Colo. Senators Want Ft. Carson In Alcohol Program

[intheflow]

Source: CBS News 4

DENVER (AP) ― Colorado's U.S. senators are asking the Army to include Fort Carson in a pilot program on substance abuse after a military study linked drugs and alcohol to violent crime at the post.

The pilot program is designed to reduce the stigma soldiers face if they ask for treatment.

(snip)

Read more: http://cbs4denver.com/local/Colorado.senators.Army.2.1095160.html

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This is very good news. There is an awful lot of domestic abuse going on down in the Springs, including some deaths of spouses.

[AllyCat]

1. When I lived there 20 years ago it was no different.

One infamous event involved 2-3 soldiers off duty and drunk who managed to get a half-track off the base and out onto I-25. They were headed to Denver. Not sure how far they managed to get.

[Aviation Pro]

2. A half-track?

You're probably thinking of one of these:



Which have been out of the inventory for a verrrrrrrrrrrrry long time.

How about an M113 APC like this one:



Either way, the torsion bar would have broken long before it got to Castle Rock.

[intheflow]

3. Nice to know my tax dollars are

going toward making durable tanks. :eyes: I have no idea what a torsion bar is, but if it broke on the short stretch of smooth highway between the Springs and Castle Rock, the soldiers overseas must be royally f*cked all the time by these beasts.

[Aviation Pro]

4. Fortunately, the 113 has been retired and replaced with far superior equipment....

....

[happyslug]

7. Only in theory, M113 are still in the inventory and certain elements

For example most of the support units for the M2 Bradly MICVs are M113s (maintenance, Mortars etc). One of the problem with our troops in Iraq was the LACK of M113s, the Humvees had to do the job the M113 should have been doing, but the Army made a decision to NOT send any M113s to non-armor units in Iraq.

http://www.udlp.com/www.m113.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M113_armored_personnel_carrier#Recent_history

With over 80,000 M113 made and over 10,000 still in active use by the US Military I can not said it was replaced, it was replaced in some applications (actual use as the main transport in Mechanized Infantry Units) but in the support elements of those units it is still the preferred vehicle.

[Aviation Pro]

10. I would've thought that the M577 would be retained in the inventory.....

...more than the M113, but I concede being wrong on more than one occasion.

[happyslug]

8. Us half tracks had no Torsion bars

US Half tracks were regular US trucks, up-armored and the rear wheels replaced with a commercial track unit that replaced the rear wheels (On the other hand German half tracks were special made vehicles.

Exactly when the US replaced its M3 half-tracks is unknown to me, but none seem to have served in Vietnam, but the M59 and M75 Series of fully tracks vehicles were NOT produced till the Korean war and a good replacement for the Half tracks did not really appear till the M113 did in 1959 (Through it seems most US half tracks were gone by the mid 1960s, but even the Israelis had a concern about replacing their M3s with the M113 in the early 1970s with many Israeli officers questioning the superiority of the M113 given the M113s additional maintenance costs, costs in both time and money). The Israelis seem to kept some M3s still in reserves to this day, through that may be do to the fact the Israelis plan to retire those vehicles when the reservists tied in with those vehicles die of old age (and when a mean some I mean some, just a handful that do specialized services within the Israeli IDF and either on their way to a Museum or kept in one).

Torsion bars were first used by Porsche for the Mark 3 Panzer of WWII fame, all subsequent German tanks used them, almost all post WWII designed tanks used them (The Russian T-34, and American Sherman did NOT, but those are WWII Designed tanks with the T-34 converting to Torsion bar suspension by 1944). The only tanks suspension, other then torsion bar, used in post WWII designed Armored vehicles are the hydro-pneumatics systems first used in the XM-70 tanks of th elate 1960s, when the XM-70 was canceled do to costs the next US tank, the M1 reverted to torsion bars suspension, through the Japanese and Korean tanks adopted since the 1960s have used hydro-pneumatics suspension.

More on the XM-70:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBT-70

Torsion bar suspension:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsion_bar

[Aviation Pro]

9. Thanks for correcting me, it's been awhile....

...tension vice torsion.

[AllyCat]

6. Like I said...long time ago. I thought that was what the news report said

Who knows. There was so much odd stuff. There was another genius who kidnapped a little kid and took photos of her naked. Took the photos the Fotomat (still existed then). Of course, he arrived to pick up his loot and was met by C. Sprgs finest.

[gimama]

5. For those interested in the area & the issue

ck.out www.whitebison.org They deal with "wellbriety" issues, American Indian issues, Healing Body & Spirit. Sign up for daily "Elders' Meditations"... they do goood Work.