To Be Fair

While I do rant about how hard it is to work on modern cars, I will, grudgingly, admit that they're far more reliable and dependable than their ancient counterparts.

100k miles was a real accomplishment for a '70's car; now it's routine.

That's not even accounting for the plethora of features that are standard today that were expensive and rare options back when.

When was the last time you cranked a window?

I can recall when a mirror on the passenger door was uncommon and forget about adjusting it from the driver's seat.

Air conditioning was once uncommon, now it's standard.

Power... everything!  It's now standard.  Even my seats with a manual front and back slider have powered lumbar, tilt and angle.

Remember when a manual transmission was called standard?  It's not even offered for most cars now. 

While I, sometimes, yearn for the clarity and simplicity of the older cars...  If I were to own one it'd get a lot of electronic gadgetry added.  Multiport sequential fuel injection makes an engine so much more livable.

Overdrive transmissions let driving the car be more affordable. 

And I'm A Primary Source!

I watched a video about how bad primary sources are and remembered about how bad eye-witnesses can be...

And I'm sitting here seeing it from the inside.

I have conflicting memories of the Berlin Wall falling and where I was and what I was doing.

Records show that I was being treated for breaking my legs after a fall from the turret into a ditch.

But I remember seeing some AFN footage in the company day room.

Which makes me think command dithered a while before sending us to the battalion maneuver area in the tanks to sit and do nothing until I broke my legs. 

Heck, I can't even remember for sure if we'd finished transitioning from the M1(IP) to the M1A1(HA).  I'm pretty sure we had.  I'm pretty sure we'd even gone to one gunnery with the new tanks.

But I don't know like I did before.

It'd help a great deal if there was any admission on the internet that 3-34 Armor was at Panzer Kaserne in Böblingen from 88-90 with the 1st Infantry Division (fwd).

We're on this chart anyway!

I think my memory is correct about the transition because I also found this:

1st Infantry Division (Forward), Göppingen (Germany)

• Headquarters and Headquarters Company
• 3rd Battalion, 34th Armor, Böblingen, (M1A1 Abrams)
• 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, Böblingen, (M113) <-- They'd begun changing to M2A1 Bradley about the same time as 1/4 Cav.
• 4th Battalion, 16th Infantry, Göppingen (M113)
• 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, Neu-Ulm, (24 × M109A3)
• 299th Support Battalion
• Troop A, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, (19 × M3A1 Bradley CFV, 3 × M113, 3 × M106A2, 1 × M577)(Boeblingen)
• Aviation Detachment, Göppingen, (2 × UH-1H, 4 × OH-58A)
• Company D, 1st Engineer Battalion
• Detachment 1, 101st Military Intelligence Battalion (Changed from Company D because Mr Garabaldi was actually there)

 But I needed outside information to confirm my memories.

But my incorrect memories would be quoted as a primary source by a historian... 

I Was Mistaken

A long while ago I stated remembering that the Army kept us, arms and ammunition well separated unless we were actually on the range and going shooting.

I misremembered something.

The ammo racks of the tanks were loaded with war-shot ammo unless we were going to the range for gunnery.  I also recall, now, removing all that ammo from the tank before going to Graf and experiencing my first round of being responsible in the paperwork for anything at all thanks to my minty new stripes on one of those trips.

Literally nothing but discipline keeping us from loading up an APFSDSDU round and picking a target.

Come to think on it, literally nothing but self control keeping us from firing up a tank and rolling out the gate with it too.

The Army did make us dismount all three machine guns and keep them in the arms room.  Ammo for the MG's was kept in the bunkers a longish ways away.

Same same for our pistols and the tank's M16. 

Memories

Saw a compilation of military fails.

One of them was a group of Marines looking in a grassy field for a missing suppressor.

I remember during Reforger hearing about a unit that had lost an M9 near where we were operating.

We all looked at each other in the turret for a moment and simultaneously said, "free pistol!"

Hey, it's not like we signed for it!

Sadly, we did not find it. 

Gen 2 Grippy

On a whim I took my G17.2 out to the range Tuesday and noticed something.

No little scrape on the side my hand from the slide.

