The Military Thread

Shockingly there is such a thing as an ASVAB Waiver.

Seriously?

What, do you need English to be your 3rd language to qualify?

Yeah.. I had just gotten off a graveyard shift at the fast food joint I worked at, hadn't eaten in a good 7 hours, and hadn't slept in about 20.

Got an 88, because not a single fuck was given.

91 - had a Jarhead prospect whooping and hollering that he got a 30.

ASVAB waivers? what is this i don't even

edited 9th Apr '12 1:05:24 PM by pvtnum11

Probably popped up when the war started.

I used to think they were rumours but suposedly certain scores for certain MOS selections can actually get an ASVAB waiver. Not that I have ever seen proof of this. We of course used to joke that certain folks needed a waiver to get in.

I always figured this was the case for about 1 third of Marine Corps Infantry.

I wanted to study for the ASVAB. My recruiter wouldn't let me, which still makes me wonder how people can't pass the damn thing.

And I didn't get my choice because of eyesight

Barkey:Lol. I don't wholly disagree with that. They things I have seen them do to weapons alone makes me facepalm. Or things like running over SAPI plates to see how tough they are and other "hijinks"

edited 9th Apr '12 6:25:32 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Don't forget about dropkicking a buddy in the chest ...just to make sure.

Hey, ain't nothin wrong with torture testing ESAPI plates, especially with Cold Steel Trench Hawks. It doesn't work out well for the Tomahawk.

That just reminds me, gotta see if I can get the ex to buy me one for Xmas.

Martello: Oh lord. I would volunteer to use that SAPI plate personally.

Kino: Lol the vid of that is hillarious.

My favourite bored grunt stunt is an M67 in a washing machine.

Model 308-1 "Napalm Grenade" A kit with "Napalm powder" The thickenin agent that is sans fuel.

To be fair, I've done SAPI plate torture testing.

It involved a small sledgehammer, hilarity ensued.

Though I stick to generic things like exploiting the fears of others with dead/fake spiders/snakes inside footlockers with springs throwing them out. I got a taste of my own medicine though. The corpse of a camel spider hit me in the neck going about 20 miles per hour out of a footlocker. I think I almost shat myself.

edited 9th Apr '12 8:50:24 PM by Barkey

Being an armourer there is a definitely a taboo against abusing gear like that even if it is not a weapon you work on.

How can you trust something unless you break it? Personally, I think that would be an easier way to test the machines than complex machinery, just hand it to some infantry and say "break this, but record the process".

Agreed. No item of kit is ever squaddy-proof. One needs to know, therefore, how and why it fails?

@Teufel - I actually did the tomahawk test based on the "Swords in a science fiction universe" thread in World Building, since somebody said that "knives and swords would go right through modern body armor." Photos 1◊, 2◊, 3◊.

Well duh. If it can stop bullets, you think swinging a sharp lump of metal into it is going to make an impression?

If you wanted to take someone down who was wearing modern armour, you'd take something big and blunt, like a mace, and look to disable them through blunt trauma.

edited 10th Apr '12 5:58:21 AM by GameChainsaw

Right, that was my point. I just figured some actual photo proof would help convince all the armchair generals and material physicists in that thread. It didn't.

And the best way to melee kill someone in modern body armor is to stab them in the throat or face. No armor there. With a plate carrier like the one I'm wearing in my avatar photo, you can also stab them above the collarbone, in the armpits or flanks where the side plates don't cover, the lower abdomen, etc.

Great, now I have an image of a bunch medieval Knights trying to attack our guys with maces.

edited 10th Apr '12 6:10:09 AM by Joesolo

Ya missed a couple. Each thigh. Stab or slash the inner thigh deep enough and you stand a really good chance of severing the femoral artery. From a conversation I had with a medic many moons ago, that results in either blood gushing out like it came from a high-pressure hose or a still certain death over a longer period without medical treatment. This kid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Damilola_Taylor died from glass from a broken bottle doing precisely the latter.

Try to stab most folks in the face or throat and you stand a good chance of them blocking by reflex action alone. Most folks are ignorant that anything else south of the waistband other than the groin area is a very vulnerable spot to direct violence.

Martello: Did you do it on just the plates or the soft vest? I expect the plates to stop it cold. Ahh man you dinged your Trench hawk. I would expect fighting someone in body armour you would aim for the vulnerable spots like the parts of the sides corners of the chest, shoulders, and neck.

Just the plates. I acquired those, so I didn't mind beating it up. I don't have an off-books soft vest to mess with. Yeah, it sucks that I broke the tip of the 'hawk, but it'll still work fine, and at least I did it doing something fun.

You can use a bench grinder and put a new tip on it.