Interesting thread on Eham.

Started by gil, September 08, 2013, 01:26:35 PM

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RichardSinFWTX

Hey RadioRay! 

I'm an ex-intel puke too!  I was in Germany during REFORGER '90 and saw a news story on AFN (Armed Forces Network for those who were wondering) where they were doing a story on the "Unsung Heroes of REFORGER".  They did a story on one of the ESM teams.  I almost had a coronary when they showed the inside of a TRQ-32V2 mobile receiver DF system, the exact same system I was serving on at the time.  Then the part that REALLY blew my mind, "...and here's some live intercept coming from somewhere in East Germany!" A LOT of heads rolled over that one!


Archangel320420

I was a navy spook 68-71. Nice to see you fellow perverts on here.

RichardSinFWTX

Funny you should mention "pervs"...one of the more "interesting" things that happened in my unit during Desert Shield / Desert Storm was when we recorded a 45 minute obscene phone made to the AT&T phone center in Rhiyadh Saudi Arabia from Georgia (the state not the country).  When we got ready to head back to Germany after the war we had to do a system check of our jammer before loading it on the ship.  We tuned into the freq the that AFN was broadcasting on and jammed it with that phone call!  :)

Ahhhh...to be young again!  :)



Archangel320420

The statute of limitations is up now. While at "A" school in Pensacola, the only break and sleep time for us was on Sunday mornings. Some officers decided to fly R/C airplanes at that time often buzzing the enlisted barracks. When we complained through the chain of command the word came down to us "Tuff Poop". So one Sunday some of us went over to the base radio club station WA4ECY. We found their R/C frequencies and put a fat carrier on those freqs and crashed every one into the ground. They never came back. Victory is very satisfying. I think jaming AFN would have been very exciting. Lesson for officers. Not wise to mess with spooks.


gil

Now you guys make me wonder if I missed my calling, LOL.

Gil.

RichardSinFWTX

On the day East and West Germany got back together I was up on the border at a facility that was so close that on a clear morning you could look across the valley and watch the EAST GERMAN border guards walking their german shepherds along the fenceline.


Archangel320420

One quick thing, RHI. My daughter was in ASA and was in Berlin during the wall coming down. She related stories about being in those mobile huts along the border. She tells me often that I am a very strange person and she found all ditty boopers in Collection/and or/DF to be. We are all a strange bunch according to her and pretty much a gross bunch of animals. She did not think it mattered if they were Navy, Army, or Air Force. Ha! Cracks me up. Berlin must have had a combined service post.

RadioRay

#23
Old Spooks Club -

Too Cool.  Great to talk with you guys.  Yeah - we had operations but we sometimes billeted (if single) in barracks near 'real' Armymen...  you know. They had some tension with us - because they had no idea who or what we were - but that WE had women and slept all day.   We'd be trying to sleep after a long series of missions and these guys would run by in formation, round the corner by their little castle (they were Combat Engineers) , "WAKE_UP!  WAKE_UP  WAKE_UP!  WAKE_UP!". all smiling and giggling like Mommy just gave'em a pudding cup or something.  Well - never, EVER poke a stick at a sleep deprived, highly trained, semi-criminal, who was selected for intelligence work ...

One of our guys was an ex-LRRP - VERY large knowledge in 'anti-social skills' which appeared to be learned hands-on.  We mounted a classic 'guerrilla' ambush to quell their zeal.  Using a .22 caliber Benjamin air pistol, tape and card board this fellow made an EXCELLENT suppressed weapon with excellent accuracy.  Shot, re-zeroed and then implemented.  It was warm, so many windows were open.  The shooter (usually him)  is three stories above the 'targets' & would have the windows (German double windows) opened two-three fingers, be back away from the Window, standing on a table with no internal lights - so the shooter's window would look VERY normal that time of morning. As you know, a key principle in 'guerrilla warfare' is decapitation of command structure and destruction of the enemy's will to fight.  Both were centered in their junior officers and jr. NCO's who led the morning runs. 

So, As their company made it's run and began it's WAKE_UP!  WAKE_UP  WAKE_UP!  WAKE_UP! laughing and joking, 'mosquitoes' began to bite their LT and platoon leaders from high and behind.  Naturally, they would not stop the formation, so we'd had time to change position and maintain sufficient rate of fire to make their morning run VERY uncomfortable , yet only a shot or two at a time from any one position and ALWAYS well back in the room so as not to be seen like a Hollywood sniper.  The first ambush was the most fun, the second, they got quiet and we stopped shooting.  The Third run I think there was ONE loudmouth and so we shot the guy NEXT to him. THAT shut the big mouth up... After that, they heard from our Co. (who is a Major, not a Captain) that he appreciated their newly acquired respect for our chaotic night schedule.  I presume that HE put 2+2 together and gave them an easy out of just promising to not be a menace.  I cannot now remember whether that was before or AFTER someone burned and blew-up their 'castle'. moo-ha-ha-ha!

We did NOT have all those Security Clearances because we were necessarily 'Saints'.  We had them because we were never actually convicted...

---- then there is that poor guy who is probably still deaf after we exploded a box of black powder under him in the stall...  He woke us up too....


de RadioRay ..._ ._
"When we cannot do the good we would, we must be ready to do the good we can."  ~ Matthew Henry

Archangel320420


RadioRay

#25
"...and here's some live intercept coming from somewhere in East Germany!"  - Oooooooh, THAT is never done.  Yes, I would imagine that the axe was bloody and dull by the time that was finished.  We had a Colonel do something similar, trying to enhance his career.  It did not go well for him after Big Daddy got our report.

I'm still laughing about you guys mounting an EW attack against the officer's R/C airplanes in retaliation for them messing with your time-off. That seems entirely just.

Using that Sand-Box Booty Call recording for jammer sound track - brilliant!  Speaking of Reforger, there was a rumor of one "J" guy jammer who used to sign on and announce 'This IS The Voice of Radio Free Uzbekistan!" and then hammer away in Acid Rock on patrol freqs.  Rumor has it that he was DF'd, captured and forced to play Country Music on a specific frequency for the rest of the exercise. 

---

There are SOOOOOO many stories (some are even true) that could be told...
"When we cannot do the good we would, we must be ready to do the good we can."  ~ Matthew Henry

KK0G

Keep going guys, this is good stuff. By my count I think we're up to around 5 or 6 felonies............ I sure hope the statute of limitations is up 8)
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" - Benjamin Franklin

KK0G

RichardSinFWTX

Quote from: Archangel320420 on September 08, 2013, 11:15:50 PM
One quick thing, RHI. My daughter was in ASA and was in Berlin during the wall coming down. She related stories about being in those mobile huts along the border. She tells me often that I am a very strange person and she found all ditty boopers in Collection/and or/DF to be. We are all a strange bunch according to her and pretty much a gross bunch of animals. She did not think it mattered if they were Navy, Army, or Air Force. Ha! Cracks me up. Berlin must have had a combined service post.

Hmm...sounds like she and I have seen some of the same places!  I had 6 or 8 women in my class at intel school that all got Berlin while us boys all went to tactical units.  I landed in Stuttgart Germany on January 3, 1990.

We teased the "girls" telling them their first detail was going to be to repaint the bullseyes on the rooves of the bunkers for the Russian artillery spotters!  Almost had one of them in tears!


Archangel320420


RichardSinFWTX

Sorry, the name doesn't ring a bell; but if she was a Sergeant back then she wouldn't have been hangin' out with us lowly PFCs either.