The G17.1 clones scrape my hand.  The Gen 2 grip textures were/are an improvement over the Gen 1.  Gee, I think I remember reading the GunWriters® saying something about that in the way back...

I shoot low with it, though...

Hmmmmmmmmmm

 

Feeling Completer

Snagged a copy of GURPS 2e today.

 

It came with a bonus copy of GURPS: Autoduel, which makes this look almost exactly like my complete collection of books in 1986.  It also had several sheets of paper with generated characters in it.  Someone actually used this copy to play!

I don't remember if I even owned a copy of 1e.  2e came out so quickly on its heels it really should have been 1e (revised).  I must have; because 1e came out on July 3, 1986 and 2e on June 2, 1987, followed by 3e on August 18, 1988 then 3eR on July 7, 1994, then 4e on August 19, 2004 and 4eR August 30, 2026. coming this year in July (Rumor has it that it will be July 3, 2026 to correspond with the 40th anniversary).

I've now got 2e, 3e, 3eR and 4e.

Probably going to plunk down on the 4eR book too.  I don't wanna, but compulsiveness...

Missing Wonder Nines

The OG Wonder Nines™, in roughly chronological order, are the H&K VP70, S&W 59, CZ CZ75, Star M28, H&K P7M13 and Beretta 92.

This is if you accept:

"Wondernine: A term coined by gunwriter Robert T. Shimek to denote the modern breed of 9mm Parabellum auto pistols of recent design, usually featuring high magazine capacity and a double-action trigger mechanism or other modern ignition system (e.g., the squeeze-cocker of the Heckler & Kock P7 series or the Safe Action of the Glock)." 

J. Libourel

I've argued that the hoary old Browning Grand Puissance should be included despite the lack of a double action.

I further define the OG's as pre-Glock, so vaguely 1980 for the cutoff.  Yes, I know the Glock P.80 didn't enter service until 1982, but that 80 stands for 1980! 

I don't really think of the H&K P7M13 when I think of wonder nine, but Shimek included it.

I'm missing examples of the VP70, CZ 75, P7M13 and Star M28.

I don't have the first three because they're expensive as fuck compared to other guns.  The Star is a bit obscure but I've seen one for sale on Gunbroker every time I've looked.

CZ thinks they are H&K with regards to pricing; though prices appear to have come down a lot lately.

The VP70 and P7M13 are actual H&Ks in addition to being collectibles.

I've fired them all though.

I like the CZ quite a bit, but I appear to be immune to the Kool-Aid.  My ham-fists aren't precise enough to grab the narrow slide sometimes and the disassembly is archaic.

The VP70 is just plain unpleasant to shoot because of that trigger.  I remember seeing a lot of them in Polizei holsters in and around Stuttgart.

The P7M13 is goofy.  I found it tiring because I over-gripped the stapler-gun safety.  I wasn't given enough rounds to get the front blazing hot.

The Star I got to shoot had a bad extractor and didn't run well, but it was comfortable and the bullets went where they were told.  It's got the same narrow slide problem I have with the CZ.

A Bit Late I'm Afraid

I used to have a '79 Camaro Berlinetta.

It was extensively modified and I had to give it up because I couldn't get body parts.

The white on the ground in Iowa in the winter isn't snow, it's salt. 

This was back in 1995 or so.

Today, Facebook is aggressively advertising that just about every part for a 2nd gen Camaro is available now.

To the point that I don't think you need suffer with a single genuine GM part.

Thirty years too late, I'm afraid. 

Lego Delivery

When the Death Star collapsed in Marv's back seat, we had thought we'd gotten it all in the back for Adam.

Marv, however, found a stray the other day.

Today, I ran up to Ocala to give Adam his parts.

The Beast is made for the open road!

The lack of AC is a bit tedious, but it wasn't too bad, really.  I grew up without AC at all and it was a bit nostalgic to drive with the windows down.

It Shoots

For some reason I'm better with the Gen 1 Classic than the P80 Classic.

Two mags at 7 yards.

The factory Glock sights still suck for me trying to go fast on a 3x3 set of rings though.  Lack of practice, I am sure.

The Gen 1 Classic's slide doesn't scrape the top of my hand like the P80 Classic.  Odd.

