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« Last post by ballardw on April 04, 2023, 12:37:43 AM »
When I was with the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, the division was transitioning from M60 to M1 tanks and M113 APC's to M2 Bradley IFV. Our division commander, seeing all the neat new gadgets involved with these decided we were to become the US Army's "Premier Heavy Night Fighting Division". Which was all well and good for the tankers and infantry with the M1 and M3: thermal sights and new issue of NODs.
However no one else had any night optics. So we had to drive in the dark with NO lights except the little "follow me" tabs on the back. So typically 5 mph. The tanks would bore-sight the gun straight ahead and use the thermals and drive 20+mph. You learned real quick to listen for the squeak of the suspension as when an M1 is coming for you that's what you hear.
It was interesting to be in an after action report from a training exercise a year or so later when one of the armor platoon leaders had to fess up to not knowing how to do something in light because there hadn't been any day light maneuvers for most of the year.
PS: It's a bitch to recover razor wire in the dark.