s Mise: I was really thinking of mines that 'nasty' people had buried and who may or may not have put a grenade under their mines.

No, I never deloused any of our VC laid M18's. On the last light Clearing Patrol we would lay a couple of M18's on the tracks out the front & a Claymore then pick them up on the morning clearing Patrol. One Safety pin under the 3 little spikes & the Safety Retaining clip below that & it was safe again. Heaps o' times. We were pretty blasé about the whole procedure. I could even do now with my eyes closed even now.

The Yanks gave us the M79 too. Great, except the early ones armed about 3 feet out from the barrel. Good stuff in close Country, eh. The Yanks recalled all the 40mm ammo & adjusted the Arming range to 15 feet. Better. but still a bit of a shock in Close Country. ;-) It was all a learning experience for the Yanks as well as us too. Don't forget this was the start of "The Helicopter War" in Vietnam & we were all learning. The early M16's didn't have the Bolt assist & would jam if they got dirty from Carbon build up. Then there was the problem with the Flash Hider which was a three pronged thing which got tangled in everything. Many a young soldier nearly shot his own toes off. (Runnin' throu' da Jungle) The later ones were replaced with the enclosed Flash Hider.

I've been minding my families two dogs & two cats. One beautiful quite unflappable very old Husky, Buddy. & Harry, Hairy Humpin', Hypo, Harry. about a rat sized mixture. We had big storms the other night (SE Qld) & Buddy was frantic I sat with him for most of the night. In the morning the neighbour came through the gate & Buddy took off. By the time we got dressed & looked for him he had got into the Farm next door & was coming up the fence on the wrong side. The Farmer could see we were calling him. He called Buddy over & shot him in the head. We called the police & I described what had happened & the weapon used. A 7 shot .22 Colt Peacemaker with a 9.5" barrel. He has waved it in my face a few times over the side fence. All the Cop could say was, " How do you could you identify that it was a Colt Peacemaker. We didn't have .22 pistols in the Army." I was a bit pissed off with the Copper.

I think every boy of our age grew up with a toy one for a start. Besides I was my Units unofficial Armorer. They don't teach Additional Stripping & Assembling in the ARES & I am proficient in everything from a Shanghai to a 105mm Recoilless Rifle & most Russian Weapons.

Apparently nothing could be done because he has more than 40 Acres & "I knows my rights, & if any dog comes on my property I will shoot it & did."

Unfortunately, Buddy belonged originally to one of those bad Bikie boys from the Gold Coast & Cutting toes off is his thing. He's in jail. My Son-in-Law has a Mail Run & this guy gave him the dog to look after. They went to America for 6 weeks & we are looking after their Pets. Now Buddy dead & the Guy will be have to informed as to what happened. Strangely I don't feel sorry for the Farmer.

Sorry, I just had to talk.

That's OK Jayb, a nasty experience, I share you unconcern for the farmer.

Did you ever see an M16 with leprosy?
We got quite a few in Base Wksp for repair; it was eventually put down to the diet of our soldiers being richer in meat and consequently salt.
What was happening was that the sweat was eating pin holes in the hard outer skin of the aluminium castings, particularly above the pistol grip, then the corrosion would spread fairly quickly in the softer inner metal then break out, looked nasty but didn't overly weaken the rifle.
Edit Comment

'evening to you JAYB...

You talk all you like my friend. Speaking of equalisers the M18A1 worked a treat if staged correctly, like all mines they had their limitations, though their blast effect was amazing. Out to 30 yards, if you were in the 80 degree fatal zone, you were history.

That was a weak act to have shot 'Buddy'? Doesn't the farmer know dogs don't like thunderstorms or any other sustained loud noises? Whether the dog's on his 40 acres or not, common sense, and a bit of humanity should've indicated the dog was either lost, frightened by the weather or whatever? What's the point of shooting him, makes him a big man, all because the law allows him to do so?

The copper's first question should've been directed to the actual legality of his 'piece' this .22RF Colt Peacemaker. Wouldn't he need a regular pistol licence to legally own the thing in the first place?

I dunno mate the world's stuffed, shooting a harmless dog who's only crime, he was so frightened to innocently venture on to this 'hero's' farm, what a maggot!

Buy more submarines - BUT they had better be remote controlled.
I think we would be better of buying and stocking up on ICBM's.
STORY
http://www.theage.com.au/national/public-service/hello-sailor-navy-offers-50000-per-man-in-bid-to-keep-sub-fleet-afloat-20160203-gml880.html
Navy offers $50,000 per man in bid to keep sub fleet afloat.

Sailors on Australia's submarines will be given annual lump sum payments of up to $50,000 just for staying in their jobs as navy bosses grow increasingly desperate to keep crews on the boats.

The navy's high command hopes the big money offer will end their long struggle to hold on to enough sailors to maintain Australia's vital submarine warfare capability.

The unprecedented offer of different pay and working conditions to one arm of a Defence service follows a frank admission by top naval brass that the ranks of Australia's submarines crews are under-strength and fragile.

Navy personnel have been told that submariners will have their salaries topped-up by between $15,000 and $50,000, according to experience, each year they continued serving with the sub fleet, either on land or sea.

Under the "deliberately differentiated employment conditions" (ddp) those who take to the water will continue to receive their submarine maritime disability allowance and maritime sustainability allowances, along with the new lump sums in what is hoped to be a powerful financial incentive to stay with the subs or to sign up with the service.

But the lump sums will replace existing retention payments.

Sailors will be able to cash-out some the large leave balances they accumulated in recent years and the submariners's leave arrangements will be reformed in a move to offer greater work-life balance.

In his message to all his personnel, Chief of Navy Tim Barrett did not try to gloss over the problems his force had experienced trying to keep a well-trained force of submariners in their jobs.

Crew shortages were a key reason behind the navy's struggles to keep a full force of Collins Class subs in the water, although the technical issues dogging the Collins boats have improved in the past three years.