The Story ™ That's In The Regimental History

I keep telling this story and then losing where I put it so I can't link to it when I say, "I've told this story before!"

My unit had a bit of a hiccup in the supply lines.

We'd turned in our M1911A1's and all the .45 ACP and drawn 9mm in anticipation of being issued new M9's.  Except the M9 was having some sort of production stoppage and there were no pistols to issue us.

Normally that'd mean we'd just wait, without pistols, until it was sorted out.

We were scheduled to leave for the West German-Czech border, "any moment now," to cover a unit there that was going to Graf for training.

We got permission to hit the rod-and-gun club's gun shop and order, "anything that shoots 9mm," I remember that we were supposed to be compensated for the purchase up to some amount I don't recall.  I don't think we ever were.  We were also allowed to purchase if we were under 21 (like me) and accompanied by a senior NCO.  If you were under 21, you could only visit your purchase under the same conditions as an issue weapon.  Over 21 could sign them out almost at will.

I bought a Glock 17.  My first gun! 

I chose it because it held 17 rounds, that's more than a Beretta so better!

Someplace in here is where I learned 17+1 too.

Pistol qualification was hilarious with, seemingly, no two guns alike.  Thinking back, most of us snagged either a Beretta 92 or a S&W x39 or x59.  One guy even snagged an H&K94!

I was still 20 when I injured myself in a fall from a tank and had to sell the gun before returning home, had to be 21 to bring a handgun back with you from Germany in those days.  Technically I WAS 21 when I ETS'd, but there were painkillers and alcohol involved in my disorderly medical separation from service.

Just To Be Complete

Most of my service with tanks, I carried an M1911A1, not a Glock 17.

When we got back from the Czech border, we finally got our M9's to go with our 9x19mm ammo.

But I never carried my Beretta like this:

We had the Bianchi M13 shoulder holsters based on the UM-84.  Those things sucked.  Lots of guys used their old M7 holsters as I have pictured above.

Nostalgia Rig

How I toted on the Czech-West German border.

If I had not disregarded the future collectors, this picture would be impossible for lack of a lanyard.

Classic Glock 17

The P80 Classic did not fill the void.

So I've kept hunting for either a real steal on an actual Gen1 or a decent deal on a Gen 1 Classic.

I found the Classic because the seller listed it as a real Gen1 and that wouldn't attract someone who wanted a Classic.

Without regards to future collectors, I decided to make it a clone of my actual first Glock 17.

This means I can put the lanyard on it!

The hole for the lanyard is not on the initial issue of the P80 or G17, and it appears erratically in production until all guns after a certain point have it.  The one I bought at the Patch Rod and Gun Club had the hole, as did the one I bought later at Jacobson's Gun Center.  The gun I bought stateside also had adjustable sights for ATF import points.

Here's what's wrong with the P80:

And here's why the Gen 1 Classic is acceptable:

And except for the serial number range, that's all the differences between them!

 I think I, very quietly, crossed the line to being a Glock collector without noticing.

False Memory

There's a seller on GunBroker selling a lot of 15 large-round forward assist buttons.

I've long wanted one because I remembered the tank's issue M16A2 having this feature.

Before I spent the money on having 14 extra forward assists, I decided to see if anyone had bothered to document the serial number range for this early feature.

S/N 860,000 to 1,200,000 is the expected range according to the AI helper on the search engine.

My M16A2's serial number was 6,300,574, apparently, well past when they changed to the current small-round forward assist.

HOWEVER!

The first M16A2's start at 6,000,000!

Others have found that the large round lasted to 6,280,000; which also places my rifle just outside the range of the early feature.

The last colt M16A2 (or XM4) is (approximately) 6,590,478.

FN M16A2's run is 7,000,000 to 7,429,766.

At least for US Property marked guns.  Other serial number ranges for M16A2 are around for export usage. 

Worst MRE Of All Time

Being of moderately high mileage, my only experience with MRE's is the OG brown bag ones with the original 12 menus.

Wikipedia says these were from 1981 to 1987 and are MRE I to VII.

