Osotogary
07-28-05, 09:16 AM
I hope that this video is viewable on your computers.
The Definition of FUBAR
Always remember the seven P's: Proper prior planning prevents **** poor performance. These appear to be Royal Marines on an exercise. Had this been live, those men would have been target practice for anyone waiting on the beachhead. And check out their weapons! That will be a mess to clean up.
http://images.military.com/Shock/0,,SA_CommandoLand_040226,00.html
yellowwing
07-28-05, 10:27 AM
I think Military.com got it wrong. If I remember correctly, when the video first appeared it was described as a UK Army team trying out amphiboous assualts.
We had a thread on it back in December 2003 (http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=55841#post55841).
yellowwing
07-28-05, 10:31 AM
TROOPS BOGGED DOWN PLAYING AT MARINES
29 November 2003, Mirror.co.uk (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=13674265&method=full&siteid=50143)
From Tom Newton Dunn Defence Correspondent, In Basra
AN Army bid to outdo their Navy commando rivals has been shelved - after an experiment went disastrously wrong.
Top brass had hoped to equal the Royal Marines' expertise by developing their own amphibious warfare unit.
But troops used in the mock beach landing were more SOS than SBS - Special Boat Service - when they needed rescuing after sinking to their waists in liquid mud.
These pictures - captured by a squaddie filming the hapless operation - show the extent of the flop. It is thought senior officers ordered the trials in southern Iraq after seeing the marines dominate headlines.
Their humiliation was complete when the soldiers - from 40 Regiment, Royal Artillery, based at Topcliffe, North Yorks - collapsed laughing when it went so wrong. They got the giggles as the lifejackets of two men stuck in mud inflated by accident.
In the video, one joking soldier even tries a few crawl strokes to try to get out. The footage was sent across the armed forces by email.
It had the Chumbawumba song Tub Thumping dubbed on as a soundtrack with the words, "I get knocked down, then I get up again," blaring out.
Not surprisingly, those who enjoyed watching it the most were Royal Marines commandos.
One marine sergeant said: "I don't think we've got much to worry about, do you? They really should leave this sort of thing to the experts. I don't think we need we say anymore."
The shambles, blamed on poor beach reconnaissance, took place on the Al Faw peninsula, where the troops have now ended a five-month tour of duty.
Army chiefs have since stopped the trials. An official said: "I don't believe we'll be doing any more."
:banana: