History Channel show

[Roger Conant]

Did anyone see the new show on the History Channel where some Marine drill instructor answers questions about military stuff? There was a section on the "samurai sword" where they had some guy cutting watermelon with a shingunto. His name was Dan King. Has anyone heard of him? His grip on the sword was weird and he didn't look like he knew much about using a katana.

[Dojorat]

Greetins,

I saw the show. I don't know about Dan King or his sword credentials but whatever, it seemed to work well enough to cut melons. I believe Sgt. Lee Emery's service with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children is well documented. IMHO, "Full Metal Jacket" is worth the rental for his D.I. scenes alone.

Cheers,

[John Lindsey]

So, Marines are being issued gunto to defend against the melon threat?

[John Lindsey]

http://home.t-online.de/home/paul.yeo/manual_3.htm

This looks to be a manual for using that Klingon weapon thingy. What I think is funny, is this guy actually looks better holding this weapon than the krappy katana karate masters we have been seeing so much of.

[George Kohler]

The History Channel show that is being referred here is called Mail Call (http://www.historychannel.com/mailcall/)

The basic idea is that if you have questions about military stuff or history you can ask them and they will put it on the show (most likely not every question is going to be shown).

[Enfield]

Yeah, I saw it. My question was where they got the "expert." Besides his examples of hand forged samurai swords being gunto, he talked about the hamon existing only for aesthetic purposes and the blades being folded 100 times to make 30,000 layers. For him the three main parts of the sword were the "tsoo-ka", the tsuba, and the saya. Apparantly the blade isn't a main part of the sword. Oh, and then he went on to talk about draw-cutting. As far as I could tell, his knowledge of Japanese swords and swordsmanship came entirely from the internet.

[Senjojutsu]

"What is your major malfunction, Private Pyle?"

- Senior Drill Instructor Sgt. Hartman (Lee Ermey) to Private Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio).

Of course this scene ends with the Sarge taking a full metal jacket round to the upper torso, with then "Gomer Pyle" blowing his own head off.

It was still a great line from the movie.

However from the comments made about this special - maybe Mr. Ermey should have stuck to discussing M14's and M16's etc...

[Dojorat]

Greetins,

Are you familiar with the definitions for...

X = Unknown Quantity; and

Spurt = A drip under pressure.

Put them together and you have an Expert.

Cheers,

[Soulend]

Wish I'd caught that show. Like the Klingon, though, Ermey's sword grip, judging by the pics at the mail call site, appears a little better than most of the Krappy Katana Karate masters shown in the other thread.

Check out the pics at the mail call site and look at the masterful deception! He sets up for shomen uchi, conning the watermelon into getting ready for an ukenagashi type block, but no! The melon's torso is split like so much mushy goza with yoko uchi instead! Brilliant - and then the Gunny demonstrates precisely how hard and ruthless he is by eating uchidachi! By Jove, he kicked that melon's ass.

When do I get issued my gunto? Just last week my base was infiltrated by a rogue cantaloupe...

[Joseph Svinth]

The USMC is in the process of getting you a new pigsticker at this very moment. See http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/article.cfm?Id=805 . The actual announcement can be viewed here. http://www.fbodaily.com/cbd/archive/2001/10(October)/18-Oct-2001/10sol003.htm

The Eickhorn bayonet that the Corps wanted to sneak through can be seen here: http://www.eickhorn-solingen.com/englisch/inhalt/products/bayonets/bayonets_1.html . My spies tell me that as a bayonet, the Eickhorn has much better quality control than do the Ontario and Lancay M-9s. Unfortunately, it's not much of a field knife. Thus, fielding it won't necessarily resolve the load tailoring problem inherent in people carrying multiple knives.

For those who don't understand the significance of load tailoring issues (and based on what I read elsewhere at E-budo, some don't), please read SLA Marshall, The Soldier’s Load and the Mobility of a Nation (Quantico, VA: Marine Corps Association, 1950). Why? Because studies show that fear and fatigue have just about equal affect on men in combat, and extra weight contributes to fatigue.

For online reading, see also http://198.65.138.161/military/library/report/1992/EWL.htm and http://198.65.138.161/military/library/report/1985/IDC.htm . Ideally, a maximum load for a soldier, underwear, ammunition, water, and all, is 50-70 pounds (~45% of body weight) during training, and perhaps 40 pounds (~30% of body weight) in combat. Yet, "When Army Rangers jumped onto the runway at Salinas airfield [on Grenada], the average load carried by each man was 167 pounds." (1992)

As for moving with a "mere" 100 pounds on one's back, see 1985:

BEGIN QUOTE

I was the platoon commander for the first platoon of Company M and while it was difficult to shoulder that load and conduct a movement to contact on level ground, it was virtually impossible to do so while climbing the high, steep hills of South Korea. My marines were so fatigued from simply packing their equipment from position to position, that the enemy was not a major concern. Had this operation not been a peacetime exercise with controlled aggressors, I am certain we would have had serious problems fighting and defeating even a small enemy force.

