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Here is one of those typical items, from the 'good ole days'.



More to come
Don

Here are a couple more, from my 'dusty' collection.





Don

Of course there are the 'tour jackets'



And then my Canadian Army Trophy competition NOMEX



Don

Hey,

Where'd you get the 3-12 ash tray? Two of those years listed I was there in A troop.

Joe D

- Joe_D

Hey,

Where'd you get the 3-12 ash tray? Two of those years listed I was there in A troop.

Joe D

Thought you'd be interested.

Don

Our gang at the Budingen railhead (1975)

Mine just get into "FRG Memories of the 80's" - 1989:




You can't say the Germans don't take their beer seriously!


PS: For the first time I started to wonder about Hacketäuer, and so did a quick Google:

On 23 August 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Infantry Regiment Freiherr von Sparr formed part of the Prussian army led by von Bülow, supported by Swedish troops commanded by the ex-French Marshal Jean Bernadotte, which faced a French army headed by Marshal Oudinot at Gross Beeren. The battle was fought in torrential rain, which rendered muskets useless, and the soldiers were urged on in hand-to-hand fighting with their gun butts by cries of 'Hacke tau!', which literally means something like 'Strike out', but might be better rendered (in British English, at least) as 'Get stuck in!' or 'Bash on!' The Prussian/Swedish army won the day and Oudinot retired in disarray. 'Hacke tau!' was then adopted as the official battle cry of the Regiment.

Panzerbataillon 203 of the modern German Bundeswehr has adopted the traditions of the Infantry Regiment Freiherr von Sparr and the cry 'Hacke tau!' is still used on special occasions.

Trevor

Did you notice this,.....

close ups from my Nomex jacket:

[img][/img]

Panzer Battalion 203 fired CAT in 89 for NORTHAG. They were mainly conserned with out shooting the CENTAG German team

[img][/img]


Don

Hey Mark,

Is that Samoan looking fellow named Fofua?

Joe D

Dontos, I hadn't - small world! My unit never got involved with CAT while I was in, a real shame as it was right up my street. The highlight of my (brief compared to most of you guys) career was to get the accolade of top troop leader for my unit on ranges, Hohne, 1989.

- MarkHolloway

Our gang at the Budingen railhead (1975)

Shoulder holsters being seemingly as much eschewed in '75 as earlier. A more cumbersome piece of gear is hard to imagine. Never wore one when I could help it. I did have an "unauthorized, but tolerated" brown hip holster, however.

Didn't get to Germany until decades later, but this was passed down from Roy and my Sqdn. CO to me this year. That's "Fiddlers Green" (the Firebase), for Roy's consumption. (It does specify "G Troop" on the other side )

Basis for this is a 105mm shell. I wouldn't recommend drinking from it, however.




...and the less said about this one, the better.

...pretty sure these wouldn't last long at Ft. Irwin, either.

Come to think of it, most of my patches were "unauthorized".

- Joe_D

Hey Mark,

Is that Samoan looking fellow named Fofua?

Joe D

That's SFC Richard Haake from Hawaii.

Thought he looked like one of the senior NCO's I had in Budingen, many stayed there forever.

Joe D

- TrevorLarkum

Dontos, I hadn't - small world! My unit never got involved with CAT while I was in, a real shame as it was right up my street. The highlight of my (brief compared to most of you guys) career was to get the accolade of top troop leader for my unit on ranges, Hohne, 1989.

CAT was 99.9% political. I knew of it before 1987 when the M-1's of 4/8 CAV shot high platoon. When 'we' (4/32 Armor) were chosen to compete, I was a newly promoted E-5, rookie gunner. It was perhaps one of the highest points of my career. One of the lowest points, was following my Platoons 'battle run'. The realization that we didn't 'WIN' was crushing (along with placing 20th of 21 firing platoons.) No excuses, we failed. The fact that two of our tanks had mechanical malfunctions during the run, and we still did the best we could, with the odds stacked against us was no consulation, WE DIDN'T WIN.

My 'badge'. All Centag participants wore one of these.



OH, something I just remembered:
Do you remember the supposed IRA threat to a visiting VIP at Bergen-Hohne. I think it was April 89, but not sure.

We happened to be there at the tail end of the super-hi threatcon. Orbke 1 (where we had the temporary barracks) was locked down, armed roving guards, and very strict no foot traffic after dark mandate.

As for Ranges, I think Range 9 is one of the most challanging I have ever shot. I know that CAT scenarios where fairly tame (although the rules & scoring was a nightmare) but I really came to love Range 9.

Regards
Don