The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI'm a fifty-four year-old man who calls pajamas "jammies".
I make no apologies for that.
Carry on...
no_hypocrisy
(45,774 posts)Aristus
(66,096 posts)It just lays there.
Irish_Dem
(45,640 posts)Aristus
(66,096 posts)I had one back when I was in the Army. My girlfriend gave it to me right before I left for the Gulf in 1991. I called it 'Menachem'. (I was going through a 'should I or shouldn't I convert to Judaism just because I'm dating a Jewish girl?' phase.)
Irish_Dem
(45,640 posts)Did you convert?
Aristus
(66,096 posts)I guess girls in the early '90's thought that was what guys wanted.
Irish_Dem
(45,640 posts)So it was the norm. The training sergeants must have been amused.
Aristus
(66,096 posts)I graduated from tanker school in October, 1989. Then I was assigned to my permanent duty station in Germany. I was deployed to the Gulf in February, 1991.
Irish_Dem
(45,640 posts)Aristus
(66,096 posts)The only reason Ukraine hasn't finished the job of kicking the Russians out of their country is because Ukrainian tanks suck, too. They're all based on old Soviet-era designs that were flawed from the beginning, and the flaws just get worse as time goes on.
The Soviet Union got the idea in the early Sixties to mount an automatic ammunition loader into their latest-generation tank, eliminating the need for a human loader, and thereby decreasing the crew size from four to three. Unfortunately, the ammunition for the auto loader is laid out on a rotating carousel under the feet of the crew, with each round's warhead and propellant charge in an individual rack ready to be rammed into the gun breach.
With no barriers between the ammunition carousel and the crew, any enemy round that penetrates the turret or the hull of the tank is going to ignite the ammunition propellant charges, causing a massive explosion and killing the crew. Western tanks, which still require human loaders (except for the excellent French LeClerc tank) keep the ammunition in an armored compartment separate from the crew. Once a loader selects a round from the ammunition rack, the compartment door closes, protecting the crew in case an enemy round hits the turret. The M1-series Abrams tank has what are called 'blow-off panels' on the turret's upper deck. These are weaker than the ammunition compartment's armored door. So if the ammunition explodes, they blow the panels off and vent the explosion up out of the tank and away from the crew.
You've probably seen videos of Russian tanks 'brewing up' and getting their turrets blown completely off. No crew survives that kind of catastrophic explosion.
From a practical standpoint, a tank crew of three will always be inferior to a four-man crew simply because there are fewer people to take care of routine maintenance, relieve each other on guard watches, etc. Crew fatigue is a huge reason for Russia's tank failures, as is the fact that most of their crews are very poorly trained in the first place. After Israel, the U.S. has the best-trained tank crews in the world, although a strong case can be made for the UK and Germany, as well.
The UK, Germany, and the US are all sending Ukraine some of our modern tanks, which will beat the hell out of whatever tanks Russia has left.
Irish_Dem
(45,640 posts)Last year I saw a brief video of an Army colonel who is specializes in tanks, and he said that some years back he had seen some Russian tanks at a military show or inspection. He was shocked looking at them, basically said they were pieces of crap but did not give any details.
I knew the Russian tanks were bad, but did not know the details as you outline. So bad design and bad decision on how to man the tanks.
I also know the new tanks we are sending are better, but didn't know why.
Many thanks for the info.
Aristus
(66,096 posts)Both powers, during the war, sought to flood the battlefield with tens of thousands of cheaply built, easy-to-manufacture tanks (and other weapons) thereby overwhelming the Germans and their increasingly limited industrial capacity to produce replacement weapons.
After the war, the U.S. sought to produce smaller numbers of high-quality tanks, although we didn't really succeed in creating a world-beating tank until the Abrams entered service in 1979.
The Soviets, despite some interesting innovations, still used the old more-is-better doctrine, and produced huge numbers of tanks such as the T-55, the most produced tank in history at an estimated 100,000 or more, the T-62, and the T-64, T-72, T-80, and T-90 series tanks, all of which are more or less simple upgrades from one another. They become obsolete relatively quickly, but Russia keeps them around in massive storage depots. I don't know if you heard, but Russia's tank losses have grown so large, they had to dip into these storage depots and ship out T-55's and T-62's, the youngest of which were built in the late 1960's.
Irish_Dem
(45,640 posts)Basically the Russians seem to have a consistent strategy, everything including men are just part of the meat grinder.
I just watched a great video here on DU, Col Spencer a US Army urban warfare specialist.
Great summary of what went right and wrong in Ukraine during the first days/weeks of the invasion.
Ukrainians are brilliant in terms of strategy and tactics.
Many Russian convoys of tanks and trucks were blown up fairly quickly.
It is long but fascinating.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=817248
Aristus
(66,096 posts)In times past, Russia could always rely on the Russian soldiers unshakable patriotism, which approaches the holy and/or fanatical.
But thats when they are defending the soil of Mother Russia. Todays Russian soldiers know theyve been sold a bill of goods by Putin and his corrupt, billionaire cronies. Thats why so many surrendered in droves, and now Russia has to rely on mercenaries and prison thugs.
Irish_Dem
(45,640 posts)Col Spencer said he had never seen anything like it.
Ukraine basically is outsmarting the Russians, always 10 steps ahead.
Col Spencer said the Battle of Kyiv is going to be an iconic 21st century battle.
One of the most consequential in European history.
He gets into the deep weeds of the battle which is fascinating.
Aristus
(66,096 posts)So I will always have their backs on this.
rsdsharp
(9,042 posts)teddy bears werent really what they wanted from girls.
Aristus
(66,096 posts)n/t
I mailed a stuffed monkey that made a loud screeching sound when in motion to some soldiers in Iraq - a soldier wrote back that it was promptly confiscated after they sent it flying into the bunk of an officer screaming INCOMING! So of course I sent them another one.
Aristus
(66,096 posts)Tetrachloride
(7,728 posts)PB and J on Sunday thru Thursday.
Bacon and toast and spicy jam with hot butter on Saturdays and National Holidays
fierywoman
(7,641 posts)Aristus
(66,096 posts)I told my wife: "I'm going to get back in my jammies now."
And then it hit me: I'm a fifty-four year-old guy who calls pajamas "jammies".
Laffy Kat
(16,356 posts)Women never say "bathroom" again. We say "potty" and will for the rest of our lives.
Aristus
(66,096 posts)She's older than I am! She's sixty-three, and says "potty".
Martin Eden
(12,803 posts)JAMMIFY
I'll be 66 this year. My wife's age is a state secret.
Aristus
(66,096 posts)Emile
(21,909 posts)Aristus
(66,096 posts)imaginary girl
(856 posts)It really fits, too!