BATTLEBOXES: REVOLUTION
IN MOBILE, PROTECTED WARFARE
BATTLEBOX TACTICAL CONCEPT
100 Men = 30 x ISO Container “BattleBoxes” (BBs)
20 troop/supply
boxes
10 specialty
boxes
Notional Mechanized Infantry 3D Maneuver Company
= 15 tracked M113 Gavin AFVs (1 added to MTOE)
2 with bulldozer blades, 1 with M806 crane
XM1108 Gavin tracked Resupply AFV
(replaces 2.5 ton FMTV truck) + 400 gallon water buffalo
1.25 ton HMMWV truck + small ANT trailer
2 x Bobcat mini-bulldozers + 30 ANT-ISO trailers
1st Tactical Studies Group (Airborne) 2005
www.geocities.com/strategicmaneuver/battleboxes.htm
WHY BATTLEBOXES?
The Roman Legion no matter wherever they were, lived in
fortified stockades made of things they brought along with
them. The American settlers conquered the west with wagons
they lived from and carried enough supplies to sustain them
through rough times. In WW2, we used Quonset huts for hardshell portable housing and since then have forgotten.
Why should we invade a country and live in their buildings
which is a tactical liability for us?
With BattleBoxes we do not need to be ugly occupiers and
lose the war by creating an insurgency. We are not visible and
if they do see us, we look and live temporary. No imperialistic
appearances to grab their land/resources and incite rebellion.
Joe Katzman:
Americans only stay long enough to get the job done and while
You know, that’s a damn fine point.
we are guests we act like guests.
WHY BATTLEBOXES?
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20041221093709990015
Updated: 12:13 PM EST
Attack at Military Base Kills at Least 20 in Iraq
More Than 60 Wounded at Mosul Facility; Islamic Group Claims
Responsibility
By MICHAEL McDONOUGH, AP
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Dec. 21) -- Rockets struck a mess tent at a military base in Mosul where hundreds of U.S.
Soldiers had just sat down to lunch Tuesday, and military officials said at least 20 people were killed and
more than 60 were wounded. A radical Muslim group, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, claimed responsibility.
Dean Hoffmeyer, Richmond Times Dispatch / AP
Smoke from Tuesday's rocket attack hangs over a dining tent at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul,
Iraq. The dead included U.S. military personnel, U.S. contractors, foreign national contractors and Iraqi
army, said Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, commander of Task Force Olympia in Mosul. The attack came the same
day that British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to Baghdad and described the ongoing
violence in Iraq as a ''battle between democracy and terror.'’
Jeremy Redmon, a reporter for the Richmond, Va., Times-Dispatch embedded with the troops in Mosul,
reported that 24 were killed in the attack at Forward Operating Base Marez, including two from the
Richmond-based 276th Engineer Battalion, which had just sat down to eat. He reported 64 were wounded,
and civilians may have been among them, he said.
One Pentagon official put the death toll at 22; another military official said it was around 20.
Officials could not break down the toll of dead or wounded among the groups. Reports also differed as
to whether mortars were used in the attack on the camp, which is based outside the predominantly
Sunni Muslim city about 220 miles north of Baghdad.
The base, also known as the al-Ghizlani military camp, is used by both U.S. troops and the interim Iraqi
government's security forces. The force of the explosions knocked Soldiers off their feet and out of
their seats as a fireball enveloped the top of the tent and shrapnel sprayed into the area, Redmon said.
Amid the screaming and thick smoke in the tent, Soldiers turned their tables upside down, placed the
wounded on them and gently carried them into the parking lot, Redmon said. Scores of troops crammed
into concrete bomb shelters, while others wandered around in a daze and collapsed, he said.
''I can't hear! I can't hear!'' one female soldier cried as a friend hugged her. The shelling blew a huge
hole in the roof of the tent, and puddles of blood, lunch trays and overturned tables and chairs covered
the floor, Redmond reported. Near the front entrance, troops tended a Soldier with a serious head
wound, but within minutes, they zipped him into a black body bag, he said. Three more bodies were in
the parking lot. ''It is indeed a very, very sad day,'' Ham said. It made no difference whether the
casualties were Soldiers or civilians, Americans or Iraqis, Ham said. ''They were all brothers in arms
taking care of one another,'' he said. Redmon and photographer Dean Hoffmeyer are embedded with the
276th Engineer Battalion, a Richmond, Va., unit that can trace its lineage to the First Virginia Regiment
of Volunteers formed in 1652. George Washington and Patrick Henry were two of its early commanders.
Henry created the unit's motto, ''Liberty or Death.''
The Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on the Internet. It said
the attack was a ''martyrdom operation'' targeting a mess hall in the al-Ghizlani camp.
Ansar al-Sunna is believed to be a fundamentalist group that wants to turn Iraq into an Islamic state
like Afghanistan's former Taliban regime. The Sunni Muslim group claimed responsibility for beheading
12 Nepalese hostages and other recent attacks in Mosul. Mosul was the scene of the deadliest single
incident for U.S. troops in Iraq. On Nov. 15, 2003, two Black Hawk helicopters collided over the city,
killing 17 Soldiers and injuring five. The crash occurred as the two choppers maneuvered to avoid
ground fire from insurgents. Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, was relatively peaceful in the immediate
aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime last year. But insurgent attacks in the largely Sunni
Arab area have increased dramatically in the past year and particularly since the U.S.-led military
operation in November to retake the restive city of Fallujah from militants.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of students demonstrated in the center of the city, demanding that U.S.
troops cease breaking into homes and mosques there.
Iraq Casualty Report: 159 lives could have been saved if
Soldiers were in dug-in, fortified ISO container "Battle
Boxes" instead of flimsy tents, above ground buildings and
occupying former Saddam palaces, drowning in swimming pools
and generally easily targeted by enemies. Details:
www.geocities.com/militaryincompetence/americaniraqwarcasualtiesv1.0.htm
S-3st + B-5st + G-19st + RM-21+ ACC-14
(code RED and st for Static Situation) =
36 + 38 + 14 + 58 + 13 = 159
Joe Katzman:
UEL gets a –404... and works against you by its
name. Find a more neutral-sounding URL and
just lay out the situations very clinically on that
page. Let the facts speak for themselves.
NO “TENT CITIES”!!!!
VULNERABLE: A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN
Joe Katzman:
Turn them over to the Guard for
storage and use in civilian
disaster relief in the immediate
aftermath of earthquakes, floods,
etc.
NO PLYWOOD GUARD SHACKS!
Joe Katzman:
Good slide
NO MORE
PLYWOOD
SHOWERS!
NO MORE
ROTTING
TENTS!
NO PLYWOOD
OUTHOUSES!
