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Well, you shoulda' been there. A coming-home cermony held last night in Bakersfield for G Troop, 2/11th at which I had the honor to speak as a guest. A special place was set for the one trooper KIA during their deployment and a finer (and more professional) bunch of troopers I've never seen.
It's pretty amazing what a professional Army produces, I swear sergeants outnumber lower ranks by two-to-one, and only because of time in service. But Man!...can these guys drink! The big vat contained the "grog"...a vile concoction of regional spirits from every deployment the 11th Cav has seen in it's history. It was supposed to be punshiment, but apparently G Troop is populated by masochists.

Anyway, a few pics I thought you might appreciate....the first, surprizingly, features the Golf Troop guidon from Vietnam...how they obtained that I have no idea, but some guys' name was mentioned...

Second is the view from the staff table where the CO (CPT Rayca), XO (CPT Collins), 1st Sgt. (Sgt. Squires) and myself sat:


Third, and most incriminating, is a pic of most elements of what was your old platoon, the 2nd (that were still standing) plus a couple of VFW volunteers (what one is volunteering for is best left to speculation) and some civilian puke in a funny hat that got dragged, kicking and screaming, into the meleé.


Rumor has it that certain elements soon were detached to conduct a visual recon of the Deja Vu "gentlemen's club" at 2300 hrs., but I figured this was an activity best left to those in uniform.

SUPER!

Thanks for the photos Doug!

Doug,
I wish I could have been there, but I think I would have been out of place having not served with the guys. Looks as if the "G" Troop boys had a good time. I'm sure emotions ran high for the fallen trooper. Is that your Stetson? Was anyone wearing their "Blues"?

- SFC_Jeff_Button

Doug,
I wish I could have been there, but I think I would have been out of place having not served with the guys. Looks as if the "G" Troop boys had a good time. I'm sure emotions ran high for the fallen trooper. Is that your Stetson? Was anyone wearing their "Blues"?

Jeff,
If you mean dress blues, heck no!

The only Stetson was mine. As the CO explained to me, most of the troop is born of Ft. Benning, and Infantry has bred the more eccentric cavalry idiosycracies out of them. You'll notice a LOT of blue cords in my pics. In olden terms, the Troop is a bit more like mech inf. than classic cav by training, mindset, and mission there. They had lent a platoon to a tank troop, and received a platoon of tankers (in HMMWV's) in return, so the composition and background is different than what Roy and I recall. These are more like infantry given wheeled and tracked vehicles (Bradley's) whereas the VN-era G Troop was more like tankers and cav scouts who also did a buttload of dismounted infantry jobs.
The XO had sent me a synopsis of mission types and some very familiar terms emerged...route clearance...dismounted operations...mounted patrols....foot patrolling. Similar duties, but different environment and backgrounds for many of the troopers.

I'd have felt well-staffed on personnel taking any of the present troop on a soireé through Thua Thien or Hau Nghia provinces.

Finally...the "armor content".

The Troop and CO gifted me with a framed picture from Iraq in one of their more challenging assignments, the town and facilities around Abu Ghraib, a lucrative target for political and tactical reasons. A previous unit with responsibility for the area had suffered frequent attacks and had their hands full, so to speak. After G Troop, took over the area, there was only one attack before activity fell off to zero.

This pic was also chosen because it is of a similar tone to one I presented to the Troop a month ago during my vist with Jeff Button:

- Doug_Kibbey

As the CO explained to me, most of the troop is born of Ft. Benning, and Infantry has bred the more eccentric cavalry idiosycracies out of them. You'll notice a LOT of blue cords in my pics. In olden terms, the Troop is a bit more like mech inf. than classic cav by training, mindset, and mission there. They had lent a platoon to a tank troop, and received a platoon of tankers (in HMMWV's) in return, so the composition and background is different than what Roy and I recall. These are more like infantry given wheeled and tracked vehicles (Bradley's) whereas the VN-era G Troop was more like tankers and cav scouts who also did a buttload of dismounted infantry jobs.
The XO had sent me a synopsis of mission types and some very familiar terms emerged...route clearance...dismounted operations...mounted patrols....foot patrolling. Similar duties, but different environment and backgrounds for many of the troopers.

I noticed all the blue disks and ropes the second time I took a look at your photos.
Most of those troops were born at Ft. Benning? During the passed few months I am starting to get the feeling that the current Army is slowing doing away with almost all historical links to passed units. After this conflict is over, it is going to be almost impossible to track which unit was with who and who did what were and when.

I noticed you didn't list RIF as one of the current mission types?

To the current members of G Troop!

Great set of photos, thanks Doug!
Sgt, Scouts Out!

RIF = Recon in Force

- Roy_A_Lingle

- Doug_Kibbey

As the CO explained to me, most of the troop is born of Ft. Benning, and Infantry has bred the more eccentric cavalry idiosycracies out of them. You'll notice a LOT of blue cords in my pics. In olden terms, the Troop is a bit more like mech inf. than classic cav by training, mindset, and mission there. They had lent a platoon to a tank troop, and received a platoon of tankers (in HMMWV's) in return, so the composition and background is different than what Roy and I recall. These are more like infantry given wheeled and tracked vehicles (Bradley's) whereas the VN-era G Troop was more like tankers and cav scouts who also did a buttload of dismounted infantry jobs.
The XO had sent me a synopsis of mission types and some very familiar terms emerged...route clearance...dismounted operations...mounted patrols....foot patrolling. Similar duties, but different environment and backgrounds for many of the troopers.

