Mortars and False Flags

I couldn't remember the model number of the mortars we had in Berlin, but I looked it up, and the M29 looks almost identical except the base plate was a little different. A mortar is defined as a high angle or indirect fire weapon. That means the barrel is always elevated more than 45 degrees in relation to level ground. With a direct fire weapon, an increase in the angle of elevation moves the round's impact farther down range, all other factors being equal. With indirect fire, it's just the opposite, the higher you elevate the barrel, the closer the round's impact moves towards the gun. Most artillery can fire either direct or indirect, but mortars can  only fire indirect. Another distinguishing characteristic is the way mortars are loaded. The round is dropped down the barrel by hand, and the fixed firing pin is located at the bottom end. When the round makes contact with the firing pin, a primer charge is ignited which, in turn ignites propellant charges that are clipped to the stabilizing fins. Those fins are probably what gave Old dog the impression that a mortar round is a rocket, but it's not really. The propellant charges burn all at once, bang, while a rocket carries it's fuel with it and burns it relatively slowly by comparison. The advantage of mortars is that they can shoot over obstacles like hills or trees, and the gun crew does not need see the target. The guy who needs to see the target is the forward observer, and that's all he needs to see. The FO calls in the target location by radio to the fire direction controller, who calculates what the gun crew needs to do to put its rounds in the vicinity of the target. First round hits are rare, and the FO calls in corrections to the FDC, who recalculates and tells the crew to fire another round. They keep doing this until they get a hit, and then fire for effect.

I took the three year option for the same reasons that Old Dog did, but I didn't make such a wise choice of career paths. I wanted to go to Vietnam but, at the time, the only people they had there were Special Forces. Before I could join Special Forces I had to become Airborne (paratroopers) and, before I could become Airborne, I had to become Infantry. By the time I finished basic training, I changed my mind about the whole program and, the only way I could get out of it, was to give up my career choice and remain in the Infantry, which I did. Shortly after I got to Berlin, I heard that they were no longer requiring the two year guys to spend another two years in the active reserve, so I didn't gain a thing by taking the three year option.

I said at the time that I didn't think Trump wasn't trying to win the election. I figured his mission was to give the Republicans a bad name. Some of the pundits were saying the same thing, accusing Trump of running a "false flag campaign". Uncle Ken disagreed, believing that Trump was exactly what he appeared to be. Trump's conduct since he was elected tends to confirm Uncle Ken's opinion, but you never know. Trump used to be a TV actor, and those people can play any part that is assigned to them.