WE ALREADY
SHIP AND USE
THOUSANDS
OF ISO CONTAINERS
AS BARNEY RUBBLE
CLOSETS FULL OF
MYRIAD SUPPLIES...
Joe Katzman:
Good slide
WHY NOT INSTEAD OF
HAVING EMPTY
CONTAINERS USE THEM
AS FORTIFIED
AND MOBILE LIVING
SPACES?
WE ALREADY USE CORMEX ISO CONTAINER HOUSING
MODULES…LIKE MANY OTHER NATO COUNTRIES….
ACTUAL ISO CONTAINER HOUSING MODULES
USED BY U.S. ARMY IN CENTCOM AO
Joe Katzman:
Good slide... Next
is even better
U.S. ARMY ALREADY USES ISO HOUSING IN BALKANS
An Army LTC writes: “I really like this whole presentation. I was just in Tuzla
where the forces have used ISO containers that had simple walls and roofs
placed over them so that in a semi-permanent configuration there is protection
from the elements unlike what we have at Bondsteel right now. A lot less wood
and all of it recoverable if the design is done right. Frankly, you could easily
design steel overheads and end caps for such a semi-permanent housing
solution if the desire was not to dig them in. Keep pushing this concept, the
more I think of how much we waste in construction and then write off when we
leave the more I like the self-contained army.”
Why Not?
Rick Atkinson's In the Company of Soldiers. Even a light infantry Air Assault
Division needs 1,500 ISOs as-is now. Page 34 says:
"how to get 5, 000 vehicles, 1, 500 shipping containers, 17,000 Soldiers and
a couple hundred helicopters to Kuwait by mid-March in time for any attack
on Iraq. Deployment occurred in three immensely complex phases: from Fort
Campbell to Jacksonville, Jacksonville to Kuwait City, Kuwait City to a battle
assembly area. Army logisticians called the phases fort to port, then port to
port, then port to foxhole".
Skipping ahead some pages you will see that after the nation-state war was
over the 101st with no place to live MOVED INTO IRAQI BUILDINGS, which
as we now know has been a PR disaster.
Joe Katzman:
Drive point home explicitly... “And all we had to do is reuse the containers instead!“
Guess who used ISO container BattleBoxes in war already?
As bad as the Iraqis are at times technotactically, one thing they did NOT do
was occupy Saddam palaces and try to fight from them. Today, Americans are
still occupying dictator palaces in Iraq. In Thunder Run, Chapter 18 The Bridge
starting on pages 277, Zucchino describes how Iraqis guarding the approaches
to
bridge over the Tigris river where to the east the marines had yet to show
Joethe
Katzman:
up
had thousands of enemy Soldiers crossing over to fight them. Denied
You know, this is a good example but the EADS products (Transhospitals
permission
to are
blow
the bridge,
they sought
physically
& troop-carriers)
far better.
The Bundeswehr
is stilltolooked
up to in block it with TAFVs and
some
ways. Also,by
it lets
wheeled
types
see containerization
got engaged
wellthedug-in
Iraqi
troops
in bunkers. as
Organic 120mm Abrams
something
that can
work with
stuff..50
You caliber
don’t show
that elsewhere,
tank, 25mm
Bradley
andtheir
Gavin
direct
fires, and 120mm mortar
and fine, but let them see it once so they stay out of your way,
indirect fires did not suppress the enemy fires and the task force led by Captain
Wolford had to withdraw with several damaged tanks and wounded Soldiers. A10s and F/A-18s were called in and did little damage. Only after the Iraqis had
given up were these bunkers able to be cleared.
Page 320: "At the intersection near the Jumhuriya Bridge, Wolford
discovered an elaborate bunker at the southwest corner. It was made
from a metal cargo container that had been buried underground. It was
equipped with a thick wooden door, and inside were a desk, a nonworking
military field phone, and piles of supplies--an entire command post".
Former British Army Expert William Owen:
www.hescobastion.com/enter.html
“The above link will give you more food for thought, as well. The idea of a robust
temporary camp is completely valid. Eg- Firebases in Vietnam of Security Forts in
Northern Ireland. It works, and sometime works very well in the right context. Primarily
you want some place a unit/sub-unit can operate from and defend. The quicker and
more flexibly you can move the base, the better, but the reasons for doing so, are not
really defensive. They are more logistic. Denying your opponents the iconography of
occupation is also good.
BUT: Do not get lost on the detail and especially the mobility aspects. The whole idea of
the container is what it will do, rather than what it was designed to. Essentially it's
disposable, but what you might put inside it, is not. Low-cost flexibility is what makes the
idea in my book. Do not fixate on ‘we must do it this way!’ The use of ISO containers has
much merit, but it is just a tool. I think your presentation does an excellent job of showing
the great potential of the intelligent and unconventional application of such tools, and
should be pursued. I'll be writing an article on ISO container and UK Expeditionary
Warfare operations for a magazine shortly. I'll pass you the draft copy.”
Joe Katzman:
Link more explicitly to HESCO’s stuff/concepts, maybe even with a slide before or
after
LIVING SPACES
100 Men = 20 BattleBoxes, 5 men per box, food, water & ammo
lockers on floor, supplies for 30+ days of combat
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
L
S/W
CP
R
F
L
S/W
C
C
F
LEGEND
L = Latrines
S/W = Showers/Washers
for Clothes
CP = Command Post
C = Conference
R = Repair Shop
F = Fuel
LTC Larry Altersitz: “30 days/man is 3x30 MREs = 90; divided by 12 = 7.5 cases/man =
67.5 cases per 9 man squad (82.5 cases/sqd for 11). Call it 90 for mid-rats. That's not a lot
of room in a battlebox. Throw in the troops' duffle/ruck, squad gear, snivel gear, 20 5-gal
water cans, and you have a lot of room left for ammo and sensors. 7-ft long fold-down
bunks from the walls in upper and lower pairs (4 bunks per wall), a set that folds down
from the walls (towards the front) across the battlebox for 2 more troops, a cot in the
middle and you have sleeping quarters for all. Stuff can be in ceiling racks for additional
storage.”
MSG LaSalle writes: “Not to mention that the modern Quonset-style building kits
in military use nest nicely and will fit inside a BattleBox for transport. A Steelmaster or
K-Span kit offers inexpensive non-hardened cover while troops can immediately live in
and fight from a BattleBox. I hate buzzwords, but "synergy" comes to mind here. Since a
base is a mix of hard and soft structures, containers are a dandy way to get the systems
on site. For additional coverage, the base channels to which most frameless metal
buildings mount could be supplied in thicker gauge and fitted with twist
locks at the ends for attachment to ISO box corner fittings. Alternately the top edges of
some/all B-Boxes could be made as base channels/mounts. (An integrated full-edge
mount strip would allow easy attachment of accessories, shields, etc.)
