|
Community Links |
Social Groups |
Pictures & Albums |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
08-10-2017, 07:14 PM | #22171 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: over here
Posts: 2,092
|
Quote:
Yeah, I see that and understand the origin. Thanks for the link. It was a fun read.
In spite of that, though, in your mind, is it possible that Blast-Off and Mirage were former Marines? You guys know the military world and roles way better than I do. I never served, so I only have basic knowledge of who can do what, or not be able to do something. That's why I love this thread. I learn so much. |
08-10-2017, 07:14 PM | #22172 |
W.O.R.M.S. Commander
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Back in the US of A! (NoVA)
Posts: 10,649
|
I only brought up because I never really gave it any thought until Steel Brigade was brought up. Some of us use them as Green Shirts or Security team. I always thought of them as an American unit, but I feel like my view of them as an International team seems to ebb and flow and I never realized it.
__________________
Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. |
08-10-2017, 07:19 PM | #22173 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: over here
Posts: 2,092
|
Quote:
I lean more to Tanksmasher's take than Shaft's. Here are some examples of the kind of research you can do by examining captured weapons and ammunition: Â*Building a Headstamp Record of Syria’s Civil... | THE GUN. ; https://longreads.com/2015/09/16/c-j...ar-journalism/ ; http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/filea...tamp-Trail.pdf - all done, incidentally, by journalists and/or academics. It's good info to gather, but you don't need the kind of training I imagine Scoop getting. Conducting persistent surveillance, on the other hand, could be a good job for Scoop and his enormous camera (or Lady Jaye and her camera). Alternatively, pair him with Psych Out, feed him footage, and put him in an editing room (possibly with everyone's fav Dee Jay!), pumping out youtube psy ops clips on social media sites.
I apologize, this was several pages back, just haven't had time to respond. Good points from both of you. I will reevaluate how I use Scoop. He is another tough one to figure out (like the firefighters, artillery guys, and pilots). |
08-10-2017, 08:50 PM | #22174 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Iowa
Posts: 4,255
|
|
08-11-2017, 10:30 AM | #22175 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,294
|
Quote:
From my understanding, based on what I've read from various sources (Power Point presentations, Linkedin resumes, etc) COMCAM operators do support USSOCOM and JSOC units in the field. Nick Irving's 'The Reaper' describes a Combat Cameraman attached to his Ranger Platoon Michael Golembeski's 'Level Zero Heroes' and its follow up describe a Combat Cameraman attached to his MSOT 'Dagger 22' Robert O'Neill's 'The Operator' I think mentions a Mass Communications Specialist (COMCAM) attached to the DEVGRU element that took out UBL From all that, this is how I use Scoop; He's attached from the Special Missions Platoon of the 55th Signal Company (COMCAM) - which supports SOCOM and JSOC units in the field. He's there as a SME and Technical expert in Tactical Photography and Visual Information Support - when folks have technical issues with their camera, software etc he's the go to guy. He supports all his assigned Squadron's training visual and production support, helps with any PSYOP / Information Operations support He supports all Squadron Administration matters (covering Passport photos, special events, promotion pictures, all the mundane stuff) He also supports the Special Mission operations; passport photos and photo manipulation for forged documents for Joes to travel incognito, helps with technical support for covert cameras and surveillance equipment. But the biggest reason why he's there is beyond the mundane tasks, he provides documentation support for WMD missions to enable the operators to shoot, move and communicate and concentrate on the assault. He documents the breach, the assault (for Transparency and After Action reports) and then supports the Sensitive Site Exploitation activities. He documents everything visually, sure a shooter can take photos but they don't have the technical skills in countering aspects like lighting, contrast etc. My Joe team's primary mission is Counter Proliferation so any images they take must be of the highest quality because it needs to stand up in a Federal or International Court of Law. His visual information is then given to Intel guys to peruse and catalogue. Your analogy of photographing each weapon is I think quite correct because COMCAM supports the Intel element by aiding in the creation of Weapons catalogues / databases. I think it helps to think of guys like Scoop in an SSE setting as Crime Scene Photographers (Forensic Photography is part of the Special Mission Platoon's training IIRC). As a Special Mission Platoon trained camera operator, Scoop would have Basic Airborne (some get MFF and Dive depending on who they support, NAVSOF support guys get SCUBA and AFSOC get Air Crew training), Air Assault, Close Quarters Battle, Advanced Marksmanship, Tactical Driving, Combat Casualty Care, Tactical Communications, Forensic Photography and others) That's how I use him anyway. |
08-11-2017, 12:21 PM | #22176 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,018
|
How old do you consider Major Bludd, Wild Weasel and the Twins to be, and where do you think they fought before joining Cobra?