To me, the absolute worst thing in those 12 selections was the Beef Stew.  It's a holdover from the MCI rations (erroneously called C-rats) and, apparently, lima beans were more popular with Boomers than us GenX motherfuckers.

Despite my service dates being from 1987 to 1990, I never saw anything from the MRE VIII to XII (1988 to 1992) menu.

I liked several things that others hated, so I was a happy trooper.

I like Vienna sausages, and the "four fingers of death," to me, were four giant Vienna sausages and not hot-dogs.  If you look at it from my perspective, it's good.  If you wanted hot-dogs, it's bad.

The dehydrated meat patties were fine eaten dry as far as I was concerned.  Same for the dehydrated fruits.  Something with a non-mush texture with some flavor?  I'm in!

But looking at the 12 choices, it's clear that I never had a couple.  Beef slices in BBQ sauce and ground beef in spiced sauce I remember seeing, but not eating.

My willingness to eat the dehydrated patties meant trade opportunities.  People would offer desserts to take the pork patty if I'd give them the BBQ slices.

Crumbled up beef patty soaked in the chicken-a-la-king and heated was decent. 

Which reminds me of something I rarely dealt with.

Eating them cold.

Avco-Lycoming was kind enough to develop an MRE heater and Chrysler was kind enough to include it in every M1 Abrams.

When you have a back-deck bar and grill, you never have eat a cold MRE. 

I Had No Idea

A long, long, time ago: I borrowed a book from Gerb.  <-- He is missed every day.

I don't remember what about it made me ask to borrow it, but I did.

I remember enjoying it then returning it and, basically, forgetting all about it.

Only to be reminded of it in the comments at a political blog.

The book was "Tuf Voyaging" by George RR Martin.

Yes, THAT George RR Martin.

I can now say that I've read a GRRM book and enjoyed it.

This had been true for... uh... decades.  I think I borrowed it before I went into the Army.  I just didn't realize it because I never made note of whom wrote the book and I'd even forgot the title. 

Almost

I am nearly in this picture!  I took a picture of the picture in my copy of Tankograd American Special No. 3044 "REFORGER 88: Certain Challenge."

That's my tank on the right edge of this photo.  I was standing on the turret watching 1/4 Cav pass through during REFORGER '88.

The photographer took pictures of me standing there, but I didn't make the book...

Of Tanks And Floating Bridges

From the comments by Well Seasoned Fool at Chant du Départ. 

One shining, cloudy, cold, rainy day in West Germany, someone decided to make a pontoon bridge across a river.

Because they were a general, or something, their decision meant that engineers were ordered to gather the components and assemble a floating bridge across a river in West Germany.

"What good is a bridge if nobody uses it to cross the river," The General thought.

So this same, shiny, cloudy, cold, rainy day my tank battalion was ordered to drive down to this new bridge and cross it.

Then, having crossed it, go back the way we came and cross it again, then return home.

Me, having been "promoted" from loader to driver got to pilot my M1(IP) across the bridge.  Twice!

No shit, there I was! 

From my vantage, it was narrower than the tank (it wasn't) and it sank underwater under the weight (it didn't).

Once on the thing, it didn't seem so narrow.  But it still seemed like we were gonna sink to the bottom if we didn't haul ass.  Something the engineers begged us not to do.

The feeling is... odd.  The weight of the tank pushes the bridge sections down and where the pontoon/boat/floaty part is it sinks less than the joints between the road sections so there's this constant slow up down rocking motion as you cross.  It makes you feel like the tank is trying to turn when it's going straight and you really can't see where you are.  You just have to trust that you're sitting in the center and that by aiming at the middle you have the tank centered.

Wracks the nerves it does.  And I didn't even sign for anything! 

Tanks are not finesse machines, they're clumsy things and they casually and inadvertently break these bridges.  Pivot steering is hard on the planking and causes engineers to use rough language and pry bars to straighten it.

Pivot steering is often required because the nature of these bridges often means that the approach is just a little off the angle the tank can accomplish just driving up.

At the end of the day, I did not go swimming and I don't think we broke the bridge so bad it could not be used again.

I apologize for any damage my lack of driving skill might have done to the bridge and offer one beer on me to any combat engineer who had to deal with that damage.  Payable in person only!