly after I arrived.
I remember the '60's being all used up.
The Cav Squadron across the way took the cream of our crop and turned in their worst with the rest of ours.
I remember them exclaiming in joy how wonderful it was to have good tanks again.
They then spend a year beating more shit out of them until the vehicles were replaced with M3 Devers and the crews were transferred to us.
I don't know, specifically, what happened to our '60's, but I've heard stories about the USMC getting threadbare Army tanks and just GUSHING at how well maintained and NEW they were.
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I have heard much the same whenever the Marines have gotten their hands on Army castoffs of any type.
ReplyDelete"New" rations.
"New" canteens.
Sad that the Marines, supposedly a first reaction type of force, have historically been on the trailing end of the logistics train.
How much money do you really want to invest into self deploying sandbags? (Sorry Tom, couldn't resist).
DeleteFunny, that's what my great-grandfather said about Chinese during the Boxer Rebellion...
Delete(No, actually I don't know, he was long dead before I came around, but still funny, no?)
i maintained m60a3's at a reserve/guard training site. those babies were showroom new at all times, my colonel insisted on it or you were gone. marines and even regular army dam near squirted themselves every time they got ahold of them for training. so much so that one time a marine broke in overnight and stole parts out of one to fix his tank back home. alcohol may have been involved. those tanks went to desert storm and then were given to an ally, told us the turks. we got m1's after that, and maintenance went downhill. i hear they can't keep enough mission capable to fill training requests anymore. my old colonel would fire the lot of them. he was an s.o.b. but you could eat off the floor of those tanks, and trainers knew it for coast to coast....good times.
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