MOVIE: The Original ‘CONTACT’
Paras in Northern Ireland 1970’s, based on a book by the same name. Good training movie, old school.
It is based in the rural areas in South Armagh, near the border with the Republic, known as ‘bandit country.’
Before we were in Iraq, before we were in Afghanistan, before we were in the Balkans, we were in Northern Ireland.
There is a lot of patrolling in the video, interspersed with violent action, and it’s pretty realistic. It’s not call of duty navy seal spec ops. It’s guys on constant patrols.
Note how much the young officer, the patrol leader /platoon commander, takes on himself.
If you watch closely, you will note the satellite patrolling technique, with the 12 man ‘multiple’ broken down into 3 x 4 man ‘bricks.’ As you watch it, note that it is a rural area, and consider having to patrol your AO, around your small community or retreat, with potential for incursions from hostiles, perhaps even shoot and scoot type tactics as employed in the movie.
In the ambush, the primary team is initially pinned down, but then they go ‘hard and fast’ after the ‘shoot and scoot’ style enemy attack. With the satellite teams moving up rapidly on the flanks.
Oh yeah:
1) Counter IED tactics have moved on since the movie!
2) If you support terrorism, fuck you.
Here is the link to a previous post with the Paras TV series from 1983, including some good training (episode 6 for some live firing): VIDEO series: ‘The Paras’
Why?
Because….
Max
That might possibly be the stupidest thing you have ever written.
Since when do you support State sponsored jack booted thuggery? FUCK YOU!
Have you any idea of the terror these ‘paras’ inflicted on Irish Catholic men, women and children? Being dragged out of their beds and beaten, spit upon, incarcerated and tortured in the middle of the night.
You do realize you are talking about an occupying force sent by an Imperialist nation from 300 miles away across the Irish Sea? A nation that forbid my people their language, culture and religious beliefs. A nation that bled and starved Ireland for over 600 years.
I guess one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter eh Max?( or whatever your real name is).So much for 4GW aye?
I never took you for OPFOR until this moment, glad you showed your true colors you POS.
Excellent. I had a feeling that this would drag some of the morons out into the open. Oh, the misguided romantic notions of Northern Ireland some Americans have!
You need to educate yourself. I was in fact one of those ‘paras’ you quote. I did 4 operational deployments to Northern Ireland, I was also born there. Do you realize that Northern Ireland is not Ireland? That the majority of Northern Ireland (NI) is loyal to the United Kingdom? That it is democratically part of the UK? Irish terrorists have no more right to have NI than Mexican Cartels have to ‘take back’ Texas, or Arizona, or New Mexico. Try applying some of your same logic to that situation, and you would end up supporting Aztlan.
I am frankly sick of this BS romanticism. Supporting liberty is not the same as supporting terrorism in NI or anywhere else. Imperialist nation, WTF? That’s my home country you fuck. You think you have the right to blast the UK with impunity, why? Because there was a split with the mother country in 1776? That’s right, hate the Brits.
As to your comment about ‘OPFOR’ I have no idea what you mean? I am a liberty minded American. I serve in the US Army. You have too many assumptions, in your ignorance, about who is on whose side. I am most certainly not on yours, you ignorant eejit.
As for ‘the boys’ – terrorists on bot sides, Republic and Loyalist, were nothing more than drug cartels running guns and drugs and causing fear and sectarian killing. They bombed marketplaces full of women and children. They were no better than ISIS. But oh how funny, immediately after 9/11 funding for NORAID, that paid for so much death thru collection jars in Boston pubs, dried up. It’s not as romantic when terrorism happens to you.
So no, I am proudly a PARA. I fought those assholes, and we lost people. I am a trainer for liberty minded Americans not tin foil hatted morons like you.
Fuck you.
It never ceases to amaze me how people will let emotion get in the way of a good source of training info or techniques,or even kit. I’ve seen people get bent about others using AKs because its Communist in origin or camo that comes from Germany, Russian or former Eastern Block…
I remember one day someone gave me shit for using WWII German camo on a survival drill. They called it Nazi camo and went on about Nazis and other dumb irrelevant shit because they could get passed their own hang ups. Well then I guess by their measure Woodland US camo is Republican camo. Its bullshit emotional posturing I suggest folks get a grip on and focus on the big picture.
“all that hates gonna burn you up, kid”..and don’t tell me it keeps you warm..
If you get bent because of everything thats placed out for you to use because you don’t agree with some politics that may or may not be attached to it, you’ll never learn anything if you worry about the source or who might have used it or not.
Free your minds and your ass will follow..
Bergmann
The last major bombing from your “freedom fighters” was as recent as ’98. In that attack, they killed somewhere close to 30 people, all civilians, and included protestants, catholics and foreign tourists. There is a long list of bombings and murders of civilians, police and not to forget the soldiers. From you BS post, it is clear that you support that kind of action because of some historical grievance of “your people”.
Thankfully those days are over, and we are all now BFFs, so much so that Britain has bailed out the Irish economy to the tune of $30Bn since 2008 just to stop it sliding back in to financial ruin and mass unemployment. So much for the poor oppressed Irish (of which I count close family members and friends living in Ireland and UK).
It seems to me your perspective is somewhat retarded. Things have moved on a lot since Brad Pitt’s blockbuster.
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I got the impression from “Contact” the troops were very tired all the time. It seemed each time one of the lads got shot or blown up it came while slogging along (almost?) carelessly. Was that a factor or am I reading too much into it?
They were slogging, long patrols, but don’t read too much into it because they were actors. It was done well though and the gunfire was accurate.
Interesting video, but Geez Louise, doesn’t anyone wear a helmet??? I know they are heavy but no way am I fighting a war without a helmet on my head.