Terrain Training Tuesday: Moving with a Tank

If Van Halen can do it, so can you!

Given what a favoured place tanks hold within my heart, you will often have to move with tanks. When you must move as fast as the tanks, you should ride on them. However, riding on a tank makes you vulnerable to all types of fire. It also reduces the tank's manoeuvrability and the ability to traverse its turret. If contact is made with the enemy, you must dismount from the tank at once.

To mount a tank, first get permission from the tank commander. Then mount from the tank's right front, not its left side where the coax machinegun is mounted. Once mounted, move to the rear deck, stand, and hold on to the bustle rack. If there is not enough room for you on the rear deck, you may have to stand beside the turret and hold onto a hatch or hatch opening.

Mmmmmmm, even I think this may be over doing it....

When riding on a tank, be alert for trees that may knock you off and obstacles that may cause the tank to turn suddenly. Also be alert for enemy troops that may cause the tank to move its turret quickly and fire.

Riding on a tank is always hazardous and should be done only when the risks of riding are outweighed by the advantages of riding.

Terrain Training Tuesday: Move like a Commando (Part 6)

MOVING WITHIN A TEAM, I don't like it but sometimes you just have to work together....

As a HiiRagi minion, you may have to move as a member of a team. Small teams, such as infantry fire teams, normally move in a wedge formation. Each minion in the team has a set position in the wedge, determined by the type weapon he carries or skill set. That position, however, may be changed by the team leader or HiiRagi to meet the situation. The normal distance between minions is 10 meters as we all like a bit of personal space.

You may have to make a temporary change in the wedge formation when moving through close terrain. The minions in the sides of the wedge close into a single file when moving in thick brush or through a narrow pass. After passing through such an area, they should spread out, again forming the wedge. You should not wait for orders to change the formation or the interval. You should change automatically and stay in visual contact with the other minions and the team leader.

The team leader leads by setting the example. The standing order is, FOLLOW ME AND DO AS I DO. Actually I think that's a standing HiiRagi order regardless. When they move to the left, you should move to the left. When they get down, you should get down. When they fire, you should fire. Unless they pull this move:

Personally I'm not into the Meerkat routine....it has being taken out written all over it

When visibility is limited, control during movement may become difficult. Two l-inch horizontal strips of luminous tape, sewn directly on the rear of the helmet camouflage band with a l-inch space between them, are a device for night identification, meaning don't attack another minion by mistake. Night identification for your patrol cap should be two l-inch by 1/2-inch strips of luminous tape sewn vertically, directly on the rear of the cap. They should be centered, with the bottom edge of each tape even with the bottom edge of the cap and with a l-inch space between two tapes. Yeah, looking cool....reflective....

Dr Seuss and Burning Man 2011

I quite like Dr Seuss. I actually probably like his book "oh, the places you'll go" the best out of all of them.

I quite like Burning Man Festival too. It's based on some really cool principles like self reliance, radical inclusion and leaving no trace. It seems like Mad Max has come to life and crossed with Steam punk. I'm not too into the feral hippy vibe but you can't have everything. Anyway, I found this video via Cool Hunter and it's pretty sweet.



I want to go. I think really I like the idea of it but if I went to it I'd get really pissed off with the people really quickly and have to leave. I don't like crowds or being trapped places or the excessive heat. Actually I think it may turn out to be my worst nightmare. I think I'll just stay at HQ and watch the video. The Recon Units and Berserkers would love this.

Oh, and keep an eye out for all the cool goggles.

Sculpture Inspiration: The goggle obsession continues

The City of Lost Children...so beautiful yet creepy. Awesome design work though.

I love the little winches or gears at the side here, brassy goodness.

Steampunk...crossed with a gimp, I'm thinking....

These are cyclops night vision infrared stealth goggles. Of course they are.

These are way cool (or should I say rad?!) and sourced from here.

Johnny in Sleepy Hollow, being all scientific and stuff.

Terrain Training Tuesday: Move like a Commando (Part 5)

WE ARE ON THE MOVE PEOPLE!

This section helps to guide you for immediate actions you should take when reacting to enemy indirect fire and flares (no, they’re not just for boating…).

REACTING TO INDIRECT FIRE
If you come under indirect fire while moving, quickly look to your leader or HiiRagi for orders, which will probably be run out of the impact area in a certain direction or follow. If this does not happen or you cannot see your leader, but can see other team members, most will tell you to follow them. Don’t. This is your chance to shine and take over the group for your own much more important cause of HiiRagi World Domination. If alone, or if you cannot see your leader or the other team members, run out of the area in a direction away from the incoming fire and then begin plotting your next diabolical move.

It is hard to move quickly on rough terrain, but the terrain may provide good cover. In such terrain, it may be best to take cover and wait for flares to burn out. After they burn out, move out of the area quickly.

REACTING TO GROUND FLARES
The enemy puts out ground flares as warning devices. He sets them off himself or attaches tripwires to them for you to trip on and set them off ( I never said they weren’t crafty). He usually puts the flares in places he can watch because we all enjoy a good light show, what a loser…

If you are caught in the light of a ground flare, move quickly out of the lighted area. The enemy will know where the ground flare is and will be ready to fire into that area. Move well away from the lighted area. While moving out of the area, look for other team members. Try to keep the team together.

REACTING TO AERIAL FLARES
The enemy uses aerial flares to light up vital areas. They can be set off like ground flares; fired from hand projectors, grenade launchers, mortars, and artillery; or dropped from aircraft. We should totally have some.
If you hear the firing of an aerial flare while you are moving, hit the ground (behind cover if possible) while the flare is rising and before it bursts and illuminates.

If moving where it is easy to blend with the background (such as in a forest) or you are a ninja and you are caught in the light of an aerial flare, freeze in place until the flare burns out. They will never see you.
If you are caught in the light of an aerial flare while moving in an open area, immediately crouch low or lie down.
If you are crossing an obstacle, such as a barbed-wire fence or a wall, and get caught in the light of an aerial flare, crouch low and stay down until the flare burns out.

The sudden light of a bursting flare may temporarily blind both you and the enemy. When the enemy uses a flare to spot you, he spoils his own night vision. To protect your night vision, close one eye while the flare is burning. When the flare burns out, the eye that was closed will still have its night vision.

Next week, it's time to learn to move within a team. We don't like it but sometimes you just have to suck it up.

Robots and Goggles

There have been some developments at HQ in the way of outfits and accessories for the Army, in particular Recon Units. When you are such an integral part of the Army you need cool tools and accessories to help get the job done. First up we have Goggles. I love goggles and they are an important part of any military or survival outfit. These are the first ones off the construction line and they will be further developed but it's a start.

Return of the Army

Ok. We're back. We made it through Christmas and New Year. And it IS a question of Survival, if you can make it through that unscathed then you're on your way to being the ultimate survival minion. Hope it was a good one and to kick off the new year here's an awesome gocco print from Rosemary Travale (found via Pikaland):

Yeah....I think it's well and truly time for the word "rad" to return to all of our vocabulary. Go on, use the word 'rad' to describe something today, for example, "The HiiRagi Army is so frickin' RAD". You know it.