From: patrick jankowiak (eccm@swbell.net)
Date: Thu Nov 20 2003 - 20:25:46 PST
If one goes to any Vet's day parade, where you may find the in-service
Army and NG vehicles used to provide rides for Veterans, you will see
that they are certainly 'combat class', 'in theater', and/or 'motor
pool ready'. Depending on how you look at it.
My M35 fits into this zone, and I like it that way. It has character,
and also a mission with the TXSG. I don't have the time or resources
to make it extremely pretty, and if I did, then what? I would not want
to use it as it was meant to be used, should the need arise.
I will say that one 5-ton in front of me was taking on WWII veterans,
and every time another one was to board, the active duty soldier in
the back had to unlatch the tailgate, and really shove hard on it to
lower it, then jump down, pull out the boarding ladder, and so forth.
You could hear the rust grinding in the tailgate hinges.
My State Guard buddy and I decided to just stand around there between
our truck and his, and help this guy out, by lowering the gate and
holding the boarding ladder. We had to really pull hard on that gate,
and it was definitely so rusty in the hinges, I wondered if the motor
pool knew what oil was. Also, as we putted along behind it, we noticed
he had a flat super single on the rear, CTIS notwithstanding. I know
the Army does not permit painting for cosmetic reasons, but this thing
was rusty in many places and obviously in need of some serious PM.
>
> Just off topic for a bit, but we've also had events (parades mostly, but not
> exclusively), where vehicle participation has been pretty much restricted to
> a certain number of vehicles, and that number was to be made up of vehicles
> which were top-notch restorations, and not what most of us would think of as
> 'Combat Class'. I...don't...like those, and typically don't participate.
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