What Innovation Made Your Life Easier in the Military

[Shek]

What innovation made your life easier in the military?

While I could answer with many, if forced to choose only one, I'd have to go with the FBCB2 (Force XXI Battlefield Command Brigade and Below) as a company commander. It provided the ability to do mission planning on high resolution satellite imagery, broadcast those simple orders (mostly graphically based) to the entire company (allowing squad leaders to do some brainstorming prior to the PL's warning order and make the planning process truly collaborative at the platoon level), and command and control in real time without having to clutter up the FM net with traffic asking subordinates where they were. A truly powerful and revolutionary tool for the company commander.

[Bill]

What innovation made your life easier in the military?

GPS.

[Shek]

GPS.

Did you carry the SLGR or the PLGR?

[Bill]

Did you carry the SLGR or the PLGR?

Neither, i had a Magellan commercial unit. If my memory serves my unit wasn't issued GPS recievers until 1992 or something(two years after my ETS).

Our Scout platoon took up a collection of personal funds and bought 6 of them(one for each squad, and two for the sniper section). That was in early 89 IIRC.

They were very basic units, but they were still a huge improvement over the map and lensatic compass days. If i had to compare it i'd compare it to the SLGR.

[Shek]

Neither, i had a Magellan commercial unit. If my memory serves my unit wasn't issued GPS recievers until 1992 or something(two years after my ETS).

Our Scout platoon took up a collection of personal funds and bought 6 of them(one for each squad, and two for the sniper section). That was in early 89 IIRC.

They were very basic units, but they were still a huge improvement over the map and lensatic compass days. If i had to compare it i'd compare it to the SLGR.

I ended up buying 10 Motorla Talkabouts for my mortar platoon (which was repaid over the course of a year through the platoon slush fund). Those things definitely improved our capabilities, although they became obsolete within two years when the Army fielded the ICOM radios.

[Bill]

I ended up buying 10 Motorla Talkabouts for my mortar platoon (which was repaid over the course of a year through the platoon slush fund). Those things definitely improved our capabilities, although they became obsolete within two years when the Army fielded the ICOM radios.

Yeah, i reckon the same thing happened to our GPS units when the ole' Bn got issued the superior 1st Gen US Army SLGR units.

But for those three years a COTS supplied GPS equipped US unit was FAR superior to it's non GPS equivelant. GPS made RFF's and CAS SOOOOOOOOO much easier to execute.

Another piece o' kit worthy of honorable mention is the PASGT armor. Compared to the ballistic nylon vests we had when i first joined, they were vastly superior(several generations superior really). God knows how many lives PASGT saved between Panama, ODS, the Balkans and OEF/OIF. As you know, i am also very impressed with the new Interceptor armor as well based on the tape you sent me.

"Allah may be great, but US Interceptor armor is even better". ;)

[Shek]

The second best innovation would be the group of optics, lasers, and borelight kit that makes marksmanship, especially in limited visibilty conditions (in concert with NVGs), heads and tails about where it used to be (the M68 doesn't improve standard marksmanship, but it makes a world of difference in CQM or if in pro-mask).

[Bill]

The second best innovation would be the group of optics, lasers, and borelight kit that makes marksmanship, especially in limited visibilty conditions (in concert with NVGs), heads and tails about where it used to be (the M68 doesn't improve standard marksmanship, but it makes a world of difference in CQM or if in pro-mask).

Our gas masks sucked for rifle firing. You couldn't see the sights on an M16 AT ALL, so you were trained to put your chin on the top of the stock and try to line up down the barrel like a shotgun 'bead' sight.

Needless to say, that worked for shiit.

I agree 100% that target acquisition(optics) are VASTLY important. I had a privately purchased Baush&Lomb riflescope on my M-21(cost me an entire month's pay!), and my spotter had what was at the time a state of the art AIMPOINT2000 electronic red-dot sight on his Carbine.

To me the three most important things to any combat soldier are the ability to shoot, move, and communicate in an accurate, precise, and timely fashion.

[Officer of Engineers]

Automatic encryption. I didn't have to spend hours encoding and decoding my sigs.

[lemontree]

STD telephone facility. Talking to the folks back home boosted ones morale to no end.
Besides that, improvement in road/ radio and line communications and night vision.

[Bill]

These new guys with the net and unlimited long distance on their cellphones have it easy.

Neither was even invented yet when i was in. My average monthly phonebill when i was in was over $200 a month when my monthy pay was at one point a mere $701 a month.

[lemontree]

These new guys with the net and unlimited long distance on their cellphones have it easy.

Neither was even invented yet when i was in. My average monthly phonebill when i was in was over $200 a month when my monthy pay was at one point a mere $701 a month.

I had to travel 65 km to get to the nearest phone booth. Now they have sat phones in remote areas.

[Shek]

These new guys with the net and unlimited long distance on their cellphones have it easy.

Neither was even invented yet when i was in. My average monthly phonebill when i was in was over $200 a month when my monthy pay was at one point a mere $701 a month.

We banned cellphones from the field as our OIF deployment was approaching. Too many mammas calling up with sob stories about how Joe needed to come home to change diapers or whatever was distracting training and especially distracting Joe. Also, we prevented our guys from having cell phones in Iraq because of an incident from another deployed unit where a vehicle ran over a mine, and another Joe called home saying that he was okay (he didn't name the KIA), which spooked the rest of the wives and made casualty notification very difficult and contentious.

[Bill]

We banned cellphones from the field as our OIF deployment was approaching. Too many mammas calling up with sob stories about how Joe needed to come home to change diapers or whatever was distracting training and especially distracting Joe. Also, we prevented our guys from having cell phones in Iraq because of an incident from another deployed unit where a vehicle ran over a mine, and another Joe called home saying that he was okay (he didn't name the KIA), which spooked the rest of the wives and made casualty notification very difficult and contentious.

You still have the net, and i think you could still work out an equitable way to let the troops use them under supervision, but i really was referring to all soldiers everywhere.

Loneliness is a real issue for almost all troops at one time or another- even in peacetime- so anything to alleviate that will give us more motivated and focused troops. Plus as i say, it does save them TONS of money.

[Officer of Engineers]

Pen and paper.

I know. I know. Rusty, you're pencil and paper.