[OFF] Re: Blanding, Palmettos, and the 53rd

> You wrote:

> << Ever since delightful Camp Blanding, FL, my definition of heavy

> When were u at CBTS? I've spent many, many miserable nights there.

Summer of 1997, I got attached to 2/C/229 EN since 70% of my company
was at various schools and they needed some warm bodies to fill it out. So we
got attached to support 2 BNs of MdARND infantry, which designations I cannot
recall, and we played OPFOR for a bunch of
third-rate pogues from the 53rd (minus a BN which was elsewhere).
Those guys (no offense intended if you're one of 'em--the rot is, to my
guess, at the higher levels than your average squaddie) were really, really
bad. For example, the first attack we went on, us Engineers went up to breach
the wire that the Infantry had seen, and we sorta accidentally overran the
company CP. Complete with entire HQ section. This was the first warning this
unit had that we were attacking. The worst terrain was when I was on a recon
patrol that went around the 53's positions, which were anchored on this big
open area across which some heavy junk outfit was digging a massive AT ditch.
Why they were digging an AT ditch in a light infantry scenario I do not know.
Their security was so bad that when I wanted to know what kind of mines were
in the boxes they were unloading, I just walked up and read the boxes. Anyway,
we went all the way around behind the entire batallion, and hit some palmettos
from HELL. I mean we couldn't physically push through this stuff.

This is getting OT. Having been on exercise in Camp Blanding a couple of
times, let me tell you Yanks that you wouldn't know thick brush if you saw
it.  For the non-blanding members of the list I'll describe Camp
Blanding: Palm Trees and Sand. It's in Florida, us Cannuks went there and it
was like a vacation (nice town, you guys have the best kit).

If you boys want to see rough terrain, come up north, the Great White North
with Summers hotter than Florida and Winters colder than your
airconditioners on full blast.  ;-)

Please send all Flames to my personal address.

> -----Original Message-----

> This was the first warning this unit had that we were attacking. The

> some heavy junk outfit was digging a massive AT ditch. Why they were

> security was so bad that when I wanted to know what kind of mines were

> in the boxes they were unloading, I just walked up and read the boxes.

> Anyway, we went all the way around behind the entire batallion, and

> John Skelly wrote:
...Snip...JTL
> Please send all Flames to my personal address.
...Snip...JTL

Remember that this is August coming to an end and the 'great white north' will
soon be exactly that!