Cant recall ever seeing a thread on this topic so i thought it was time we had one... this thread is dedicated to military weaponry of any kind, from any era or nation.
There is a seemingly endless array of novel, fascinating, revolutionary or even ill-fated hardware out there so subject material shouldnt be a problem.
Originally Posted by BiStateNo:
Indeed. Both the Stasi and the KGB were extremely active in West Germany during that time period. They had agents working the blackmail angle against young soldiers. I could never understand how in hell, Private "Dumb****" from Bumfuk, Iowa could have ever thought that a beautiful young lady would suddenly fall "head over heels" in love with him - but that tactic was EXTREMELY effective.
They were looking for (pretty much) any intel they could gather - from troop strengths to nuclear capabilities to the number of tanks at a particular Kaserne (Army Post). If the GI balked they would begin the blackmail. Usually, but not always, he would end up missing (AWOL) from his unit - then, more likely than not, he would be found hanged, floating in the river, electrocuted, or even outright shot. At the time, however, the general public back home never heard of these things. But they happened quite a bit during that time.
Then came Badder Meinhof and all bets were off.....
But honestly, it's nothing that we weren't doing at the same time - that, coupled with getting people across the "wall" - we were kept "busy".......
Jesus. That’s getting pretty warm for the Cold War. Christ. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BiStateNo:
Indeed. Both the Stasi and the KGB were extremely active in West Germany during that time period. They had agents working the blackmail angle against young soldiers. I could never understand how in hell, Private "Dumb****" from Bumfuk, Iowa could have ever thought that a beautiful young lady would suddenly fall "head over heels" in love with him - but that tactic was EXTREMELY effective.
They were looking for (pretty much) any intel they could gather - from troop strengths to nuclear capabilities to the number of tanks at a particular Kaserne (Army Post). If the GI balked they would begin the blackmail. Usually, but not always, he would end up missing (AWOL) from his unit - then, more likely than not, he would be found hanged, floating in the river, electrocuted, or even outright shot. At the time, however, the general public back home never heard of these things. But they happened quite a bit during that time.
Then came Badder Meinhof and all bets were off.....
But honestly, it's nothing that we weren't doing at the same time - that, coupled with getting people across the "wall" - we were kept "busy".......
Thanks for sharing, that's very interesting. I love military history etc...and its fun to learn something new.
I know that a lot more has gone down in South Korea and the DMZ in the past than most people know about but I know very little about West Germany in the 70's and 80's. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
Jesus. That’s getting pretty warm for the Cold War. Christ.
Yeah, it was really weird....walking down a street say, in Mannheim, (which was a highly populated city) or seeing College kids partying in Heidelberg, oblivious to what was going on around them, drinking in bars (love that german bier!!) and everything on the surface, seemingly "normal".
The Army doesn't work that way, however. Matter of fact - I had a pretty good friend (A major at the time) who was working in Belgium at SHAPE headquarters. One day, our agents came into his office and arrested a Czech man who was working there as a "janitor" - Nope... STASI. It's all part of the game, unfortunately.
I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever, that the same things aren't going on right now in Seoul. Especially with the Olympics going on. And God help you if you are caught in North Korea.... [Reply]
Meanwhile, check out Polands totally badass new stealth tank... this thing can regulate its armor to match the surrounding ambient temperature, rendering it invisible to infrared radar
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Whatever happened at Badder Meinhof must've been serious, I'm gonna have to google that up...
Actually, Bader Meinhof was a terrorist group......that was funded (primarily) by the Stasi to wreak havoc on the West German side of the wall. I edited this because I thought it would be an important fact to place here - that they were, indeed, funded by the East. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Meanwhile, check out Polands totally badass new stealth tank... this thing can regulate its armor to match the surrounding ambient temperature, rendering it invisible to infrared radar
Damn....that thing looks serious! Who would have ever thought that Poland would have built that thing...but that brings up an interesting point..
With the stealth technology coming into its own, how long (do you think) it will be until Infantry units can become "stealthy"? I mean, hell, at the present rate, you won't be able to see much of anything on the battlefield - until it's too late..... [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Had a buddy who was once stationed at Bad Kruzen or something like that, so I assumed that was a town :-)
No problem! He was probably at "Bad Kreuznach" a town not terribly far from Mannheim.
Yeah, Badder Meinhof had everyone on edge for quite a while. Especially once it was determined that they were funded by the East Germans. Things got quite "tense" for a couple of months.... [Reply]
Originally Posted by BiStateNo:
Damn....that thing looks serious! Who would have ever thought that Poland would have built that thing...but that brings up an interesting point..
With the stealth technology coming into its own, how long (do you think) it will be until Infantry units can become "stealthy"? I mean, hell, at the present rate, you won't be able to see much of anything on the battlefield - until it's too late.....
Pretty sure our mad scientists already have working prototypes that have been field tested in combat... watch this 6 minute clip very closely
In quick layman terms, its supposed to be a suit with multiple mini cameras that project the soldiers surroundings onto a suit that is basically one big super flexible LED screen [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Pretty sure our mad scientists already have working prototypes that have been field tested in combat... watch this 6 minute clip very closely
In quick layman terms, its supposed to be a suit with multiple mini cameras that project the soldiers surroundings onto hundreds of miniature led screens attached all over the suit
Holy Moley!! I'm an old man......this shit is getting weird..... [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
You seen him run out and climb up on the Abrams?
It totally looks like the Predator... pretty ****ing cool, amirite?
Indeed, you are right! I don't know....the military (in general) had been pretty much "status quo" from, say WWII until the beginning of "Desert Storm"....Now? I'd be completely lost...
The amount of "changes" within the military is making it look these days like something out of a movie... [Reply]