All three are described as having served in various African (and Latin American) wars (are there any other characters so described?). While the best known of those are Algeria, the South African wars with Angola, and the civil war in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, there were a whole lot of other wars between the '60's and '80's. Major Bludd was introduced in '83, and his file card reads: File Name: Bludd, Sebastian Grade: O-4 (Major) Birthplace: Sidney, Australia Primary Specialty: Terrorist Secondary Specialty: Weapons and Tactics Bludd received initial military training in the Australian Special Air Service. Later joined the French Foreign Legion. Worked as military advisor in a number of countries and is currently wanted for crimes in Rhodesia and Libya. Proficient with every form of infantry weapon in current use. Bludd has a tactical mind like a steel trap. Qualified Expert: All NATO and Warsaw Pact small arms. "Major Bludd writes poetry...badly: When you're feeling low and woozy/Slap a fresh clip in your Uzi!/Assume the proper firing stance/And make the suckers jump and dance! (from The Attica Gazette). *** Wild Weasel was introduced in '84, and his file card reads: File Name: Classified Birthplace: Classified Primary Specialty: Ground support pilot Wild Weasel cut his teeth in the bus wars of South America and Africa during the last decade. His knowledge of close support aircraft ranges from jury-rigged civilian conversions to ultra state-of-the-art flying weapons platforms. A mouth injury inflicted during a strafing run is rumored to be the cause of the characteristic sibilance in his speech pattern. Wild Bill says: "He may be a back-shootin', low down snake in the grass, but the boy can fly like nobody's business. You gotta respect the skunk for that! Hey-what did Voltaire say? To forgive our enemies their virtues-that is the greater miracle." *** The Twins were introduced in '85, and their file card reads: File Name: Classified Birthplace: Island in the Mediterranean Primary Specialty: Infiltration, espionage, sabotage, propaganda and corporate law Spell on the name TOMAX in capitals and and hold it up to a mirror. It reads XAMOT. The same holds true for the actual brothers. Each is the mirror image of the other except for a scar on Xamot's face. Both twins served with the Foreign Legion paras in Algeria before the officers Putsch. They honed their mercenary skills in the bush wars of Africa and South America. They were too smart to be soldiers forever. Went to Zurich and became bankers. They quickly found the ins and outs of international finance to be too haphazard for their tastes. They preferred a situation they could control. COBRA was willing to give them access to that control. Now they command legions. But their legions wear three-piece suits and fight their battles in executive board rooms. These then are the most fearsome of the COBRA adversaries. They don't fight with steel and claw, backed with muscle and honest sweat...The chase you with paper, wound you with your own laws and kill you with the money you loaned them. *** Bludd: The SASR was in Borneo from 65-66 (including participation in cross-border patrols under Op Claret) and in Vietnam from 66-71. It's plausible that Bludd participated in both actions, so assume he joined the Aussie Army at 18 in 1962 and left in 1967 at age 23. He then did 5 years in the Foreign Legion (leaving at 28 in 1972), serving in various African locations (including some counter-insurgency in Chad in 1969). That gives him plenty of time to fight in Rhodesia, and then in the Toyota Wars (and possibly train some IRA fighters in Libya on the side), and hit one or two other conflicts. WW: I suggest that he was born in Cuba. He joined the Cuban Air Force in 1959 at age 19 and was quickly transferred to Cuban intelligence. He then "defected" to the USA and became one of the pilots for the Bay of Pigs invasion, all the while feeding info back to Cuba. He later flew with paramilitaries in Congo during Operation Dragon Rouge (1964). He then flew in support of various Cuban-backed forces in various African conflicts (Angola, Biafra, Rhodesia, perhaps Chad) and Latin American conflicts (Nicaragua, El Salvador . . .). Question for Cobra: did he ever eventually sever ties with Cuba? Twins: The putsch was in 1961. Assume the twins were both 20 when that happened (so privates or very junior corporals in the Paras at that time). That would give them time to see the business opportunities in supporting wars of independence, fighting on the seceding sides and developing contacts in the world of black markets and underground finance in such conflicts. Here's a partial list of conflicts in Africa from the 60's through to the early '80's. It doesn't include coups, as the history of coups in post-colonial Africa would probably be longer than Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It also doesn't include Egyptian involvement in various wars against Israel. I've proposed some of the conflicts these three could have participated in in []. First Sudanese civil war: 1955 - 1972 Congo Crisis: 1960 - 1965 (attempted secession of Katanga and South Kasai) Angolan war of independence: 1961 - 1974 [Twins] Eritrean war of independence: 1961 - 1991 [Twins] Guinea-Bissau war of independence: 1963 - 1974 [Twins] Mozambique war of independence: 1964 - 1974 [Twins] Rhodesia Bush War: 1964 - 1979 [Bludd, WW and Twins] Chad civil war: 1965 - 1979 South Africa/Angola/Namibia war: 1966 - 1990 Nigerian civil war: 1967 - 1970 (attempted secession of Biafra) [WW, Twins] Eritrean civil wars: 1972 - 1981 Upper Volta/Burkina Fasa - Mali border conflict (Agachar Strip War): 1974 Western Sahara War: 1975 - 1991 Libyan - Egyptian war: 1977 Ethiopia-Somalia (Ogaden War): 1977 Uganda - Tanzania war: 1978 - 1979 Chad - Libya wars: 1978 - 1987 [WW] Casamance conflict (Senegal): 1982 - 2014 |
08-11-2017, 12:36 PM | #22177 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Toxo-Zombie Land
Posts: 1,728
|
Quote:
How old do you consider Major Bludd, Wild Weasel and the Twins to be, and where do you think they fought before joining Cobra?
