I just spent about three weeks with military people...
1. "Do not touch anything unnecessarily. Beware of pretty girls in dance halls and parks who may be spies, as well as bicycles, revolvers, uniforms, arms, dead horses, and men lying on roads -- they are not there accidentally."
- Soviet infantry manual, issued in the 1930's
2. "The reason the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices it on a daily basis."
-from a post-war debriefing of a German General
3. "Tanks are easily identified, easily engaged, much-feared targets which attract all the fire on the battlefield. When all is said and done, a tank is a small steel box crammed with inflammable or explosive substances which is easily converted into a mobile crematorium for its highly skilled crew."
- Brigadier Shelford Bidwell
4. "Army: A body of men assembled to rectify the mistakes of the diplomats."
- Josephus Daniels
5. "Paper-work will ruin any military force"
- Lieutenant-General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller
6. "We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem."
- Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC
7. Rules of a Gunfight
-Avoid them like the plague
-Be aware of what is going on around you by staying in condition yellow.
-Have a plan or two. (If not, a "Last Will and Testament will do.)
-Corollary: No plan survives contact with the enemy.
-Bring at least one gun (don't bring a knife).
-Bring the biggest gun you can handle.
-Bring friends (as friendly witnesses or fire support).
-Let close air support or artillery soften-up the target for you.
-Make use of available cover.
-Remember the difference between concealment and cover.
-Don't get shot (Use cover to your advantage).
-Place your shots well.
-Pay attention to where your shots fall.
-"Speed's fine, but accuracy is final."
-Don't miss. (You can't miss fast enough to win.)
-Never assume your opponent is out of ammo.
-Bring lots of ammo.
-In combat, you will be scared. You will have a tendency to shoot high. Be aware of this and aim low.
8. "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
- General George Patton Jr.
9. "Artillerymen believe the world consist of two types of people; other Artillerymen and targets."
- Unknown
10. "The last to know and the first to be blamed"
-Communications Division
11. "When you have a Target that has to be Suppressed, Neutralized or Destroyed - Right Now!" "You Yell, We Shell"
Unofficial Motto - Fire Support Element, 40th ID (M)
12. "Drive like Hell!"
1067th Transportation Company PA Army National Guard
13. "You didn't see me, I wasn't there, and I'm not here now!"
-U.S. Navy Communication Technicians (spooks)
14. "What are they gonna do? Send us home?"
-6th Communication Battalion
15. "If it doesn't work, paint it"
-Merchant Naval Engineers
16. DON'T RUN, YOU'LL JUST DIE TIRED!"
-JFK Center for Special Warfare, Sniper School, Ca 1976
17. “Love your enemies in case your friends turn out to be bastards for your cause.”
-Unknown
18. “I survived six mines and two rpgs.”
“Yet you and everyone else with you fled from a tarantula.”
“The thing was about the size of a child’s head and nothing quite makes you run then a large fury thing landing right between your legs with fangs showing. I’ll take being blown up over that.”
-Two vietnam vets in the mess hall talking to my dad
Hopefully someone else can get more then snippets of a story from the bunnies on a few of these since they won't for me.