Pentagon Wars - Bradley Fighting Vehicle Evolution

As a former Bradley driver...you know what would have been nice....AIR CONDITIONING!!!!

"If we don't understand our own military doctrine then our enemies sure as hell can't."

Came here as soon as I heard that two Bradleys just defeated a T-90M using only it’s 25mm guns

“In a few more months we could get this thing to fly” Don’t tell Mike Sparks

“Say! Can this thing go to the moon?” “No sir” “Why not! Sounds like a design flaw!”

"El presidente chimichanga" As a south american i approve and pledge to vote for El Presidente chimichangas

Just watched the Bradley Knock out a T-90. "The General says add more ammo"

I love this movie, but after 2 deployments to Baghdad as an Infantry Bradley driver and dismount I love the Bradley even more. It was almost perfect for our needs in Baghdad. We got that thing with it's track turning capability through some of the tightest streets in the city.

They made a movie about the engineer who designed this, it was called 'Falling Down'

I just noticed that the colonel keeps losing more and more hair over time

"Do you want me to put a sign on it in fifty languages 'I'm a troop carrier, not a tank please don't shoot at me'"? Has me in stitches.

This movie and the book it was based on were written by a guy who basically tried to make a career out of taking down Bradley as a project because he was linked to a wider group of Pentagon insiders adjacent to the fighter mafia, who were critical of the kind of new tech-heavy weapons systems being procured by the military during the 60s, 70s and 80s. The makers of the film make its arguments about the Bradley seem very convincing to a civilian audience, but they leave out a lot of key context and details about what kind of vehicle the Bradley was meant to be, what happened during its development and how successful it ended up being.

I've worked in large corporations. This made me laugh until I cried. Mostly cried.

Can't wait for the sequel featuring the F35 Lightning.

"I've been a Bird Colonel so long I'm growing feathers". This one hits home. My dad was Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant (Army) in 1979. He was promoted to 1st LT after 3 months. He made Captain after 3 years. He made Major after 7 years of service in 1986. He retired in 1999 after 20 years of service as a Major. He was in the Artillery and after Desert Storm he had two options; 1. Go from full time Army, to part-time Army (Reserves), or 2. Go be a jailer at Fort Leavonworth. He took the Leavenworth job, but he wasn't happy about it. He retired and has a nice pension now. He works in Sports Medicine now. He's happy.

The Bradley was developed as an IFV from the start in response to the Soviet BMP-1 IFV. An IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) is a step up from an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier). The BMP-1 carried infantry, had gunports for the infantry to fire their AK's from the inside, had a turret with a 73mm gun, a 7.62mm machinegun and had an Anti-Tank Guided Missile Launcher. So, unsurprisingly, the US and other NATO nations wanted to match that.

"Of course steel is much heavier than aluminum. So it won't go as fast." The way he says it is pitch perfect. Like he's pointing at a picture book drawn in crayon.

".....use a gun. And if that don't work? Use more gun." -An Engineer, on solving problems.

Fun fact: the guy who wrote and provided the information for pentagon wars not only lied the entire way through the book, most of his credentials are also made up. Turns out, he was the one who had no idea what the actual vehicle was designed for in the first place, nor did he have any idea what the tests being done were trying to demonstrate.

Meanwhile in Britain. "Who designed this." "Three nutters in a shed." "Excellent."