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| Science & Technology |
| 'Ironman' a game-changer on battlefield |
| 2012-05-05 |
| It all began during an intense 2 1/2-hour firefight with the enemy earlier this year in Afghanistan. As members of the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa National Guard, sat around later at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam and discussed the engagement, they talked about how three-man teams manning crew-served weapons struggled to stay together over difficult terrain in fluid battles. Someone mentioned actor Jesse Ventura in the movie "Predator." His character brandished an M-134 Mini-gun fed by an ammo box on his back. After the Soldiers had a good laugh over that thought, Staff Sgt. Vincent Winkowski asked why a gunner couldn't carry a combat load of ammo. He decided to pursue the idea. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #6 Well, thank God these guys didn't go to college, right, Senator Kerry? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2012-05-05 13:07 |
| #5 I like everything but the name. "Ironman" seems a bit overdramatic. "Ammo backpack" would be a more appropriate name, in my humble opinion. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2012-05-05 12:51 |
| #4 Personally, I think this shows that the military is listening to, and acting on, ideas from the field. This is a very good thing. Also, as always, Yankee ingenuity helps us win. |
| Posted by: Rambler In Virginia 2012-05-05 12:00 |
| #3 "Our doctrine encourages Soldiers to think for themselves" "To allow the gunner himself to be able to have this kind of firepower increases his lethality," Roy said. "By increasing his lethality, you've also increased his survivability by a certain amount." Professional soldiers increasing both their effectiveness and survivability. Reminds me of the Culin hedgerow cutter. |
| Posted by: Mike Ramsey 2012-05-05 08:43 |
| #2 Fortunately, this is a Guard outfit. Means the guys have jobs they can return to after being bounced for showing up the powers-that-be. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2012-05-05 04:57 |
| #1 On Feb. 26, 2011, our prototype 'Ironman' pack even saw its first combat use by Spc. McNew when our squad was ambushed by up to 50 fighters in a river valley, and it worked great!" Sorta makes me wish I were there. |
| Posted by: gorb 2012-05-05 03:57 |