Fort Lewis Exercise - 1978
I'm unsure of the date on this exercise as none of these photos were marked in the big black album. I can narrow it down a bit by the members' rank shown. There's Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Wickett, Bombardier Stuart Mont, Warrant Officer Dag Gruban. These all point to the exercise taking place sometime between 1976 and 1979. Of course, there is also the possibility that photographs from TWO exercises are depicted as 40 year old albums may have been re-arranged at some time in their life. Any additional information you might have would be appreciated.
I'm sure that anyone that has ever brought a camera to the field on an exercise has tried to capture the gun in full recoil. I'm also sure that 40 years from now when these pictures were taken there will be cameras in existence where that is no longer a great feat as it was in 1978.
The gun coming into action appears to be that of Sergeant David Levien with Mike Meehan in the background as either the exercise Medic or Troop Sergeant Major.
The group shot having their morning coffee clearly shows Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Wickett with his morning cigar, Bombardier Stuart Mont talking to Mike Hennessey? with Sergeant Darlene Amos in the back of the Power Wagon doling out the coffee. In the middle of the group appears to be Lieutenant CI Young and possibly Bombardier Alan Edward.
Great shots of Gunner Leon Pesklevits as number 2.
Don Friedsam is wandering away from the Command Post area where the deuce and a half modifications that Sergeant Leon Jensen made is still running, hidden under its fishnet camouflage net. Appears to be a conversation with Master Warrant Officer Fred Rossi and Lieutenant CI Young while Don Friedsam is in discussion in the background.
The last photo shows Warrant Officer Dag Gruban by the ammo truck and possibly a young Noel Dykes in the back.
The gun coming into action appears to be that of Sergeant David Levien with Mike Meehan in the background as either the exercise Medic or Troop Sergeant Major.
The group shot having their morning coffee clearly shows Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Wickett with his morning cigar, Bombardier Stuart Mont talking to Mike Hennessey? with Sergeant Darlene Amos in the back of the Power Wagon doling out the coffee. In the middle of the group appears to be Lieutenant CI Young and possibly Bombardier Alan Edward.
Great shots of Gunner Leon Pesklevits as number 2.
Don Friedsam is wandering away from the Command Post area where the deuce and a half modifications that Sergeant Leon Jensen made is still running, hidden under its fishnet camouflage net. Appears to be a conversation with Master Warrant Officer Fred Rossi and Lieutenant CI Young while Don Friedsam is in discussion in the background.
The last photo shows Warrant Officer Dag Gruban by the ammo truck and possibly a young Noel Dykes in the back.
Helicopters are a great place to take some awesome photographs from. A Kiowa from 408 Squadron has provided some excellent views of the impact area in Fort Lewis and a river tour.
The photos demonstrate the ability of the Air OPs to obtain views of the dead ground that is obscured when viewed from the ground OPs.
The last few photographs show the view of the Battery deploying in the wood line at the edge of the impact area and how easy it is to detect vehicles in the open.
The last shot is North Fort Lewis.
Just as I was placing the captions I realized the very obvious error that I might have made in placing these photos in 1978. They might have been in the album immediately after the Ft Lewis photos above, they are absolutely from Ft Lewis....but, they appear to have the new 5/4 T CPs. What year were the photos taken??
The photos demonstrate the ability of the Air OPs to obtain views of the dead ground that is obscured when viewed from the ground OPs.
The last few photographs show the view of the Battery deploying in the wood line at the edge of the impact area and how easy it is to detect vehicles in the open.
The last shot is North Fort Lewis.
Just as I was placing the captions I realized the very obvious error that I might have made in placing these photos in 1978. They might have been in the album immediately after the Ft Lewis photos above, they are absolutely from Ft Lewis....but, they appear to have the new 5/4 T CPs. What year were the photos taken??
We also have another series of photos from Fort Lewis in 1978. Are they the same exercise?