I noticed all the blue disks and ropes the second time I took a look at your photos.
Most of those troops were born at Ft. Benning? During the passed few months I am starting to get the feeling that the current Army is slowing doing away with almost all historical links to passed units. After this conflict is over, it is going to be almost impossible to track which unit was with who and who did what were and when.

I noticed you didn't list RIF as one of the current mission types?

To the current members of G Troop!

Great set of photos, thanks Doug!
Sgt, Scouts Out!

RIF = Recon in Force

Roy,
Well, the XO didn't use the term "Recon. in Force" in his summary to me, but maybe that's covered by "mounted patrols" or 'RIF" isn't a term much in use at that level...dunno'. Also, he cited raids on terrorist camp and building, but RIF to us seems to imply an enemy assembled (more-or-less) in the open (even if under cover of bush) that gets detected and engaged all in one step. I gather this scenario doesn't come up quite the way we recall/envision it. I think these fella's are acting more on intel when they go on a "bug hunt"...
Well, that's my read on it, anyway...

HOWEVER, I can tell you that there are some serious Golf Troop "boosters" in the unit...one SFC was on his second tour with G Troop and he was fanatical about, and virtually the concience of, the unit. As a group, they didn't seem very familiar with their heritage, but were interested to learn it when given the chance. As I may have indicated, they seem more like a mech. inf. company emplying Cav methods than traditional Cav guys adept at dismounts (though there were some 19-series MOS's in the outfit...and they had a platoon of borrowed tankers when deployed....)

On the other hand, I'd prefer to see infantry guys using Cav methods than the attitude I've seen displayed by a few modern Cav/tank troopers best exemplified by the phrase "Death before dismount", which I detest.

Isn't "RIF" a dirty word nowadays, meaning something like "Reduction in force"- could be the reason they didn't use it.

Cheers

Jens O.

- Jens_O_Mehner

Isn't "RIF" a dirty word nowadays, meaning something like "Reduction in force"- could be the reason they didn't use it.

Cheers

Jens O.

I doubt it, Jens...the Army seems not to be in "RIF" mode, presently. There has usually been a distinction between the meanings based on context, since one is beaurcratic and the other relates to combat ops.

Maybe new-Army-speak has a more voguish term?

As an aside, I once heard "reconnaisance by fire" described as being where "you fire into the bushes with a .45....and if somebody shoots back with an AK-47, you know somebody's in there...."

Well,

this intrigued me enough to google it (don't trust my ailing memory biochips anymore ;-)), and somebody seems to agree with me:

Viet Nam era slang

Can't trust those acronyms, they keep changing their meaning... Just be glad they got that designation mess sorted out since 1945, when every second item in the inventory was an M1- must've been real fun in the QMC then



Jens O.

- Jens_O_Mehner

Well,

this intrigued me enough to google it (don't trust my ailing memory biochips anymore ;-)), and somebody seems to agree with me:

Viet Nam era slang

Can't trust those acronyms, they keep changing their meaning... Just be glad they got that designation mess sorted out since 1945, when every second item in the inventory was an M1- must've been real fun in the QMC then
Jens O.

Ja...I was thinking of it's use now. Had some fun with that site. Found a glaring oversight,too....they refer to "boom-boom" as "sex" and no reference whatsoever to Roy Lingle's ACAV! I'm shocked! If this was Wikipedia, I'd be doing some serious editting....

- Jens_O_Mehner

Well,

this intrigued me enough to google it (don't trust my ailing memory biochips anymore ;-)), and somebody seems to agree with me:

Viet Nam era slang

Can't trust those acronyms, they keep changing their meaning... Just be glad they got that designation mess sorted out since 1945, when every second item in the inventory was an M1- must've been real fun in the QMC then



Jens O.

Hi Jens! Hi Folks!

Sorry, but per FM 101-5-1 October 1985, Operational Terms and Symbols, page 1-60, 'reconnissance in force' was still listed in the manuel as of 1985.

In effect the two 'Thunder Runs' conducted by TF 1-64, 2nd BCT of the 3rd ID through B-town where 'RIFs', not Thunder Runs. I am sure Thunder Run is left over Vietnam era slang. It just sounds better on the 6 o'clock news.

Spot Report!
Sgt, Scouts Out!

P.S. 'Thunder Run' is NOT in the manuel. The manuel goes from 'throughput distribution' to 'time of attack'. No thunder.

- Doug_Kibbey

Found a glaring oversight,too....they refer to "boom-boom" as "sex" and no reference whatsoever to Roy Lingle's ACAV! I'm shocked! If this was Wikipedia, I'd be doing some serious editting....

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!

Sadly, many history sites have gaps in their coverage. However Doug, don't forgot there was a second 'Boom-Boom' that you or someone found and it's name did stand for that extra fun past time.

For the newer members of the board, My ACAV name was:
1st Boom for when we hit a land mine (now called IEDs) or Charlie hit us with something.
2nd Boom was for when all the C-4 we were carrying went off.
Notice the A-bomb cloud between the Boom-Booms.



Not counting what was in three 20mm ammo cans on the floor(near the rear of the hull, there were four sealed cases of C-4 setting where the personel heater would be for vehicles in cold weather areas. The area above and between the second and third road wheels.

Some of my old history.
Sgt, Scouts Out!