The greatest Army invention ever

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The greatest Army invention ever - 4/3/2001 6:24:00 AM

Major Ed

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While we are all waiting on v5.0 I thought I would ask this question: what is the greatest (most widely used or most useful) piece of military equipment invented? Here is the opening paragraph to an article I found - > "It was developed in just 30 days in the summer of 1942 by the Subsistence Research Laboratory in Chicago. And never in its 43 year history has it ever been known to break, rust need sharpening or polishing; which is why many soldiers past and present have come to regard the _________________ as one of the greatest inventions ever." The article was written tongue in cheek, but can you figure out what it is?

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- 4/3/2001 6:30:00 AM

RUsco

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The P-38 Can Opener. Can't open C rats without em :D

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- 4/3/2001 7:03:00 AM

Latka

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If it didn't have to fit in the sentence, I'd say coffee :) I can't tell you how many times we'd get our chow in the field when it was invariably wet and cold...and the only thing that would have steam still coming off of it was the coffee. Then again, the quality of that coffee usually left something to be desired...but it was hot, dammit!

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- 4/3/2001 7:35:00 AM

USMCGrunt

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quote:

Originally posted by RUsco: The P-38 Can Opener. Can't open C rats without em :D

I concur. I served in 89-94 with the Marines, and I still have 2 or 3 of these kicking around that my father gave me from the Vietnam era. These have got to be one of the greatest inventions ever.

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- 4/3/2001 8:20:00 AM

Major Ed

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LOL You guys are good! RUsco is right. I carried one on my dog tags or key chain for years. They are handy for all sorts of things, not to mention what they were made for. If you've never cut your tongue trying to get the last of the peanutbutter or jam out of the can, you haven't spent enough time in the field. So what do you think was the greatest invention for the soldier? Was it the P-38 or maybe the Marine K-bar. How about parachute (550) cord or even the entrenching tool. The demo knife or 100 mph (duct) tape would have to be in the list somewhere. What do you think? Any votes for the above items? Any additons? Yours truly, (waiting patiently by the ftp) Major Ed -------------------------- "When the situation is obscure, attack." - Gen. Heinz Guderian

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- 4/3/2001 8:47:00 AM

McGib

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I dont know about soldiers but a sailors (Canadian ones anyways) greatest invention would be gun(duct) tape. That Stuff sticks s*%t to a cloud! :D

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- 4/3/2001 8:50:00 AM

ectizen

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Is the P-38 something I remember from my school days? Back at school, we had cadets: once a fortnight, we'd spend the afternoon doing some basic military type stuff. I think it was mainly for the discipline, but once a year there was the camp. Now that was an experience! I remember a small device, a flat piece of metal, about an inch wide and three long. At one end it was kind of spoon shaped, and the other had a small blade that would fold out for the opening of tins, and fold against the rest of it for safe/compact handling. I thought this was great and held on to mine for a couple of years, before I lost it. Is this a P-38?

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- 4/3/2001 9:19:00 AM

Major Ed

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ectizen: That's correct. There were usually 3-4 included in each case of 12 C-ration meals. If you were the one who issued the meals you could get a new one almost every time. Most of us got one and held on to it for a while. Latka: Did you ever use the C-ration coffee, sugar, cream and cocoa all in the same drink? I think we called "poor man's mocha". ---------- "In no other profession are the penalties for employing untrained personnel so appalling or so irrevocable as in the military." -- General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

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- 4/3/2001 11:41:00 AM

Randy

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I concur with the p-38/John Wayne! I still have the first one I ever got, and that was when I was in the Marine Corps Devil Pups while in high school (1972). While on a training exercise while in the real Marine Corps I tried to make a C-Rat cake!! I took my hot choclate, mixed it with some coffee, sugar, non-dairy creamer, and poured it over my c-rat pound cake. It tasted like crap!!But I enjoyed the time it took to make it and look forward to eating it!! Semper Fi Randy

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- 4/3/2001 1:32:00 PM

Svar

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My first guess would have been the P-38 also and I just checked an old desk. I still have some in their original wrappers from 1965 when I left the Army. I have been carrying one on my key chain ever since. I thought they were so good back then I took what I thought would be a lifetime supply. Svar

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- 4/3/2001 2:13:00 PM

Latka

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Maj. Ed - nah, I was in the 'Corps when we only had MREs. I think I saw one case of C-rats, but I was told that I didn't want to eat those. :) Heck, MREs weren't anything to brag about either! Just the basics to keep you alive...but we did try to make "field brownies" and such with all the extra cocoa, sugar, and creme. Probably tasted as bad as the C-rat version. The one cool thing I saw just before I got out in late '94 was the new MRE heating "slab". It looked like a big graham cracker with a silver coating on one side. I can't remember what exactly the silver "stuff" was, but you put it in the big outter bag that the MRE came in, plopped in your main "meal" bag, and then put water in it. The one time I seriously tried it I had to let my food cool down for like 10 minutes 'cause it was so damn hot! ...then again, when you put about 20 of those heating elements in a bag and get it cookin...hahahahahah :) That was all of 10 minutes after we tried the first one, too. We were some destructive SOBs! Andy (Not missing the "4 fingers of death", "Omlette with Ham", or much else about MREs!