All three are described as having served in various African (and Latin American) wars (are there any other characters so described?). While the best known of those are Algeria, the South African wars with Angola, and the civil war in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, there were a whole lot of other wars between the '60's and '80's. Major Bludd was introduced in '83, and his file card reads: File Name: Bludd, Sebastian Grade: O-4 (Major) Birthplace: Sidney, Australia Primary Specialty: Terrorist Secondary Specialty: Weapons and Tactics Bludd received initial military training in the Australian Special Air Service. Later joined the French Foreign Legion. Worked as military advisor in a number of countries and is currently wanted for crimes in Rhodesia and Libya. Proficient with every form of infantry weapon in current use. Bludd has a tactical mind like a steel trap. Qualified Expert: All NATO and Warsaw Pact small arms. "Major Bludd writes poetry...badly: When you're feeling low and woozy/Slap a fresh clip in your Uzi!/Assume the proper firing stance/And make the suckers jump and dance! (from The Attica Gazette). *** Wild Weasel was introduced in '84, and his file card reads: File Name: Classified Birthplace: Classified Primary Specialty: Ground support pilot Wild Weasel cut his teeth in the bus wars of South America and Africa during the last decade. His knowledge of close support aircraft ranges from jury-rigged civilian conversions to ultra state-of-the-art flying weapons platforms. A mouth injury inflicted during a strafing run is rumored to be the cause of the characteristic sibilance in his speech pattern. Wild Bill says: "He may be a back-shootin', low down snake in the grass, but the boy can fly like nobody's business. You gotta respect the skunk for that! Hey-what did Voltaire say? To forgive our enemies their virtues-that is the greater miracle." *** The Twins were introduced in '85, and their file card reads: File Name: Classified Birthplace: Island in the Mediterranean Primary Specialty: Infiltration, espionage, sabotage, propaganda and corporate law Spell on the name TOMAX in capitals and and hold it up to a mirror. It reads XAMOT. The same holds true for the actual brothers. Each is the mirror image of the other except for a scar on Xamot's face. Both twins served with the Foreign Legion paras in Algeria before the officers Putsch. They honed their mercenary skills in the bush wars of Africa and South America. They were too smart to be soldiers forever. Went to Zurich and became bankers. They quickly found the ins and outs of international finance to be too haphazard for their tastes. They preferred a situation they could control. COBRA was willing to give them access to that control. Now they command legions. But their legions wear three-piece suits and fight their battles in executive board rooms. These then are the most fearsome of the COBRA adversaries. They don't fight with steel and claw, backed with muscle and honest sweat...The chase you with paper, wound you with your own laws and kill you with the money you loaned them. *** Bludd: The SASR was in Borneo from 65-66 (including participation in cross-border patrols under Op Claret) and in Vietnam from 66-71. It's plausible that Bludd participated in both actions, so assume he joined the Aussie Army at 18 in 1962 and left in 1967 at age 23. He then did 5 years in the Foreign Legion (leaving at 28 in 1972), serving in various African locations (including some counter-insurgency in Chad in 1969). That gives him plenty of time to fight in Rhodesia, and then in the Toyota Wars (and possibly train some IRA fighters in Libya on the side), and hit one or two other conflicts. WW: I suggest that he was born in Cuba. He joined the Cuban Air Force in 1959 at age 19 and was quickly transferred to Cuban intelligence. He then "defected" to the USA and became one of the pilots for the Bay of Pigs invasion, all the while feeding info back to Cuba. He later flew with paramilitaries in Congo during Operation Dragon Rouge (1964). He then flew in support of various Cuban-backed forces in various African conflicts (Angola, Biafra, Rhodesia, perhaps Chad) and Latin American conflicts (Nicaragua, El Salvador . . .). Question for Cobra: did he ever eventually sever ties with Cuba? Twins: The putsch was in 