Blast-in-place posted on YouTube: "Canadian Soldiers Blowing Up...House for Fun"

[McG]

Here is the latest update:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/SOMNIA/article2312457/

The video shows Cbt Engr destroying an enemy ammo cache.  In other words, it was a legitimate target and its destruction contributed to greater local safety.

 

[Good2Golf]

Unlocked.  Points of discussion related to the situation specifics, please.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I have a purely practical interest in the lovely, big, shiny explosion.  :nod:

For those who know more about this than me (lots), how much and what type of explosive would be used in this type of firework? My best guesstimate would be about the equivalent of 5 lbs of PE?

I'm also guessing that the only line of sight view in the crowd was the camera, with everyone else being safely 'turrets down'.

 

[dogger1936]

"Lt.-Col. Lemay said he “cannot justify” the laughter, but speculated it could be laughing at a successful demolition, or nervous laughter."

Maybe I can.

When you spend 8 months searchin out Taliban (EN of the Islamic state) who coward and hide in the civilian populis; this is a victory. Taliban owned this building which served as a cache to make IED's that maime and kill not only NATO forces but many times innocent bystanders who are driving their tractors to their field.

We do whats right over there. And while I won't go into details we have continually put the LN's safety well above our own at all cost. Hence our very very very minute civilian CAS.

I justify the laugther as these men just saved many Canadian soldiers, and many LN lifes.

 

[Good2Golf]

This, or any other structure in a similar situation, ceased being a "house" when it was used by insurgent forces to cache weapons and explosives.  In that regard, it was the Taliban who in fact robbed the rightful owners of their home; transforming the structure into a storage area for illegal weapons that was, for safety's sake, best resolved through destruction in place.

I agree with dogger1936 that the source of soldiers' laughter is in no way connected to a disregard or lack of respect for the family that the Taliban displaced, but rather from the excitement of proximity to such a large detonation.  How many folks who have been nearby the receiving end of a burst of GAU-8 30mm fire from an A-10 not had some kind of emotion linked to wonderment or excitement?


Regards
G2G

 

[dogger1936]

Not to mention enemy explosives found this way is slightly "more amusing" than finding it going off in under you along RRS/ riverbed or various other travel routes.

And yes some of us find anything exploding to be a "job perk".

Io believe we have shown the LN's nothing but respect for their land; albeit sometimes a wall has to o or this building....but it's never for fun.

 

[armyvern]

I have a purely practical interest in the lovely, big, shiny explosion.  :nod:

For those who know more about this than me (lots), how much and what type of explosive would be used in this type of firework? My best guesstimate would be about the equivalent of 5 lbs of PE?

I'm also guessing that the only line of sight view in the crowd was the camera, with everyone else being safely 'turrets down'.

Turrets down or distanced at a safe radius. Camera could be zoomed right in. The SMEs at this stuff are also very good at calculating radius required. If you listen to the video's beginning again, you can hear one of the troops ask if the task OPI whether he "is going to give us a countdown."



I don't see anything wrong with the laughter in the video either; these troops knew this controlled det was going to be huge --- it was them who charged it up to blow. I'd be happy to see the shit go too; that shit was a weapons cache intended to be used against us, our allies, civilian populace. The area was cleared of people and they knew no pers were at risk of harm during the det, just happy to see it go sky high safely.

I suspect the Taliban had the exact opposite reaction and cursed out loud when this went as they'd have been more happy to see it going boom while killing us, our allies, civilians. Funny that.

 

[MJP]

I'm also guessing that the only line of sight view in the crowd was the camera, with everyone else being safely 'turrets down'.

Right, Yes  of course everyone was safely "turrets down -nod head in agreement slowly as furtive looks go around the room"

 

[sappermcfly]

I have never witnessed a blast ever, that did not have the same oohhhs ahhhss , laughing and expletives. It is almost like it is part of the drill, as it is something to see, regardless of how many times you have done it.
The more seasoned guys may not get as excited, but inside they are!

Completely normal reaction, and maybe that Col ought to go to a range one day. Sure he will have the exact same reaction.

