1) Doing something productive right now is better than figuring out
the best plan tomorrow.
2) Friendly fire - isn't.
3) Recoilless rifles - aren't.
4) Suppressive fires - won't.
5) You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
6) If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
7) Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want
to waste a bullet on you.
8) If at first you don't succeed, call in an airstrike.
9) If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.
10) Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
12) Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
13) If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
14) The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.
15) The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions:
a) when they're ready.
b) when you're not.
18) Five second fuzes always burn three seconds.
20) A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
22) The easy way is always mined.
23) Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot
at.
24) Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire.
For this reason, it is not at
all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.
25) Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
26) If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat
zone.
27) When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.
28) Incoming fire has the right of way.
29) No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
30) No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.
31) If the enemy is within range, so are you.
32) The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming
friendly fire.
33) Things that must be shipped together as a set, aren't.
34) Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that
way.
35) Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.
36) Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially
during both.
37) Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.
38) Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won't be able
to get out.
39) Tracers work both ways.
40) If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get
more than your fair share of objectives to take.
41) When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both
right.
42) Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous
amateurs.
45) Weather ain't neutral.
46) If you can't remember, the Claymore is pointed towards you.
47) Air defense motto: shoot 'em down; sort 'em out on the ground.
48) Flies high, it dies; low and slow, it'll go.
51) Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
52) B-52s are the ultimate close support weapon.
53) Sniper's motto: reach out and touch someone.
54) Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity.
55) The one item you need is always in short supply.
56) Interchangeable parts aren't.
60) Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.
61) If the Platoon Sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
62) Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down,
never stay awake when you can sleep.
63) The most dangerous thing in the world is a Second Lieutenant with
a map and a compass.
66) The enemy never watches until you make a mistake.
67) One enemy soldier is never enough, but two is entirely too many.
68) A clean (and dry) set of BDU's is a magnet for mud and rain.
69) The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
70) Whenever you have plenty of ammo, you never miss. Whenever you
are low on ammo, you can't hit the broad side of a barn.
71) The more a weapon costs, the farther you will have to send it away
to be repaired.
72) The complexity of a weapon is inversely proportional to the IQ
of the weapon's operator.
73) Field experience is something you don't get until just after you
need it.
74) No matter which way you have to march, its always uphill.
75) If enough data is collected, a board of inquiry can prove anything.
76) For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. (in
boot camp)
77) Airstrikes always overshoot the target, artillery always falls
short.
78) When reviewing the radio frequencies that you just wrote down,
the most important ones are always illegible.
79) Those who hesitate under fire usually do not end up KIA or WIA.
80) The tough part about being an officer is that the troops don't
know what they want, but they know for certain what they don't want.
81) To steal information from a person is called plagiarism. To steal
information from the enemy is called gathering intelligence.
82) The weapon that usually jams when you need it the most is the M60.
83) The perfect officer for the job will transfer in the day after
that billet is filled by some unqualified idiot.
84) When you have sufficient supplies & ammo, the enemy takes 2
weeks to attack. When you are low on supplies & ammo the enemy decides
to attack that night.
85) The newest and least experienced soldier will usually win the Medal
of Honor.
86) A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think
of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
88) Beer Math --> 2 beers times 37 men equals 49 cases.
89) Body count Math --> 3 guerrillas plus 1 probable plus 2 pigs equals
37 enemies killed in action.
90) The bursting radius of a hand grenade is always one foot greater
than your jumping range.
91) All-weather close air support doesn't work in bad weather.
92) The combat worth of a unit is inversely proportional to the smartness
of its outfit and appearance.
93) The crucial round is a dud.
94) Every command that can be misunderstood, will be.
95) There is no such place as a convenient foxhole.
96) Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever
volunteer to do anything.
97) If your positions are firmly set and you are prepared to take the
enemy assault on, he will bypass you.
98) If your ambush is properly set, the enemy won't walk into it.
99) If your flank march is going well, the enemy expects you to outflank
him.
100) Density of fire increases proportionally to the curiosity of the
target.
101) Odd objects attract fire - never lurk behind one.
102) The more stupid the leader is, the more important missions he
is ordered to carry out.
103) The self-importance of a superior is inversely proportional to
his position in the hierarchy (as is his deviousness and mischievousness).
104) There is always a way, and it usually doesn't work.
105) Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when the
General is watching.
106) The enemy never monitors your radio frequency until you broadcast
on an unsecured channel.
107) Whenever you drop your equipment in a fire-fight, your ammo and
grenades always fall the farthest away, and your canteen always lands at
your feet.
108) As soon as you are served hot chow in the field, it rains.
109) Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.
110) The seriousness of a wound (in a fire-fight) is inversely proportional
to the distance to any form of cover.
111) Walking point = sniper bait.
112) Your bivouac for the night is the spot where you got tired of
marching that day.
113) If only one solution can be found for a field problem, then it
is usually a stupid solution.
114) You can get shot doing anything, including doing nothing.
115) Your vehicles are bullet magnets; a moving foxhole attracts attention.
116) Ammo is cheap, your life isn't.
117) It's easier to expend material in combat than to fill out the
forms for Graves Registration
118) Just because your target falls silent or starts to smoke, don't
assume you got the bastard; that's your signal to blast him all to hell.
119) KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
120) A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.
121) Incoming fire has the right of way.
122) There's no such thing as a "sucking chest wound," all chest wounds
suck.
123) Duct tape is the solution to most any field problem.
124) When in doubt, empty the magazine.
125) Murphy was a grunt.