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- 4/3/2001 3:12:00 PM

Pack Rat

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The P38 was a wonderful thing, that is a given. However after being in the field for a while I noticed that the real "vets" carried can openers. Their good thinking didn't stop here. A role of real toilet paper (the soft kind ;)) was a real revelation. Of course if you wanted to be a "real man" you would use the stuff in the C-rations. Now granted this stuff didn't easily fit into ones pack but you could stash this on a track, no problem. No, I think the greatest thing the Army had was the rubber poncho. This was a well kept secret. Not only did this protect you from bio/chem warfare, it was good against nuclear fallout, ground cloth to sleep on, random bird droopings, and rain. I mean come on, all the P38 could do is open a can. ;) ;)

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- 4/3/2001 3:27:00 PM

Pack Rat

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quote:

Originally posted by Latka: [BThe one cool thing I saw just before I got out in late '94 was the new MRE heating "slab![/B]

I wonder how much that cost. We had such a thing for C-ration "cooking" as well. You take an Ammo can and shoot some holes in it, turn it on its side and build a fire in it. If you did your cooking at night you'd scrape a shallow hole and push the coals into it and bury them and then spread your sleeping bag over them. This was in the desert mind you. Now in theory this looked good to me, but I opted to sleep in the track or in the trailer. I figured that the added heat would attract and lure in the damn rattlesnakes. Don't know for sure, but didn't care to find out ;)

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- 4/3/2001 10:04:00 PM

Major Ed

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Most of the guys in my unit would buy sterno fuel and the little fold-up stove that went with it. When the sterno was gone we used the old issue "heat tabs", the ones that say 'use in well ventilated area' because the fumes were toxic. It also said that these fumes could poison the C-rat (yeah, right, as if it needed anything else to make even less appetizing). When I was in the mech infantry, there were enough vehicles around that sometimes we could place the cans on the exhaust manifold and let them heat up there. If nothing else was available we just set the box on fire, with a small hole punched in the can to let the steam out.

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- 4/3/2001 11:38:00 PM

Croaker

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The Romans invented payday for the troops. This transformed the entire world eventually, beginning with romanized Europe.

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- 4/4/2001 12:14:00 AM

Kluckenbill

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On an M60 Tank without a functioning heater (about 90% of ours were like that) there was no place where you could heat C Rations. You haven't lived until you've eaten frozen C Ration ham and eggs.

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- 4/4/2001 1:26:00 AM

Warhorse

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Speaking of the dreaded MRE's, I was sooo pissed when we switched C-rats to MRE's!! I thought, "gee, some government type definitely invented this, not enough water in the field as it is, lets put more strain on the resources and make 'em use water to eat now too"!!! Simple b********!! My favorite part was the poundcake, did suck carrying nasty slimy cans around in your pack though ;) Oohhh-Raahhh!!

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- 4/4/2001 5:56:00 AM

troopie

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Eight most useful things to a grounder. 1: Your entrenching tool. 2: Your field knife. I had a Rhodie SAS knife: hammer, knife, saw, jemmy, tin and bottle opener, all in one. 3: Your ground cloth. Doubles as a tent and poncho. 4: Your water bottle. Get one of the old metal ones. You can boil water in them. Will also hold other non-regulation liquids. That isn't wise on a bush ramble. 5: Those waterproof matches that can start a fire in any weather. You learn how to make and use a bow drill, but you often need a fire NOW! 6: A good set of boots, 7: An anorak. It gets Cold! sometimes in the bush. 8: A brimmed hat. Notice that your rifle isn't one of the top.

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- 4/4/2001 7:12:00 AM

mogami

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Hi, The John Wayne/P-38 was great. The worst C-rat of all time 'Ham and Lima Beans' (I shiver just thinking of them) I liked the S@#$-disk chocolate. (we always carried bags of those 'Ramon noodles' in the field)

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- 4/4/2001 7:20:00 AM

Latka

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quote:

If nothing else was available we just set the box on fire, with a small hole punched in the can to let the steam out.

