Can I bitch about arty

[TEB]

Hey vets at work and I could have used a fire mission. I had awesome target trump supporters in the open. I am working the outbound pad hooking sets two trailers I’m feeding the outbound ground crew trailers and dollies with jockey wagon. Now I at fifty two I’m a dinosaur in my union beliefs. As in you do not vote repug today these younger guys. Who are union and support the gop I do not get them.

So my friend Lee a former FO forward observer. Who never lets me forget that I was infantry and that artillery is the king of battle. And that all red legs have it in brain department because of their use of geometry. Pulls up in yard horse to ask me what time am I going on break. I asked where were you at ,I could have used your big guns I couldn’t raise the FDC fire direction control on net I had trumpers in the open and I could have used voter awareness rounds I could have fed you 10 digit grids on this one. He smiled at me and said I was in the bathroom. I said ok bro even in the resistance and in this fight we gotta stop and take time out and use the crapper.

[Victor_c3]

1. I've got my own gripes about arty...

It seems that whenever you need it or want it they are reluctant to give it to you.

Early in the morning on thanksgiving 2004 I was minding my own business hanging out on a major bridge just north of Baqubah and a bunch of locals thought it’d be fun to throw a bunch of small arms fire my way. Being a lazy PL, I didn’t really feel like dealing with it so I buttoned down the hatches of our vehicles and attempted to call in for some HE on a couple of pre-designated TRPs. The artillery guys, in their infinite wisdom, said “nope, those TRPs are too close” and sent me a bunch of illumination rounds instead. They didn’t even give me the chance to tell to forget about it.

After all, they were the ones who made those TRPs. If they were too close, then why give them to me to use in the event of contact?

I really appreciated how the illumination rounds lit up the area around me, making my vehicles easier to spot and shoot at...

Fortunately the yahoos shooting at me only had small arms to throw my way. Had the had any sort of decent anti-armor weapons, I would have the chance to be pissed off, I’d be dead.

The others times I wanted it, they said my targets were in urban areas and they didn’t want to put any rounds there...

Even the time or two my platoon was attached to an artillery battalion I couldn’t get HE.

King of battle my ass. I know the statistics and the history of the lethality oft arty, but I never saw it. from my experience, it’s just as worthless as helicopter support and CAS. They supposedly are there to support the ground pounders, but when you need it or want it, they don’t want to give it to you.