Now there are those who would argue that this was merely an exercise and that had this been an actual live combat operation, we would have accomplished the logistics differently. These idealists say that certainly the infantrymen would not have been carrying as much equipment, or that vehicles would have been provided to transport some of the burden, thereby making the individual's load manageable. I strongly disagree. I contend that the perennial problem of ooverloading the footmobile marine or soldier will be even worse in combat. The old sports adage of "what you do in practice is what you do in the game," is very apropos.

END QUOTE

[Soulend]

Darn, none of those are as cool as a gunto. I recall some SPMAGTF groups using the M-9 with a clip-point blade, like the Army uses..wonder what happened to that? Dagger-bladed M-7 style bayonet = tent stake. I wonder why we don't just modify the hilt and pommel of the KA-BAR for use as a bayonet..may have to slim down the handle a bit. Then you have a single combat knife of proven design that doubles as a bayonet. Guess this is what happens when you have civilians and those that shine desk-chairs with their asses in charge of procurement...

As to load tailoring...yeah, based on some posts here at e-budo I would have to agree that some don't comprehend it. Within the next 6 weeks we are going to have a nice little 20 mile forced march here on the base. I can probably get permission for any civilian volunteers from e-budo to be allowed to participate. Bring your Canadian Special Forces swords, your bo-shuriken, your no-dachi. Unfortunately, to be realistic you'll have to carry all the non-fantasy combat load as well, including a rifle, Kevlar helmet, and flak jacket, two full canteens, MRE's, poncho and liner, sleeping bag, shelter half, a set of cammies, socks and underwear, medical kit, ammunition, gloves, t-shirts, E-tool, etc. Don't worry, I'll be bringing up the rear to pick up all the gear you discard...hopefully that which you find least useful :)

[Joseph Svinth]

I've been on such strolls, thank you. If you do them regularly (say 3-4 days per week), then after a couple months, they aren't too bad. That first six weeks, though, are a pain. (Literally.) BTW, speaking from experience here, if you find somebody whose feet bleed in their boots unless they're taped up like the Mummy, it may not be the boots that are at fault, but the foot strike. Look at his boot heels -- are they shaved off on one side? If they are, then suggest that the guy see an off-base podiatrist. Yeah, this visit will be on MasterCard, but feet that don't bleed and knees that don't scream are priceless.

Regarding that load list, to my mind, the most important thing on it is the two FULL canteens. I never fail to be amazed by the folks who try walking all day without adequate hydration. Heat stroke ain't pretty.

Meanwhile,if the S-4 says that his logistics people can't deliver rapid refills every couple miles, then fire that worthless SOB, and find yourself an S-4 who can. A single buffalo isn't the answer, either, as the issue isn't putting 500 gallons on site, it's delivering 500 gallons to 1,000 customers in 5 minutes or less. Canteen exchange is a possibility. For sanitation, set up hot washes at the back (it's training for the decon platoon or the mess section), and then have them refilled and delivered to the next site.

As for the M7, I agree that its best use is as a tent stake. However, it has the advantage of being a paid-for tent stake. This is not inconsequential. Why? Let's say that each replacement bayonet costs Uncle $100, testing, shipping, and handling included. It's supposed to be issued to about 100,000 Marines. Therefore, in round numbers, fielding a new bayonet is going to cost the taxpayers $10 million. Is this the best use of training dollars? Personally, I'd say no, not when the Marine Corps currently allocates just $18 million per year to acquiring training ammunition. http://navweb.secnav.navy.mil/pubbud/00pres/panmc/PANMCR1_U.PDF

Be that as it may, a typical load includes a Leatherman tool or Swiss Army knife, a Ka-bar, and a bayonet. To my thinking, the truly wasted weight there is the bayonet, as it serves only one purpose, and a pretty unlikely one at that. Therefore, I agree wholeheartedly with your suggestion that if the USMC must have a new bayonet, then they slap a bayonet lug on a Ka-bar and let it go at that. Whether it the best possible bayonet is irrelevant. The kids like it, it isn't expensive, and the chances of anybody using it for anything but opening rations and cutting firewood are slim. Meanwhile, it should eliminate the problem of the folks carrying at least one of those knives.

[George Kohler]

Originally posted by Soulend
Unfortunately, to be realistic you'll have to carry all the non-fantasy combat load as well, including a rifle, Kevlar helmet, and flak jacket, two full canteens, MRE's, poncho and liner, sleeping bag, shelter half, a set of cammies, socks and underwear, medical kit, ammunition, gloves, t-shirts, E-tool, etc. Don't worry, I'll be bringing up the rear to pick up all the gear you discard...hopefully that which you find least useful :)

After a couple of years in the Army, I had to turn in the flak jacket for a new type jacket. It fitted better, but twice as heavy. It had two huge porcelain plates. One for the front and one in the back. The first versions were black, but we later received camo ones.

As far as the rest of the list, we didn't carry a sleeping bag, shelter half, underwear (we didn't wear any), and most of the time cammies (unless we were in Panama or similar). Things that are missing from my old list is 3 snap links, sling rope, flashlight (we didn't carry this on our LBV), light weight gortex top, water proof bag, and parachute equipment for the ruck, 2 two quart canteens. After Somolia, our combat load was increased slightly, but I've heard that it has been changed since then.