This would let you (for example) put a couple of 40-foot B-Boxes 20 to 40 feet apart and
bridge the gap with a metal "roof" made from currently available commercial parts.
A 20x20 foot Steelmaster "trussless straightwall" (more space then a curved
Quonset style) shell kit (I'm using that example since I own one) fits, nested, in the back
of a pickup truck. A 40x40 with no walls (the B-Boxes provide these) would be similar in
size, taking little precious B-Box space.
Prototyping an example would take little more than parking two boxes the
Joe Katzman:
proper distance apart, tacking a standard base channel set along the edges,
Neat idea. Would
and zipping the shell together.”
be worth a next
slide or pre-slide
graphic.
BattleBox scale model
Joe Katzman:
THIS is a
checkpoint! You’ll
grok later...
1: 18 scale
BattleBox Interior/Configuration
Twin doors for air flow
Insulated walls to hold
in heat in winter, cool
air in summer
Ballistic doors have provision to fit A/C unit or fan, must be
accessible if BB is below ground; lockable from outside for
weapons security in CONUS but can always open from inside for
safety escape
Battle Against the Earth
Removable Kevlar top cover
with hard smooth outer and
slight peak forces rain water
and snow from roof
and acts as top
insulation
layer; G.I. camou
net system can
cover entire BB to
hide from detection
from above/far
away
ac
Ideal would be a top cover with embedded solar panels to power at least overhead
lights and fan if not the A/C unit, recharge small
batteries for troops’ night vision devices,
Joe Katzman:
radios etc. so there is no noise and fuel demand from generators
Konarka is
making pull-handle
these.
Smoke detector and emergency fire extinguisher
dumps foam to smother any
fire throughout box
Battle Against the Earth
Red/ White overhead light options
In addition to solar
and battery power,
recharging by pedal
power...
B BB B
David Butcher’s Leg crank
peda-generator keeps
batteries charged
Joe Katzman:
Like these headings
Battle Against the Earth
Wall has row of 12 volt
deep-cycle batteries to
power internal overhead
lights and fans using RV
technology with vents to
outside
Peda-Generators already exist commercial off-the-shelf!
(COTS) An integrated, folding highly efficient unit remains to
be invented!
Foot/Hand Generator
Windstream Power Systems: Human Power Generator
PO Box 1604
Burlington VT 05402-1604 USA
Tel 802 658 0075
Fax 802 658 1098
email: info@windstreampower.com
www.windstreampower.com/humanpower/hpgmk3.html
Bicycle stand to generate E
12V/110V Battery Pack
Two storage lockers run
along bottom of BB to
lock weapons, NVDs,
ammo and personal items
Battle Against the Earth
6 fold up/down bunks can be
attached to either wall though
should be wall against earth
barrier to dodge blast overpressure
Standard issue metal
folding chairs provide
seats
Battle Against the Earth
Detachable
Fold up/down table with
partitions for computer
cubicle effect creates
either a desk or place to
sit/eat. Flat screen TV
and DVD player on this
wall could be viewed by
troops from their bunks
Troops can rapidly leave/enter BB
Stepped Ramp/Slide: troops use steps to reach top
of BB; can use other smooth side to slide down on
their butts to get to ground faster; it works
Battle Against the Man
SOA earth-filled blast walls surround Battle Box to provide
Bomb, RPG, bullet and rocket protection in aboveground configuration (some walls omitted for clarity)
Rhino Snot seals dirt from water/moisture; 12 walls can
easily fit inside for transport
Battle Against the Man
SOA earth-filled walls after recent
tests where 5,000 pound ANFO
bomb did little damage
Rhino Snot seals dirt
from water/moisture
Joe Katzman:
Added heading
Battle Against the Man
Rhino Snot seals dirt from water/moisture
Fold-up earth-filled guard tower on top of Battle Box
provides 360 degree security. Earth fill between SOA
blast walls and BB further protects against Bombs, RPG,
bullet and rockets, all walls and guard tower fit
inside BB for shipment to combat area!
Battle Against the Man
Arm, Universal mounts on guard tower enable light, medium
and heavy machine guns to be mounted with GUNSHIELDS
Joe Katzman:
Don’t quite get this (get gunshields, the
circled arm throws me), but presume
someone with the right experience will
Here is an arm, universal on a M113 Gavin ACAV
Battle Against the Man
Troop Living & Fighting =
Command Post Battle Boxes
Joe Katzman:
Point out how
many MORE
mobile command
posts you can
You'll note that if you don't install fold up/down bunks the BB can use
thatthe
add, vs,
free wall to post a huge-ass map of the area either paper or flat screen
current idea of
converting
TV/computer and you have a command post that stays mobile if you
keep an M2
or Stryker into
ANT-ISO wheels under it.
one. Which
works, but the
If Commanding Officer wants an office space to chew out misbehaving
or to
cost... need
praise stellar performers, wall partitions could give him one half ofsupplement
the Battlethat
with this so the
Box for privacy etc. He can attach a bunk and sleep there if he's working
late
mobility +
so we can get ourselves squared away N-O-W. The point of this all
is that we
command
are the exact same in training as we are in war, no more shifting gears
and
capability
diffuses
broadly.
playing catch up to live in the field and fight. We are always readymore
24/7/365
with Battle Boxes.
This realization that troop living = CP means we only need one other
specialty BB to get this concept moving----a Battle Box
latrine/showers/washing machine unit. kitchen and medical ISO containers
already exist.
Ground Mobility = 30 BattleBoxes moved by 15 vehicles; one movement
Joe Katzman:
Assuming that once you break it up from 1
movement, you want some APCs available on
each end just in case, more like 3-4
movements, no?
20 feet long, 8 feet x 8 feet ISO containers
L
S/W
F
C
F
C
L
S/W
R
CP
Will need new twin ISO container
mobilizer dollies to move two-at-atime www.cdkmobile.com or ANT
one-at-a-time in two movements
Amaze-N-Tow Mobility = Units can self-move their own
BBs
2
1
3
A scaled-up Amaze-N-Tow (ANT) could emplace and move
BBs such that owning units can do this themselves!
www.amaze-n-tow.com
amazentow@earthlink.net (800) 688-7627
Amaze-N-Tow ISO: Here is an animation of the scaled-up
Amaze-N-Tow ISO container (ANT ISO) to enable
emplacement and movement of BBs by owning units
Joe Katzman:
What towing strength is needed to make this
work? Important in that it sets limits re: what
can pair with the concept in a pinch.
Amaze-N-Tow ISO can do
double-BB tows to enable
units to self-move all the
BBs they need/own without
outside help
Ground Mobility by
tracked, armored
fighting vehicles
NO!
While trucks can transport ISO
container “Battle Boxes” even
transportation units need to reequip with armored, tracked
AFVs to protect themselves and
their cargo on the lethal, nonlinear battlefields of today.
