Article

2006-05-23 Science & Technology

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Steve 2006-05-23 10:02|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Bout bloody time! I always did wonder what the *&^*&% they were thinking, issuing tea bags and coffee, with no way to heat drinking water.

What I had to do was purchase a small camp stove, and lug that thing with me everywhere.

OTOH, I was very popular at remote sites, and with the Jundis (I A privates) out in the field.

Fyi: I used a MSA Dragonfly-- It can be modified to run on Diesel/JP8. Lightweight, and small enough that it can fit in a cargo pocket when folded up. ~$200

Posted by N guard 2006-05-23 10:22|| 2006-05-23 10:22|| Front Page Top

#2 The miniUAV, N guard? How did you like it?

Posted by lotp 2006-05-23 10:43|| 2006-05-23 10:43|| Front Page Top

#3 Yes, and you would get in deep trouble for using your steel pot for cooking. Either your NCO would kick you up one side, if you were lucky, or you be surprised in the future by frag cutting through your helmet like butter, if you weren't lucky.

Heating ruined it temper, its hardness.

Posted by Anonymoose 2006-05-23 11:32|| 2006-05-23 11:32|| Front Page Top

#4 This article is crap. This is not new. These bags have been around for years. I first saw them in Panama in '93 while I was in the Mississippi National Guard.

Posted by ob1 2006-05-23 11:51|| 2006-05-23 11:51|| Front Page Top

#5
#2 The miniUAV, N guard? How did you like it?

No- Not the UAV-- a small, commercialy made liquid fuel camp stove. The Dragon[name] series of UAV's are a Marine thing. The closest version the army has is called a Raven.

I'm hanging on to my 1qt. canteen and cup. In Iraq I found them to be more useful than the camelbak, interestingly enough.

ob1- I concurr WRT your comments about cooking using a steel pot helmet. I disagree about the heaters though. Yes, we've had the flameless heaters for years, and they heat the ration packs well enough, but no one in any unit i've ever been in has been smart and/or ranger enough to figure out a reliable way using the existing heaters to heat water w/o poisoning the water. It was one of those little annoyances of army life.

Course, in Armor, we do have our tank's 1500 deg. exhaust jet.(Mr. Abrams coffee maker, anyone? :) ) When our tanks are available, and we are not being used for some non-armor related task.

Posted by N guard 2006-05-23 19:04|| 2006-05-23 19:04|| Front Page Top

#6 MSA stoves are great. I've used the same Whisperlite going on 20 years new.

A hardcore commando would have lashed up a road kill chili pot to the tank exhaust.

Posted by ed 2006-05-23 21:54|| 2006-05-23 21:54|| Front Page Top

#7 Where there's a will there's a way

Posted by Flimp Whomoper7006 2006-05-23 22:57|| 2006-05-23 22:57|| Front Page Top

00:00 Old Patriot
23:51 JosephMendiola
23:47 SteveS
23:42 JosephMendiola
23:40 Ebbogum Sheresh6836
23:35 rich
23:35 JosephMendiola
23:28 anonymous2u
23:25 JosephMendiola
23:19 JosephMendiola
23:05 JosephMendiola
22:59 JosephMendiola
22:58 Sock Puppet of Doom
22:57 Captain America
22:57 Flimp Whomoper7006
22:53 JosephMendiola
22:49 borgboy
22:47 phil_b
22:46 anonymous2u
22:42 JosephMendiola
22:28 ed
22:28 ed
22:27 Barbara Skolaut
22:26 ed