In Special Forces from 1960 to the mid-1980s, there was a capability called, among other things, “the Magic Rucksack.” (This weapon, and its mission, were prolific producers of slang and nicknames, most of which were as compartmented as the mission itself; it’s unlikely anyone knows them all). It was the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, SADM, aContinue reading “WeaponsMan – The Magic Rucksack”
Author Archives: BAP45
The Tropical Rucksack
I stole below from Vietnamgear.com so if you want to see a little more go check them out. Development of the Tropical Rucksack (a.k.a. Jungle Rucksack) began in 1965 when MACV requested a nylon version of the ARVN pack from Natick Labs for evaluation purposes. However, after initial testing the rucksack had to be significantly redesigned in order toContinue reading “The Tropical Rucksack”
Photo Analysis: Battle of Attu
81 years ago today, 11 May 1943, the battle of Attu began. Code named Operation Landcrab it lasted from the 11th to the 30th of May. It was the only battle on American soil and only cold weather battle between the US and Japan. An irony to the battle was the troops of the 7thContinue reading “Photo Analysis: Battle of Attu”
Making a Tropical Rucksack
So a while back I got the idea to make my own Tropical Rucksack since the reproductions looks discontinued and originals were going for $400. The frame is almost identical in style to the ARVN rucksacks frame so I used the ARVN I have and this picture to extrapolate some measurements. I took those andContinue reading “Making a Tropical Rucksack”
Repost: So You Think You Can Camp?
Found some of the articles from the old site on “The Wayback Machine” so thought I would repost them. What kind of outdoorsman are you? A lot of us fancy ourselves living off the land like some sort of frontiersman of yesteryear, but we need to be honest with ourselves, that’s not reality. Of courseContinue reading “Repost: So You Think You Can Camp?”
WeaponsMan: The Big Lie About Wanat (COP Kahler), Part 2 of 2
In the enormous1 part one of the series, we reacted to a brain-dead article published in The Atlantic by a retired Major General, who has, since his retirement 20+ years ago, been a lobbyist for defense firms and TV talking head. (Before he got his stars he was an artillery officer). We may have more to sayContinue reading “WeaponsMan: The Big Lie About Wanat (COP Kahler), Part 2 of 2”
WeaponsMan: The Big Lie About Wanat (COP Kahler), Part 1 of 2 (long)
The Big Lie principle, as elaborated by Hitler and Goebbels, is that if you tell a small lie, you’ll be caught on it, but if you tell a really big, even outrageous whopper, people will tend to believe it. It’s an insight into human psychology which helps explain how those two second-stringers wound up seizing the levers ofContinue reading “WeaponsMan: The Big Lie About Wanat (COP Kahler), Part 1 of 2 (long)”
Catastrophic Industries Claymore
While looking for an either retro or military styled Bluetooth speaker for the jeep I saw an ad for this claymore speaker. Fit the bill perfectly so picked one up. The speaker is made by Catastrophic Industries and can be found on Amazon for $90. This is really geared at being a useful novelty soContinue reading “Catastrophic Industries Claymore”
Operation Double Eagle
No not the effort to make a dud of a pistol, but one of the last true amphibious operations to take place. 58 years ago today, January 28th 1966, Operation Eagle commenced. It was a joint operation with the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force and the South Vietnamese 2nd Division. It was also launched in conjunctionContinue reading “Operation Double Eagle”
Advisor Vibin’
The spread is inspired by the below photo.In the early days of Vietnam the US sent Special Forces/Green Berets to train locals. They often wore commercial purchased or locally made camouflage uniforms. The earliest advisors look to have used private purchased commercial pieces while later ones look to use the locally made ones. The mainContinue reading “Advisor Vibin’”
Scattered Shots 