This is why we advocate that combat units already with
tracked AFVs have the ability to TOW their own “Battle
Boxes”. Transportation units will need M113 Gavinbased XM1108 carriers with Palletized Loading System
(PLS) means in the back to pick up and drop of ISO
container BBs and deliver them along unpredictable,
off-paved road routes, under armor and with Soldiers
armed with machine guns ready to return fire.
YES!
XM1108
Gavin
Network of Outposts
BattleBoxes (BBs) offer instant, ready-made defensive strongpoints for a
network of patrol/security bases to be established instantly as ground is
taken from the enemy. Roads/trails used as Main Supply Routes (MSRs)
are critical terrain lifelines that need to be under our control using a
string of BB outposts. To try to achieve the same effect with $3M each
armored vehicles is not economically feasible and even the best tracked
AFVs can only carry a small amount of supplies. BattleBoxes first act
as force multiplier resupply “gliders” increasing lethality/sustainability
by a factor of 10x, then when they are formed into defensive positions
enable the TAFVs to venture out with a base to return to for rest/resupply.
BattleBoxes are like a Soldier’s rucksack but for vehicles. Troops not
bogged down digging individual fighting positions via instant BB
positions are instantly available for patrols/raids. Climate protected and
rested troops with confidence that even though they are newly arrived
on the ground they have superior positional advantages fight better.
BBs
BBs
BBs
Check Points Vulnerable
365 Soldiers/marines so far have been killed in Iraq by car, road and human
bombs or 34% of all our dead. 7 marines at a check point were killed by a car
bomb in the worst incident. In a world dominated by high explosives (HE)
troops on foot at a check point with some barriers and maybe a sandbagged
hole in ground are not enough.
The Seattle Times: Local News: Stryker Soldier, 19, killed in Iraq
Date: 12/31/2004 8:02:37 AM Eastern Standard Time
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002136502_dige31m.html
Fort Lewis
The U.S. Department of Defense last night identified a Fort Lewis Soldier
killed by an apparent car bomb in Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday. U.S. Army Pfc.
Oscar Sanchez, 19, from Modesto, Calif., died when a "vehicle-borne
improved explosive device" struck his observation post, according to a
government news release. Sanchez was a member of the Stryker Brigade
Combat team and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.
DO YOU CALL THIS A CHECKPOINT?
Joe Katzman:
Powerful slide. Do the Croc Dundee thing and have a
strong BBox “THIS is a checkpoint!” visual as your
next.
Iraqi combat turnpike
PROBLEM: Baghdad airport road not secure
a. 2 KIA, 2 WIA a day
b. every news cycle psyops victory for enemy
c. $50-150k each truck destroyed
d. recruits for AVF drying up = hollow Army
e. MP roving patrols in HMMWV trucks as per Army MSR doctrine is BS not moral or
working
INSPIRATION:
Joe Katzman:
Start with
BattleBoxes,
keepare
presentation
focus.
airpay toll
NJ turnpike idea: no matter
what
you do if you
on the road
youHave
WILL
SOLUTION
as last bit to specifically answer mortar issue and rapid
reaction.
AIR
squadron of leased 12 OV-1 Mohawks or bought Cessnas with sensors/weapons and
missionary STOL devices
ROAD
Assume 100 km of road to secure
every 1 km big number 1, 2, 3 etc visible from air day/night from 1, 000
meters out of effective small arms range
air spotters can instantly relay sightings with ground reference
at 100 km/hour plane will cover MSR 4x in 4 hour patrol, 24/7/365
may have ground sensors to detect saboteurs
PICKETS
Joe Katzman:
I’m probably
Consider British experience in 20s/30s:
going to go after
www.geocities.com/pentomicarmyagain/imperialpolicing.htm
your battlebox
pickets with
mortars,
1 x 9-man squad every 1000m in hardened iso container "battle box" patrol
baseif they’re
close to a built-up
area. ROE will
www.geocities.com/strategicmaneuver/battleboxes.htm
prevent you from
just shooting
live indefinitely with own mini kitchen, shower/bathroom bunks in battle box,
generator
back.
Similar to
to recharge batteries, BBs filled with dirt walled check points; Guard towers
harassment of
existing fixed
bases. Good
2 x M1113 Gavins or BFVs to rove/FLIR night vision surveill
news is troops will
better
3 squads per platoon, 3 PLTs per COmpany, 3 companies per BN, 3 BNsbe
per
bde =
protected against
81 squads
anything other
than a direct hit.
add 19 provisional squads from BDE and BN HQs and you easily have 100+
picketdo
But pickets
squads
give me as the
enemy more
places to harass.
TASKS:
* mission is to search/verify every car/truck entering turnpike is not dangerous
Joe Katzman:
Go to DID and
look up
“Backscatter” Bet
* must insure convoys pass through their zone safely
that can be
containerized too.
Thepilot
occasional
* recover all broken vehicles/personnel if this occurs--think like a downed
E&E line
backscatter
container quietly
* radio n visual contact with air spotters using km marker system
finds car bombs
and passes alerts
* come to aid of nearby pickets if attacked
down the line....
* deny anyone laying roadside bombs
Joe Katzman:
COMMENTS
MSGT Mark LaSalle:
Don’t assume the
reader knows
what you’re
talking about. If
it’s necessary to
wouldtalk
beabout,
easier
SHOW.
“Besides their main purpose, recovery ops/wreck clearance
and safer. 1000m is within range where dragging wrecks with snatch
cables is practical. This would limit exposure of crews at attack sites.
Don't know how many Landoll trailers they have available (I frequent
tow truck boards and know they use them for recovery in Iraq), but
Landolls are also a standard for delivering ISO containers.”
www.landoll.com/trans.cfm
Joe Katzman:
Phil West:
If you’re gonna use that, go through the whole sequence then show how
BBs would have short circuited it.
“FYI Ralph Zumbro’s concepts on MSR can be accessed directly with:”
www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/strategy1.html#outpost
FIRE SUPPORT
all 81mm, 120mm mortars spread out to cover entire length of 100 km MSR Operates
own small UAVs to help spot flying under 1,000 meters to not interfere with
manned air spotters
QUICK REACTION FORCE (QRF)
CH-47 or CH-53E helicopter squadron with 3D maneuver company size infantry QRF on
call with own M113 Gavins
COMMENTS
Phil West & Ralph Zumbro:
www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/strategy1.html
Joeand
Katzman:
“About 80% down under "armoring the arteries"
below the link about the need for
light observation aircraft -I can add a direct #name
link on the next update if you want Top paragraph
what do you want it called? "#outpost"? It is not
a direct
adds
nothingquote from Ralph -just a
concept when hashed out -ie I posed the problem, he solved it and I wrote it up.