1961. Assume the twins were both 20 when that happened (so privates or very junior corporals in the Paras at that time). That would give them time to see the business opportunities in supporting wars of independence, fighting on the seceding sides and developing contacts in the world of black markets and underground finance in such conflicts. Here's a partial list of conflicts in Africa from the 60's through to the early '80's. It doesn't include coups, as the history of coups in post-colonial Africa would probably be longer than Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It also doesn't include Egyptian involvement in various wars against Israel. I've proposed some of the conflicts these three could have participated in in []. First Sudanese civil war: 1955 - 1972 Congo Crisis: 1960 - 1965 (attempted secession of Katanga and South Kasai) Angolan war of independence: 1961 - 1974 [Twins] Eritrean war of independence: 1961 - 1991 [Twins] Guinea-Bissau war of independence: 1963 - 1974 [Twins] Mozambique war of independence: 1964 - 1974 [Twins] Rhodesia Bush War: 1964 - 1979 [Bludd, WW and Twins] Chad civil war: 1965 - 1979 South Africa/Angola/Namibia war: 1966 - 1990 Nigerian civil war: 1967 - 1970 (attempted secession of Biafra) [WW, Twins] Eritrean civil wars: 1972 - 1981 Upper Volta/Burkina Fasa - Mali border conflict (Agachar Strip War): 1974 Western Sahara War: 1975 - 1991 Libyan - Egyptian war: 1977 Ethiopia-Somalia (Ogaden War): 1977 Uganda - Tanzania war: 1978 - 1979 Chad - Libya wars: 1978 - 1987 [WW] Casamance conflict (Senegal): 1982 - 2014 My JOEs are definitely established in the eras they were created for, beginning with 1964 and the introduction of the "original action figure." None of their adventures go past 2002 (which is where the DDP series ended in my mind) and every new figure / character introduced since then is established in this hazy never-ending year so that age isn't too big a factor. (JOEs never retire in my mind!) |
08-11-2017, 04:47 PM | #22178 |
W.O.R.M.S. Commander
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Back in the US of A! (NoVA)
Posts: 10,649
|
Wow. Growing up those three have always been my favorite Cobras. (I count the twins as one unit) it was always that mercenaries army aspect to them that attracted me to all of them. Did anyone else read Soldier of fortune magazine in the 80s. I figure the twins to be around 30 at their introduction in 85 so no conflicts before 73 for them but more like 76 if they have prior military.
Wild Weasel who knows how old he is? Maybe a little older with prior military service. So turns mercenary in 75 if, he had college and 4 years military as a pilot, presuming hes 35 in 1984.
__________________
Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. |
08-13-2017, 11:50 AM | #22179 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,018
|
Quote:
Wow. Growing up those three have always been my favorite Cobras. (I count the twins as one unit) it was always that mercenaries army aspect to them that attracted me to all of them. Did anyone else read Soldier of fortune magazine in the 80s. I figure the twins to be around 30 at their introduction in 85 so no conflicts before 73 for them but more like 76 if they have prior military.
Wild Weasel who knows how old he is? Maybe a little older with prior military service. So turns mercenary in 75 if, he had college and 4 years military as a pilot, presuming hes 35 in 1984. |
08-13-2017, 06:27 PM | #22180 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Toxo-Zombie Land
Posts: 1,728
|
Quote:
The thing with the twins is that it specifically mentions the officers' putsch, and that was in 1961 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algiers_putsch_of_1961), so they had to be at least in their early 40's when they were introduced.
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Please Help! Need filecards! | RockinHard | G.I. Joe Buy Sell Trade | 2 | 10-26-2008 06:14 PM |
Need filecards! | RockinHard | G.I. Joe Buy Sell Trade | 18 | 10-24-2008 09:17 PM |
Filecards Wanted!!!! | RockinHard | G.I. Joe Buy Sell Trade | 5 | 10-17-2008 10:25 PM |
Filecards Wanted! | RockinHard | G.I. Joe Buy Sell Trade | 5 | 10-05-2008 04:15 PM |
Quaid Spills Secrets on "G.I. Joe" | HissCommander | G.I. Joe News and Rumors | 108 | 10-01-2008 11:23 AM |
|
|