Tango01 | 19 Oct 2019 9:20 p.m. PST |
For experience… I don't think so… YouTube link Amicalement Armand |
Stryderg | 19 Oct 2019 10:07 p.m. PST |
Oh dang. I watched the Dr. Squatch commercial and then closed the page (yeah, they are that funny). |
Thresher01 | 19 Oct 2019 10:17 p.m. PST |
Nah, you can use it to open those MREs. Before those were issued they used to use them to open tin cans, instead. |
brass1 | 19 Oct 2019 10:32 p.m. PST |
I remember spending almost as much time on bayonet training as on rifle training at Fort Bragg in 1968. After basic and AIT, I was never issued a bayonet anywhere I was stationed, stateside or overseas. Admittedly, this may have been because the Army supply system was apparently a dumping ground for people too stupid to be trusted with firearms, but whatever the reason the Pentagon saw no point in giving high priority to issuing bayonets to troops who, if they were issued bayonets, would use them largely for punching holes in recalcitrant cans and carving their initials on pretty much everything but rarely, if ever, in combat. The short version is: "Yes, I think the bayonet is useless." LT |
Uparmored | 19 Oct 2019 10:50 p.m. PST |
The Australian commander at Long Tan regretted that most of his troops weren't carrying bayonets. They didn't actually need em in the end but if heavily engaged elements of D Company 6RAR hadn't been successfully resupplied with ammo via helicopter drop just before running out, it would have been rifle stocks and fists vs the enemies fixed bayonets. |
nickinsomerset | 20 Oct 2019 2:07 a.m. PST |
Ask the Iraqi insurgents after the Danny Boy ambush, no the bayonet is not useless, Tally Ho! |
TimeCast | 20 Oct 2019 3:03 a.m. PST |
Not in the British Army… link link link 21st Century Bayonet Charges In the last ten years, British troops have resorted to the bayonet to break impasses in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan. In May, 2004, a detachment from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders surprised a force of 100 insurgents near Al Amara, Iraq with a bayonet charge. British casualties were light, but nearly 28 guerrillas were killed. And as recently as October of 2011, a British Army lance corporal named Sean Jones led a squad of soldiers from the Prince of Wales Royal Regiment in a bayonet charge against Taliban fighters in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. After being ambushed and pinned down by militants, the 25-year-old ordered his squad to advance into a hail of machine gun fire. "We had to react quickly," Jones remarked. "I shouted ‘follow me' and we went for it." He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions. Even in an age of GPS-guided bombs, unmanned drones and network-centric warfare, 300-year-old technology — like the simple bayonet — can still carry the day. |
Bigby Wolf | 20 Oct 2019 3:17 a.m. PST |
Concur with TimeCast & Nick- they don't like it up 'em! |
bsrlee | 20 Oct 2019 3:52 a.m. PST |
My grandfather was fined 2/6 for using his bayonet to carve his monogram and escutcheon into the abutments of the railway bridge he was guarding in WW1, there by shortening his bayonet by a couple of inches. |
StoneMtnMinis | 20 Oct 2019 4:44 a.m. PST |
The bayonet, just like every other weapon, is useless until you need it. |
Chalfant | 20 Oct 2019 6:31 a.m. PST |
Not as useful as the rifle, but for the price of fabrication and actual weight, the bayonet continues to be a very cost effective solution to some of life's little problems. My thoughts are they are not issued as often to peace time duty stations to prevent guys from stabbing each other in the barracks. Chalfant |
Maggot | 20 Oct 2019 10:37 a.m. PST |
As a young infantryman several decades ago, I remember several weeks of RBFT (rifle bayonet fighting techniques) in infantry school, never to be repeated again on active duty. I understand that the US infantry school has replaced this with a much more extensive hand to hand course (we had two weeks of "combatives" which were just simple judo throws) much like the USMC, based on experience from Iraq and Afghanistan. And infantry school is slated to be almost six weeks longer than what I did (21 or 22 weeks versus 13 when I was in). I did happen to see several videos of US troops in combat in Iraq with their bayonets attached from around 2007 or so; not sure the situation, though. The problem when I was in, and now, is can it even be mounted? We usually went to the field with 7 men per squad, two short of full complement. Four of those would have had SAW or M203-can't put a bayonet on either. The other three would have likely had early laser sights which if I remember were placed very near the bayonet notch on the M16A2. I got out before wide spread issue of the M4 carbines. From what I saw and heard from comrades who went to the sand boxes was that rifles were quickly burdened with laser sights, nights sights and other implementia that generals think are great but Joe Infantryman hates to carry and only rarely used. I I only remember carrying a bayonet once to JRTC. It did have a nifty notch that you could use to make an impromptu wire cutter. |
Zephyr1 | 20 Oct 2019 9:02 p.m. PST |
Never underestimate the intimidation power of a sharp, stabby thing… |
Old Wolfman | 21 Oct 2019 7:05 a.m. PST |
And if you have one,you're never out of ammo;just match the tools and tactics to the job. |
Bigby Wolf | 21 Oct 2019 8:27 a.m. PST |
@Maggot: Fascinating. Thank you. |
USAFpilot | 21 Oct 2019 8:49 a.m. PST |
"Is the Bayonet useless?" Topic It is; until it isn't. |
Andy ONeill | 21 Oct 2019 11:45 a.m. PST |
There was an sas man killed an insurgent with a claw hammer when his gun jammed. A fair few of the encounters in the green zone were pretty close range link |
Tango01 | 21 Oct 2019 12:03 p.m. PST |
USAF Pilot + 1. Amicalement Armand |
Lion in the Stars | 21 Oct 2019 12:59 p.m. PST |
It does make a very … pointed indication that the guys carrying them are ready and willing to get all the way into 'bad-breath range' to make sure they win the argument. (pun totally not intended, but I'm keeping it) |
Uparmored | 21 Nov 2019 3:22 a.m. PST |
Timecast, cool stories man. |
jamemurp | 21 Nov 2019 6:28 a.m. PST |
+1 USAFpilot While the bayonet as an impromptu spear device is outdated, a soldier should always have a close in weapon, especially is tight quarters like urban environments. Getting rushed in a building means even a carbine can be unwieldy and a knife/machete/etool close at hand will make a world of difference. |