"Areas adjacent to MSRs need to be aggressively patrolled or occupied by both
dismounted personnel and cross-country vehicles. This will deny the guerilla easy
movement. When a convoy is expected in an area such a force will make pre-emptive
visits to likely trouble spots. At various locations parallel to the MSR will be small
bases equipped with indirect fire weapons, distanced so they can fire in defense of
each other and in support of convoys. The main guns of tanks can be used in such a
role as well as mortars and artillery. Convoys
should be preceded by their own reconnaissance units and have engineer support.
As we have so recently seen in Madrid (March, 2004), a nation's rail system is also
likely to be a target, so measures for track and station security must be taken. In certain
situations novel forms of transport, such as cargo airships can be used to move bulk
cargoes without the need for ground travel though terrorist held areas. "
DEFENSE
DISPERSED PERIMETER
Joe Katzman:
Not sure the bicycle patrol bit will be understood...
A BB formation option would be a dispersed circle with the M113 Gavin TAFV
prime mover in-between with thermal long-range surveillance bolstering the
guard towers on top of the BBs. The peda-generators could be folding
mountain or electric bikes that detach from stands for roving patrols inside or
outside the BB perimeter...
William Owen’s Patrol Base Model for British Army
Could easily be constructed using ISO Container Battle Boxes!
FORTIFIED WALLED COMPOUND PHASE I: LINKED
BATTLEBOXES ON GROUND
Should take
1-2 hours to
arrange
160 feet or 50 meters
FORTIFIED WALLED COMPOUND DIMENSIONS
160 feet or 50 meters
BattleBoxes may have Hesco Concertainer “kangaroo pouches”
on outer walls to fill with dirt/rocks to provide more ballistic
protection initially, Rhino Snot seals dirt top from water/moisture
One of the M113 Gavins with dozer blade quickly fills up boxes with dirt/rocks
to provide extra ballistic protection. Or a small Bobcat front-end dozer.
LTC Altersitz: “If the unit had 3 of its own organic Bobcat(r) type excavators,
carried in a box, it could dig itself in quickly and pile up soil as additional
protection around the boxes. You're already mobile (how did the boxes get
there?), so any additional weight is minimal. Almost make a Bobcat a mobile
protected machinegun/HVGL vehicle, with a little armor over the wheels/cab,
use an M240 or Mk19 on the cab roof. Have it with the QRF; stop a LOT of
idiots in their tracks when they got hit by a very light armor section ;-))).”
COMMENTS
MSGT Mark LaSalle, USAF writes: “Other options for burial would be to trench 1/2 the
battle box height and use the fill in front of them. That would allow quicker emplacement
with simpler equipment. If buying Bobcats or equivalent, get commercially available
foam-filled or solid tires and steel (perhaps with polyurethane pads) tracks for combat
durability.
www.carpenter.com/Divisions/tireprod_relyprod.htm
www.bobcat.com/products/att/tracks.html
www.superiortire.com/default.htm
www.forester.net/gx_0407_tires.html
LTC Altersitz has a good point, which I think I can solve easily: If landing gear legs (they
do not need a cross shaft and can be operated individually with the standard hand
crank) are integrated ~1ft from each corner, simpler, lighter non-articulated mobilizers
could be used for some containers. Since the landing gear raises and lowers the box, no
forklift www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/atlas.htm is needed, and the mobilizers can be
simple clip-on frames. The landing gear would cost almost no interior space, allow easy
leveling of the box, and make it easy to adjust box combinations for mating.”
SUPPLY & FUNCTION ACCESS: All BATTLEBOXES’ doors
can open
OUTER SECURITY FIELDS OF FIRE
1st Squad
CO
3rd Squad
XO/1SG
2nd Squad
DESIRABLE BATTLEBOX FEATURE: TOP HATCH MACHINE GUN RING
MOUNTS WITH GUNSHIELDS
Suggest M901 horse shoe skate mounts that can detach/attach when hatches are
opened so top of BattleBox can stay in virgin state for stacking for sea transport, two
other top hatches for riflemen desirable; 1-3 men can surveil or fight as 2-4 men rest,
pass ammo from huge supplies underneath, man radios/field phones = mini-pillbox
M901 horses shoe skate mount
OUTER SECURITY MOBILE PATROLS
1st Squad
Mounted
Dismounted
3rd Squad
2nd Squad
OP/LP 3
OUTER SECURITY OP/LPs
at least 100 meters out to first masking terrain
feature
1st
Squad
OP/LP 1
3rd Squad
OP/LP 2
2nd Squad
OUTER SECURITY WATCH TOWERS
Extra Containers when they arrive with a lift capabilities can make towers that can
see far out from perimeter
M113 (M806) Gavin with 5-ton crane to lift BattleBoxes on/off dollies, stack for
guard towers
LTC Altersitz: “You can
reduce the # of boxes by a
third, which makes the log
folks happy. You probably
need a dedicated crane or
rough-terrain forklift at BN
to lift battle boxes off
their dollies. I'm not happy
with
the dollies; yeah, I
Joe
Katzman:
know they're in the system,
Don’t
fully get
this slide
after
but look
at how
much
you
sentence
more to
have to #3.
do State
with them
affirmatively.
open the doors. You need
a dedicated crane/forklift to
re-mount all the boxes and
what does it take to dismount them?
One more reason to reduce the # of boxes.
If you had a simple tracked set for the front and
back of the box, it makes moving easier. Still need to lift
the box to get them out/back under. A GAVIN with a
5-ton boom per Company? Lifts one end, track set
removed, lowers to ground, does the other end same
way? Reverses procedure at CSMO (Close Shop Move Out) time?”
Joe Katzman:
American
Company Providing Conex Box Guard Tower Kits to DoD already!
Cool.
www.soacorp.com/bunkers/guard_tower.php
Creative Building Products
6409 HIGHVIEW DRIVE . FT WAYNE . IN . 46818 . 800.860.2855, phone .
800.589.4668, fax
GUARD TOWER - PORTABLE
PRODUCT SHOWING: NSN: N/A Part No: 9672
Size: 8' (W) x 8' (H) x 6' (L)
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The Portable Guard Tower is a complete unit which includes one Guard
Tower, one Conex Box, one pallet (75 coils or 3750 ft) of Concertina wire, and a Wire Installation Kit.
The Wire Installation Kit includes a Fence Driver, 25 5-foot stakes, and 25 7-foot stakes. The Guard
Tower itself is manufactured with four seperate wall units that allow for quick and easy assembly on
top of the standard Conex Box. Once placed on the Conex Box the Guard Tower will be
approximately 12 feet in the air, giving the guards a greater view of the perimeter or area of threat.
Once in position, the walls are filled from the top using sand as ballast. The sand filled walls provide
the guards inside with 360 degrees of protection from 9mm, 5.56, and 7.62 threats. 12” dumps are
provided for easy removal of the ballast allowing the Guard Tower to be repositioned as needed.
