Night nav in total darkness??

[NousDefionsDoc]

Originally posted by The Reaper
Also depends on the terrain.

I have learned the hard way that even with NODs, it can be so dark that it is dangerous to move in certain terrain.

TR

LOL - I never saw him fall, but sounds like there's a story in there.

When I went through, we had a Nepalese LT on my RS Team. Wouldn't move at night. So I asked him why. "I'm standing here beside myself not understanding why you Americans insist on moving around at night. You must very still be at night."

Took two days, but he finally told me why: "There are tigers in the woods and they hunt at night."

Never was able to convince the TACs that there were tigers in the woods in NC.

I did watch one CO fall one night, on a pipe over a deep ditch. I was medicking and humping the radio. Point 1 was about 500 meters before the ditch. So he says call it in

"Code word"
"Roger Out"

Point 2 was just short of the ditch

"Call it in"
"Code word"
"Roger Out".

So he starts across the ditch and falls, straddling the pipe.

I called in the Point 1 code word again

"Code word 1"
"Roger...Huh?", and the CO heard me.

"Smart-assed medic. Help me up and find something in that bag for my testes." LOL

Funny thing was, he and I were doing it all in hand signals in the dark, but I understood every word. Hard not to laugh when you're whispering and using hand signals.

[The Reaper]

Originally posted by NousDefionsDoc
LOL - I never saw him fall, but sounds like there's a story in there.

In the funniest story, it was Jerry and Dale, and we were trying to move in pitch darkness in the middle of the Grand Anse Forest in Grenada.

I'd like to get Jerry's version here, but after he just disappeared right in front of me for about the tenth time while walking point with NODs AND a flashlight, but this time, there was a noticable delay before I heard him hit, we figured it was time to stop and lay up.

We are pulled up into tight back to back perimeter (less a small detail with Tim and Chief who were supposed to move quickly on an improved route) and it is absolutely dark under the double and triple canopy growth. All of a sudden, a tremendous groan splits the air and something VERY large and heavy starts falling, literally shaking the ground when it hit. It was a huge tree, and it fell so close to the perimeter that we could feel the breeze as it went down.

Someone said "Holy S**T, that was close!!"

I started laughing and the Team Sergeant (Mike) asks me what is so funny about almost getting killed.

I just say, "Hey, Mike, it is Zero Dark Thirty in the middle of a jungle in Grenada, and the forest is falling around us. What the Hell else can we do about it?" The other guys started laughing too, and the Grenadans decided we were too crazy to mess with after that.

What a life.

TR

[NousDefionsDoc]

What a life.

Roger that Boss.

Indiantown Gap, worst storm in 100 years in the region. We'd get about halfway up and somebody would fall, so all 6 of us would climb back down, check on the latest victim, help him up and start back up that damned rock.

When my turn to fall came, we were really close to the top and worn out. Down I go. Fell all the way to the bottom. Jaime was the TS. "Want us to come down and help you?"

"No man, I didn't break anything important and I wouldn't ask anybody to make that climb again. I'll be along directly. If I don't make it in a couple of days, tell my wife she should have gotten a job. Oh, and tell Big Head I'm whippin' his ass if I ever get back up there, I can hear him laughing from down here."

LOL