Fire Power

Last weekend Bob and I had the opportunity to attend a Live Fire Exercise at the National Guard Training Facility. Bob is on a committee that is studying Joint Land Use with the base and surrounding cities. You might remember his Ride Of A Lifetime a few weeks ago. Well last weekend was another fabulous experience. This time he was able to invite someone to come along and I was that lucky someone.

We donned a Kevlar helmet (very heavy), hearing protection and shuttled out to the firing range. We were invited to join the firing crew inside a Paladin (think tank) and fire off a Howitzer. Bob fired off 2 rounds while I video taped the whole show. As the "onsight photographer" I sat on a little shelf in the back of the Paladin, my back resting on the ammo for 5 rounds of fire. The newspaper's video I took turned out best. Check it out HERE.

We were amazed that the aftershock was worse outside the vehicle than it was inside. It was a great ride as the tank rocked back after fire and then rested back down. All the while the computer calculating the recoil and adjusting for accuracy.

It was lots of fun. We came away amazed at the fire power in our own back yard.