The overhead cover is 3/4” plywood on which lights, sensors, and antennae can be installed if
desired. Access to the cover can be reached through a hatch type door that is pre-installed for
convenience. The CBP Guard Tower eliminates the time and the mess associated with using
sandbags. This product is a recoverable asset that can be broken down and deployed inside the
Conex Box. All parts and tools needed for assembly are included in the kit bag. Stakes are also
provided for the Concertina Wire installation. The standard colors for the Portable Guard Tower are
Olive Drab or Desert Tan; however, all colors are available upon request. There is also an optional
cover available in Olive Drab and Desert Tan.
Cost Data
Product Name Part No. Color Pricing GSA
Complete Unit 9672OD Olive Drab Call for Quote Pending
Complete Unit 9672DT Desert Tan
COMPLETE UNIT INCLUDES
Guard Tower 9672OD-GT Olive Drab Call for Quote Pending
Guard Tower 9672DT-GT Desert Tan
Conex Box 9672OD-CB Olive Drab
Conex Box 9672DT-CB Desert Tan
Concertina Wire 9672CW Silver
Wire Installation Kit 9672-WIK OPTIONS
Joe Katzman:
Cover 9672OD-CV Olive Drab Call for Quote
Pending
Cover 9672DT-CV Desert Tan
No cost data... Otherwise excellent
Wood Replacement Kit 9672OD-WRK -
sense
Product Approx Size Approx Weight
Guard Tower 8' (W) 8' (H) x 6' (L) 1000 lbs
Conex Box 8' (W) x 8' (H) x 6' 5 1/2" (L) 2700 lbs
Concertina Wire 1 pallet = 75 coils = 3750 ft 952 lbs
Complete Unit 8' (W) x 16' (H) x 6' (L) 4652 lbs
Why settle for troops living in flimsy
tents when they could be in dug-in
special configured metal Battle Boxes?
f.o.b. origin
Quantity discounts available on retail sales only. Will accept government
credit cards.Terms 2% 10, Net 30 days standard. *Product Only
Please email all comments and suggestions to the WEBMASTER
BARRIER SECURITY
Snipers, enemy small arms/RPG fire doesn’t have line-ofsight to reach perimeter center
Joe Katzman:
So it’s gonna be
mortars...
ANTI-CAR & TRUCK BOMB SECURITY
Cars/trucks cannot easily reach perimeter center
Container doors restrict
access as gates
COMMENTS
LTC Jarnot: “Excellent idea, I worked extensively with Connexs to provide towers at Bagram
and the Brits used theirs to sand bag them in using pre-containerized metal screen bags to fill
with sand.”
SSG Heitman: “I like the concept. This is a winner from the UMO side of the house. I would
include sufficient HESCO barriers to fortify the outer perimeter and protect from RPGs.
The are easy to install and easy to toss in one connex for transportation. If a Jump TOC is
anticipated, order new ones through S-4 and this leaves a pre-fortified perimeter for the
replacing group to roll their BBs into, assuming the Army can do this universally…”
LTC Altersitz: “I really don't want to become too fixed in a position, because it saves the bad
guys ammo if they can target each location accurately. You end up being a mobile home park
and "trailer trash". I'd like to move stuff around and have decoys set up to attract fire.
You can prevent vehicle bombs by a ditch and berm system. Dig a ditch .5m deep and .5m wide
on likely avenues of approach. Put the dirt on the inside of the ditch towards you. The front
wheels fall into the ditch and the vehicle nose is stopped by the berm. No unidentified vehicle
gets close and certainly no civilian vehicle with locals in it. And you have the claymore markers
Joe Katzman:
past the berm line to shred any vehicle that tries to run the slow-downs at the checkpoint.
Ah, answers the question in my mind
The marines
from
last slide,
in Nice
Beirutidea.
could have been saved if the gate guard had a bank of claymores to fire if
anyone tried to speed past him. He sees the vehicle isn't stopping, he ducks behind the big
layers of sandbags, covers his ears and fires the mines. As it was, he wasn't allowed to fire his
weapon, which wasn't loaded. Now we know, but it was an option back then to prevent people
from attacking the post in any method.”
SECURE V/TOL AIRCRAFT LANDING ZONE
Joe Katzman:
Hadn’t considered
that. Cool!
COMMENTS
Sven Ortmann: “BTW, as a helipad, you should incorporate a foldable wind indicator (not visible all the
time...snipers). “About outpost equipment - some sensors (thermal, 360° counter-mortar locator radar
"LCMR", presented in Field Artillery Journal Sept/Oct 2002, page 18 or something similar, PDCue or other
probably more proven sniper detector system) and some counter-fire assets (armored counter-sniper
post with .50" AMR, 82mm 2B9 Vasilek or 120mm DragonFire mortar)
www.mcwl.quantico.usmc.mil/factsheets/Dragon%20Fire.pdf
Joe
Katzman:
would
be interesting. About the reinforcing of the walls with sand; machines exist that replace dozens of
Soldiers filling sandbags. I don't think it would be too much to assume that the establishment of a
Dunno
re: fire extinguishers...
Take
up space
and
can be aAthazard
all their
semi-permanent
outpost justifies
the use
of such
equipment.
least one
such own
machine fits a 3-ton
iftruck.*
pierced.
Like
the
Kevlar
lining
and
sand.
The sandbagging won't RPG-proof the containers - but spalling would at least be negligible
without hard armor. Some automatic fire-extinguishing system in each container wouldn't hurt and doors
sides of the containers need kevlar liners against mortar fragments because you cannot fill "kangaroo
pouches" there. Same with edges.
"Container doors" as barriers - do you think of small one-man doors in the container full-size doors?
Otherwise, it would be impractical to arrange them like that.
The car bomb protection argument is difficult - I don't think that it would really protect against a 500 kg
fertilizer/diesel bomb or such. Jane's shows dedicated quick-build walls for this purpose in one of my
yearbooks and those blast deflection walls were more than a meter thick IIRC. But car bombs should be
no problem; just dig a 1m trench around the camp at 50m distance, with triple, frequently defoliaged
barbed wire coils as reinforcement at 60 and 100m (also acting as 'fence' signal. You need the space for
your 100m security zone anyway and an engineer vehicle needs only two days or so for the job. At that
distance, it might indeed be blast-proof enough.
Overall, fortress planning is tempting - but it should be no more than an involuntary measure in highthreat COIN environments. There's a "too much" for force protection, and really interesting is what the
soldiers do outside of the camp. The tendency seems to be that the answer is "not much" if you look a
BATTLE BOXES WITH SLIDING WALLS: each box has a slide-out wall to extend
dispersion between boxes to create 100-130 meter x 100 meter perimeter*
* BATTLEBOXES WITH TWO SLIDING WALLS
would create 200-230m x 200m perimeter
Joe Katzman:
There’s no place like Rome.... SPQR!
