I know there's a lot of Rick Lynch here........but I'm really a Navy girl. So, here's a pic of a tasty sailor in full battle rattle.
battle rattle : Full battle rattle is close to 50 pounds worth of gear, including a flak vest, Kevlar helmet, gas mask, ammunition, weapons, and other basic military equipment. One component is the soft vest that covers the torso the shoulders and the back. It's made of soft material, a mixture of Kevlar and Twaron. These are sown together in sort of a sandwich fashion inside a nylon camouflage-pattern shell. The nylon vest has attaching points for load-bearing equipment. The second component of the system is ceramic plates that fit in pockets in the front and back of the vest. These plates protect the heart and lungs. Any TV news report from Iraq or Afghanistan shows American service members wearing "full battle rattle." Wearing the battle rattle has saved lives in both Iraq and Afghanistan. A soldier in full dress, including helmet, flak jacket, and automatic weapon said to be wearing "battle rattle" "play clothes" or "Mommy's comforts" -- terms that antedated the war in Iraq, though used less frequently because the gear was used by smaller numbers of troops. The term Battle Rattle was previously associated with a call to arms on warships in the 1812 period.
6 comments:
Hey -- you knew something *I* didn't know!
Us green-suiters don't research the Nasal Ark Hives much, so I didn't know the drum-tattoo was called the Battle Rattle, Mags. The practical derivation of the term is, if everything isn't packed and snugged *just right* and you jog in place for an equipment check, you rattle.
Which means you wrap the offending item(s) in dry socks or do without.
When everything's proper-like, the sound is a muted rustle, but "Battle Rustle" lacks that alliterative quality...
A soldier in full [battle]dress, including helmet, flak jacket, and automatic weapon is said to be wearing "battle rattle" "play clothes" or "Mommy's comforts"...
In Vietnam, we used the term "work clothes" -- woulda probably called it "corporate casual" if the term had been invented back then...
Oh, baby! I could teach you lots of things!
What's the chance of getting a scholarship based on previous knowledge?
I would have liked to see the picture of the sailor at one of the twin H2s mounted on the stern of a DDG or one of the 25mm cannons custome built in Crane, Indiana (the largest Navy base in the world - miles from any sea). The M60 adjacent to the poor sailor on AT/FP posting is hardly adequate to put down an inbound HSV. It may clear the decks, but there needs to be a little more kinetic energy.
Surprisingly, one of the best defensive tools of a warhsip is their firemain hoses. Very good for clearing docks and decks, providing a good DM is aloft with an M14 to take out any more serious threats.
my cousin is a master sergeant down at Ft Hood. He does the readiness training for the troops heading to Iraq. They have to train with their full body armor. I got to try his on. Dang was it heavy and uncomfortable. I have much respect for the soldiers that can hump all day in that gear.
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