HAHAHAHAHAHA... I'm glad I had just swallowed a bite of my lunch when I read that, 'cause I would have sent food flying! Unfortunately, we never had anything as cool as a tank or APC to heat our food in. I was an MP / K-9 handler (room empties out...). When I was in the California Guard, I was with a Mech. Inf unit. Know the armory from where the tank got stolen and driven around San Diego? That one. Glad I wasn't associated with anything from there at that point! I was never as cold as I was in the Guard though. Geez... freezin' our butts off at Camp Pendleton in February during one of those Friday - Sunday "events". I sure have some good memories and funny stories from my time in the service though! :) Speaking of the P-38s, those things were great. I had one on my dog tag chain at my Dad's suggestion (an old LTC Arty guy from the Army), ...well, until I fell and poked myself in the chest with it! -Andy (Not terribly bright OR coordinated)

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- 4/4/2001 9:41:00 AM

troopie

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quote:

Originally posted by Latka: HAHAHAHAHAHA... I'm glad I had just swallowed a bite of my lunch when I read that, 'cause I would have sent food flying! Unfortunately, we never had anything as cool as a tank or APC to heat our food in. I was an MP / K-9 handler (room empties out...). When I was in the California Guard, I was with a Mech. Inf unit. Know the armory from where the tank got stolen and driven around San Diego? That one. Glad I wasn't associated with anything from there at that point! I was never as cold as I was in the Guard though. Geez... freezin' our butts off at Camp Pendleton in February during one of those Friday - Sunday "events". I sure have some good memories and funny stories from my time in the service though! :) Speaking of the P-38s, those things were great. I had one on my dog tag chain at my Dad's suggestion (an old LTC Arty guy from the Army), ...well, until I fell and poked myself in the chest with it! -Andy (Not terribly bright OR coordinated)

Andy, You were a dog handler. Did you ever have any rats even the dog wouldn't eat? troopie (Who swears there were real rats in his rat pack.)

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- 4/4/2001 10:42:00 AM

BruceAZ

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Hi Major Ed: Gotta be the P-38. But as a former groundpounder with BLT 1/3, my favs were... Your entrenching tool. (carried that stupid thing everywhere) Marine K-Bar. Cammo cover. 4 canteens. Waterproof matches from my kid sister. Tabasco Sauce for cookin C-4 for a good fire Worn jungle boots A recon brimmed hat. and a M-60 with three cherries to carry your ammo. Bruce Semper Fi

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- 4/4/2001 11:27:00 AM

Rhodan

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Duct tape, definitely. Entire armies are being held together with that stuff. After reading a Dilbert episode however I am also inclined to say: Officers. Great invention to keep bumbling fools out of the production process :D

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- 4/4/2001 2:59:00 PM

Latka

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quote:

You were a dog handler. Did you ever have any rats even the dog wouldn't eat?

I had what we called a "Twinkie Dog". You were safe from attack unless you had a twinkie strapped to your leg, and then your only danger was being licked for 30 minutes. :) He would fetch coconuts though. (I was here in Hawai'i when I was in the service)... great little tool to pick up women on the beach. Then again, they were like 99% Military Wives already! Grrrrr. :( -Andy

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- 4/5/2001 11:39:00 PM

Billy Yank

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Now, why is everyone badmouthing the Armyland Happy Meal (MRE). I'm one of those rare individuals who actually liked the chicken a-la king, so I was usually in a good position during the barganing phase of the meal.

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- 4/6/2001 3:56:00 AM

Randy Stead

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I don't have any experience with American rations, but I can tell you that the best thing I ever had in the Canadian reserves in 1980 was canned cooked bacon slices. Um,mm, good! Just heat and serve. But the absolute worst stuff was canned ham and eggs. My German shepherd wouldn't eat them if he was starving. Another good thing in Canadian rat-packs was cheeze whiz in a toothpaste tube. Just squeeze it onto your rat-pack crackers and stick them together. Also had strawberry jam in toothpaste tubes.

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- 4/6/2001 9:50:00 AM

Kilroy

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The entrenchment tool?? The trenches, desert, and steppes, encompassing two world wars it mamed and saved how many???

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- 4/6/2001 11:12:00 AM

Paul Lakowski

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The portable field Kitchen was the most important weapons ever invented!

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- 4/6/2001 9:56:00 PM

Rhodan

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:) I made some good deals in '88 during the last major NATO exercise in Europe. Could have been a REFORGER, anyway, I found out that americans are practically willing to sell their mom for Dutch MRE 's. At the end of that exercise I was wondering how all those GI's were going to explain their missing equipment :D I hope they realized that while they got their ass in trouble for it, they made a 6 year boy's life, with a terminal form of brain cancer, wonderful for just a year. After that year the little man had died, but I am still having good memories of seeing him running around with a helmet on his head that covered most part of his face.

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- 4/6/2001 10:39:00 PM

JTGEN

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I think the most inportant and most widely used invention is ammo that is packed in one piece with bullet and gun powder in one piece. That was a revolution as the loading time degreased rapidly and the firepower of on e soldier increased heavily. Also made self loading weapons possible. And of all the the tipes of those ammo the 7,62mm short ammo for AK-47 and its derivates is probably the most widely used one. Or the 9mm round for SMG's.

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