BattleBox stacked on top to make watch tower
LTC Altersitz: “Almost better to treat the boxes as two-man fighting positions and
space them to cover each other, front end towards enemy and doors towards the
center of the position. Firing ports open at corners. Put them in a "V" formation,
doors to the point (bottom) of the "V". You have 6 fireteams per platoon (3 squads),
18 per company (9 squads). Two men per box means a squad has 4 boxes to fight
from, so you'd have all boxes covered by 7 1/2 squads. Leaves 3 fire teams as
QRF, along with any additional Co weapons.
Use regular claymores to sweep open areas and mini-mores, aimed below the firing
port level, to cover areas between boxes. Extra protection inside the boxes for the
troops to fight from could be kevlar/layers of wood/kevlar sandwiches.“
Joe Katzman:
The configurations slides are a
real strong point. They get the
imagination going.
PHASE II: BATTLEBOXES UNDER GROUND FOR
COVERTNESS, GREATER PROTECTION FROM ENEMY
WEAPONRY
* Aircraft and satellite observation/detection/attacks
* Artillery
* Mortars
* Guided missiles
* Theater Ballistic Missiles
* Cruise Missiles
* Chem-Bio attacks
* Nuclear attacks
BATTLE BOXES OPTION A: detach BBs from front face walls to preserve outer
perimeter, boxes dug into the ground to form inner, underground perimeter
Inner Underground perimeter
BATTLEBOXES OPTION B: dug boxes into the ground to form underground perimeter
with boxes roof’s flush with ground level; keep visible outer perimeter walls with gaps
Joe Katzman:
Stress benefit vs.
mortars more in
these.
BATTLEBOXES OPTION C: dug boxes into the ground to form COVERT underground
perimeter with boxes roof’s flush with ground level; no visible outer perimeter
BATTLEBOXES HARDENING
1. Dig hole with ramp to slide box into ground, with enough space to open doors
2. Slide box into hole
3. Fill dirt or pour concrete all around box
4. Fill dirt, sandbag or place concrete slabs (or all 3 options) on roof leaving top
hatch(es) capable of being opened
5. Place step kit on ramp for ingress/egress and to channel water away
6. Connect electrical power sources to boxes to run night vision, commo and save
batteries
1
7. camouflage
7
4
3
2
5
6
EXAMPLE OF A DUG-IN BATTLEBOX
Joe Katzman:
Make in/out
methods clear,
reiterate.
MSGT Mark.LaSalle: “BattleBox/Base Box ISO containers as shelter cores and roofs for
Texas Barriers: I sent the following to SFTT, then thought of your site. If we are going to
stay where bad folks use mortars, using stock or custom ISO boxes potted in reinforced
concrete is too nice not to adopt. These things are terrific instant buildings, and unpotted units are all over the ME. On the home front, I'm going to get more (I have two so
far) for myself. Even camo'ed the street side so it attractively blends with my trees and
the neighbors don't complain. Texas barriers don't provide overhead cover. Not being at
Balad, I don't know how many ISO 20 and 40 foot shipping containers are handy, but
they are common in the Middle East. If supplies are delivered in them keeping the
container would also let the delivering truck travel light on the way back to port.
Containers
would make a good internal form for a poured-in-place concrete bunker and
Joe Katzman:
act as an anti-spall liner after the concrete cures. To pour in place a set of mobile forms
The back-trip argument deserves more prominence.
and a concrete pump would do the trick. If you have mixer trucks and no pump a ramp
trailer pulled next to the form might do the job. Adding doors, power, etc. to these
containers onsite before "bunkerising" would be simple, using basic home shop-level
power tools (I have a nice personal shop I made from a 40f'x9'6" High Cube version) and
a welder. Appropriate holes for standard HVAC pack hoses would be easy to cut.
Custom buildings made from ISO boxes are used by industry world-wide, and joining
multiple containers makes for some versatile structures. Another option would be to
pour a reinforced concrete "cap" that would bridge two Texas Barriers and bolt to rods
cast or anchored in their tops. With this combination you could protect trailers, ISO
boxes, or vehicles. With all the barrier "walls" we've poured since 1990, a "roof" using
them is so obvious it's been overlooked...
COMMENTS
Sven Ortmann: “the underground stuff increases protection, but makes the base nearpermanent, the overall concept less flexible. To bury so much stuff, you`ll need
considerable earthworks and I think the more the establishment of a base requires, the
les are the officers willing to give it up and send it to a better location if the need arises
elsewhere. Further, it`s not clear anymore whether you want to bury the outside
containers, too or where the additional containers for burying in the inside shall come
Joe Katzman:
from. Another general idea for the use of containers may be to use basic
Afterfor
sentence
2, none of
this is useful.tend to become sandbag fortresses in
modules
a checkpoint.
Checkpoints
peacemaker ops, I think the Soldiers would be grateful to have a trustworthy structure
and some climate-proof, comfortable boxes behind/below the sandbag walls. The
structural requirements for such a task would be enormous, though. What I wrote to you
about the armament and sensors of the outpost originated in my thinking about
standardized quick set-up outpost containers a year ago or so.”
RESPONSE: If you think burying battle boxes induces laziness/unwillingness to move,
how about living in Saddam's palaces which have created a guerrilla war and a strategic
defeat for the U.S.?
If you bury the battle boxes you can at least remove them when you pull out and leave
the country. You can move your FOBs composed of battle boxes, you cannot move
palaces.
COMMENTS
Army LTC X:
“I scanned this briefly and this is an excellent presentation. The "last" "Hajis" we
fought...well...the second to the last because the last ones were Somalis and so you have to go through
those cats...er...uh then the Hezbollah in Lebanon...er uh...then yes...ah, yes I think we are now safe in
saying some Hajis back, that is to say the Vietnamese, were very adept at using the ground. There is this
group think born out of none other than Guderian, that if you are not mobile you are not winning or you
are dead. That was further expounded upon after the French experience in Vietnam where they created
their hedgehog defense along static lines (you would have thought that the Maginot Line would have had
an impression upon them) which we then adopted in the form of fire bases and ultimately left a sour taste
in our mouths about static defense. Hence, I think, the hesitation to "harden" things. That and the
psychological issue of being buried...But I digress...
One of the issues that several loggies had that I spoke too was that we spend an inordinate amount of
money on ISOs. AND we cannot track them. The Army loses track of rented ISOs and then is paying the
Joethem
Katzman:
dime on the things. If the Army were to purchase
we could save tons just one rent AND they store
very well. We rent these things and they are something like $100 a day or some insane amount of money
This is a major point
like that. Your concept relieves just that issue alone by making the simple CONEX a battlefield system. It
can be built to be a shipping container with modular living space units like racks and light sets and also
be built as a defensive position for an instant patrol base. You ship the unit equipment in them, Dig it in
and then live in it and fight from it. It makes sense to me. When you are done, you dig it out and move on.