 

[Kat Stevens]

I'm part of the range clearance crew on the Mattawa in Pet, and at 50 I'm one of the youngest guys there.  We've seen a crapload of things go bang over the years between us.  We still giggle like schoolgirls on a successful demo day, or when a 4.5" HE high orders.  We enjoy it when things go bang in a controlled manner, nothing wrong with that.

 

[daftandbarmy]

This, or any other structure in a similar situation, ceased being a "house" when it was used by insurgent forces to cache weapons and explosives.  In that regard, it was the Taliban who in fact robbed the rightful owners of their home; transforming the structure into a storage area for illegal weapons that was, for safety's sake, best resolved through destruction in place.

I agree with dogger1936 that the source of soldiers' laughter is in no way connected to a disregard or lack of respect for the family that the Taliban displaced, but rather from the excitement of proximity to such a large detonation.  How many folks who have been nearby the receiving end of a burst of GAU-8 30mm fire from an A-10 not had some kind of emotion linked to wonderment or excitement excrement?


Regards
G2G

Fixed that for you  ;D

 

[Timmy!]

How many folks who have been nearby the receiving end of a burst of GAU-8 30mm fire from an A-10 not had some kind of emotion linked to wonderment or excitement?

Is it wrong for me to say I had a "hard on"? May be I need to talk to my quack doctor more often.

 

[SupersonicMax]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the video itself, however publishing that video on YouTube (or not keeping it for you personal collection) is a very bad judgement call, IMO.  General Joe Public doesn't always understand all the aspect of a task and what is behind the end result, and can see a very different thing than what is really happening in the video. 

Bottom line:  If you film/take picture of something with CF personnel or equipment in it, don't release it unless approved by the CoC.  Keep it for yourself.

 

[Sythen]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the video itself, however publishing that video on YouTube (or not keeping it for you personal collection) is a very bad judgement call, IMO.  General Joe Public doesn't always understand all the aspect of a task and what is behind the end result, and can see a very different thing than what is really happening in the video. 

Bottom line:  If you film/take picture of something with CF personnel or equipment in it, don't release it unless approved by the CoC.  Keep it for yourself.

So bringing videos like this, which have nothing really negative in them, to the light which in turn forces an otherwise ignorant media or populace to hear the reality of it and learn those things they don't understand is a bad thing?

 

[brihard]

So bringing videos like this, which have nothing really negative in them, to the light which in turn forces an otherwise ignorant media or populace to hear the reality of it and learn those things they don't understand is a bad thing?

Essentially, yes. 'Killing people and breaking things' is something the Americans do; we're there to rebuild a destroyed society into something that might someday reach an approximation of 'peaceful.  We've created an imperialistic artificiality where the peaceable possession of hundreds of pounds of ammonia nitrate and diesel fuel fertilizer explosive - which has been a cultural norm since practically Alexander the Great - is suddenly 'wrong' because we say so.  The Afghans have been getting along just fine with such ordnance since well before we were there, and it's only trying to subject them to our own relativistic moral values that suddenly makes 'inappropriate' things that they are simply their way of life.

A man's home is his castle; castles are normally of some historical significance, and so it's grossly wrong for us to be BIPing historical architectural wonders. Isn't that exactly what we condemned the Taliban for at Bamiyan with the Buddha statues?

 

[Good2Golf]

...A man's home is his castle; castles are normally of some historical significance, and so it's grossly wrong for us to be BIPing historical architectural wonders...

 

[Timmy!]

Troll?

 

[brihard]

Troll?

Oh, you'd better believe it. When Sythen and I met and subsequently discovered each other was on here and under what handle, the subject of some of my posts coming across as a bit lefty came up. I figured there was some room for humour here if I walked a thin enough line..

 

[Timmy!]

It's cool by me.. free forum.

 

[cupper]

How many folks who have been nearby the receiving end of a burst of GAU-8 30mm fire from an A-10 not had some kind of emotion linked to wonderment or excitement?

Unfortunately I can think of one group on the receiving end who weren't all in awe, but that's an entirely different, sad, story.