Now one thing about engineering, the hydraulic pressure of the earth around it will mandate that it be
reinforced to avoid collapsing under that pressure. I don't think I would completely bury it, perhaps up to
five feet so that guys sleeping are shielded from direct fire while they sleep but so that you can minimize
dirt and sand and crap falling in after blowing over the top of it.
1. Use a top "deck hatch" arrangement so that interior access can be had with stairs and not a ladder.
Armor the hatch so that it can be used as a gun shield when the ISO is in fighting position.
2. Waterproof it so that you can avoid ground water seepage into the box.
3. Install secondary smaller hatches with platforms so that several Soldiers or MARINES can fight from the
top from protected positions.
The beauty of this is that we no longer have to rent the CONEX's because they become our shipping, living
and fighting positions in deployment. You need something better than a Skidsteer, although 2 per battalion
as a standard load out would be good if for nothing more than rapidly moving dirt to berm the sides after a
D-7 has excavated the principal hole. Perhaps two Skidsteers and 2 D-7s per Battalion. I would think with
some concerted effort you could arrive and be dug in in a matter of a day or two depending
upon earth conditions. The other beauty of this is that by burrowing these things and putting a modular
shade over the top you can really cut down on the thermal penalty of the environment. The ground will cool
and help heat the living containers and so the impact on the AC units will be much less.
Joe Katzman:
Last thought. I am still confused as to why the military has fixated itself on the Helicopter as a patrol
Agree on the Cessnas and OA-10s... But what does this have to do with battleboxes
aircraft. We use the venerable Cessna 172 and 182 as a State Police patrol aircraft all over the United
beond the scenario we already did? Leave them in scenarios. Key West stuff may
States. Frankly, that is exactly what we need in Iraq. Cheap to operate, low thermal signature and very
be true butplatform.
isn’t partThrow
of THIS
argument.
Delete.
useful observation
some
smoke rocket
pods and a laser on it and you have a designator.
Heck of a lot cheaper than the Predator and you have eyes on. I think a couple of these with crews would
be ideal for the Balad BIAP route and would take a heck of a load off of the OH-58D...but Oh I forgot...we
need to be super high tech now don't we and money is no object...
I'll give you another thought, the Army needs to go to the Air Force and tell them that the Key West
Agreement is dead and that we will assume the Low Altitude CAS mission and relieve them of the A-10.
The A-10 belongs in the Army and we are going to spend a boatload of money on the JSF when what really
scares the piss out of Haji's is the Thunderbolt II. That aircraft needs to be relicensed, manufactured and
sent to the US Army. Some may argue that the worst thing that ever happened was the development of the
USAF and the elimination of the Army Air corps.
Ralph Zumbo:
I'd half or three quarters bury the sucker and sandbag from there up. We used to dig to
waist level or a tad lower, and sandbag up. Also gives a place to put firing slits. You can also use a shaped
charge to blow the initial hole. Then clean it up with a post hole digger or an auger and force in about 20 lbs
of military dynamite. (heaving, not shattering because of the lower brisiance...I have done this) A
couple of hours with shovels squaring off the resulting hole and you have not only an emplacement, but
enough loose sand and rock to fill the sandbags. Another alternative that we used was 55 gallon drums full
of sand. If you use a mixture of sand and cement and hose the sandbags down, you have a cement wall.
Anything that, just pour water into it and it heals automatically.
Joe Katzman:
Lots of good suggestions. They need to be (a) pared down to concrete “to do”
suggestions, organized better so they’re grouped with similars I.e. we’re at this
point in the presentations, talking about X, here are all the related concrete
suggestions & possibilities. You can do this. Or this. Or this. Wow, look at all the
flexibility! Now, if we want to go on to this configuration, we can...
I’ll add that unless the names are known to people, attribution needs to include
something right there that makes one listen because any use of a name is
implicitly an argument from experience or authority. “Ralph Zumbo, served El
Salvador 1983-88”, or MSG Ralph Zumbro (ret.)... Or just feature the
suggestion sans name.
OFFENSE
Base-Of-Fire
LTC Larry Altersitz: “You have 2 boxes per squad for basic support needs. So a
squad is two boxes and a GAVIN, which have to be protected when not on the
march. Might be better to make it one box per GAVIN and use the idea of the
box as a base-of-fire (BOF) and the GAVIN as the maneuver element if the
company position is attacked? Have the SL, DVR, 3 Riflemen use the GAVIN as
an ACAV cavalry sweeper, not dropping off troops to engage anyone, just slicing
into an enemy and getting out. The remaining fireteam uses the battlebox as a
base-of-fire. Could have an M240, a 60mm mortar, a .50 HBMG/MK19, etc., to
provide fires. Easy to add the sensor suite to a non-moving object and that allows
GPS to locate the object to 10 places. Now you have the ability to polar plot
indirect fire missions from any box in support of the squad GAVIN.”
1
2
Enemy
Joe Katzman:
What happens to
the other half of
the squad? Live
in the Gavin?
Enemy
COMMENTS
Sven Ortmann: “The Base-of-fire idea seems useful mostly in siege situations, with
emplacement and hardening at night. More oversight than from
trenches…”
Joe Katzman:
Or picket
situations
1st Tactical Studies Group (Airborne)
1LT Mike Sparks USAR
LTC (R) Larry Altersitz USAR
LTC (R) Chuck Jarnot U.S. Army
MSG Mark LaSalle USAF
SSG Brian Heitman, U.S. Army
Frmr-MSG Ralph Zumbro, Tank Expert
Sven Ortmann former German Luftwaffe
Phil West, World Adventurer/Inventor
Mark Ash, former USMC tanker
David Butcher, pedal power inventor
dynmicpara@aol.com
rgrlarry@aol.com
Jarnot_CA@piasecki.com
Mark.LaSalle@shaw.af.mil
SDAJumpmasterABN@aol.com
chopper9r@yahoo.com
LastDingo@gmx.de
phil.west@kcl.ac.uk
swmark78@aol.com
davidbu@www.los-gatos.ca.us
Military Thinker/Author
William Owen, former British Army
xmc20@dial.pipex.com
Cochrane Institute.com
Victor O’Reilly, author, military futurist
voreilly@adelphia.net
SeaBox.com
Jim Brennan
jimb@seabox.com
Spirit of America.com
JC Brown
Butch Walker
spirit@soacorp.com
amazentow@earthlink.net
SKEDCO.com
Bud Calkin, inventor, former Army medic
bud@skedco.com