Camp Holloway Discussion Forum - Research Archive - 11/11/00 to 01/21/10

Murphy's Law of Combat

Murphy' s Law's of Combat:
Some old, some new: A lot of grunt stuff.

· You are not a superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
· If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.
· Don't look conspicuous - it draws fire. (This is why aircraft carriers are called bomb magnets.)
· When in doubt, empty your magazine.
· Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.
· Field experience is something you get ten minutes after you need it.
· The cost of a weapon has a direct correlation with how far you have to send it to get it fixed.
· Happiness is a belt-fed weapon.
· Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.
· Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
· If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
· No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.
· If the enemy has done nothing for the past half hour while you dig in it's probably because they've been in the tree line right behind you the whole time.
· If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission properly.
· Who cares if a laser guided 500 lb. bomb is accurate to within 9 feet?
· Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid.
· Any ship can be a minesweeper... once.
· There is no such thing as a perfect plan.
· All five-second grenade fuses will burn down in three seconds.
· Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
· If at first you don't succeed, call in an airstrike.
· If you are forward of your position, the artillery will fall short.
· The enemy diversion you are ignoring is the main attack.
· There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
· You can win without fighting, but it's a lot harder to do. And the enemy may not cooperate.
· A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
· Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.
· The important things are always simple; the simple things are always hard.
· The easy way is always mined.
· The only terrain that is truly controlled is the terrain upon which you're standing.
· The law of the bayonet says the man with the bullet wins.
· The easy way gets you killed.
· If you are short of everything except enemy, you are in combat.
· When you have secured an area, don't forget to tell the enemy.
· Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
· Incoming fire has the right of way.
· Friendly fire isn't.
· Recoilless rifles - aren't.
· Suppressive fire - won't.
· If the enemy is in range - SO ARE YOU.
· No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
· No unit that ever passed inspection has passed combat.
· Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.
· Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.
· Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support desperately.
· Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially during both.
· Anything you do can get you killed - including doing nothing.
· Tracers work both ways.
· The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
· Make it tough for the enemy to get in and you can't get out.
· When both sides are convinced that they are about to lose, they are both right.
· Professional soldiers are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs.
· If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.
· Whenever you lose contact with the enemy, look behind you.
· Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
· Fortify your front; you'll get your rear shot up.
· Weather ain't neutral.
· The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map.
· The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small.
· If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap.
· There is nothing more satisfying than having someone take a shot at you, and miss.
· If your sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
· If you can't see the enemy, he still may be able to see you.
· Ammo is cheap, your life isn't.
· The only time you can have too much ammo is when you are drowning or you are on fire.
· You'll wrong radio.
· The enemy invariably attacks on one of two occasions: 1.When you're ready for them. 2.When you're not ready for them.
· Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy someone else to shoot at.
· If you can't remember, the claymore is pointed at you.
· When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
· Air defense motto: shoot 'em down; sort 'em out on the ground.
· 'Flies high, it dies; low and slow, it'll go.
· The Cavalry doesn't always come to the rescue.
· Napalm is an area support weapon.
· B-52s are the ultimate close support weapon.
· Sniper's motto: reach out and touch someone.
· Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity.
· The one item you need is always in short supply.
· Interchangeable parts aren't.
· It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.
· Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
· A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
· Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever volunteer to do anything.
· It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.
· The side with the simplest uniforms wins.
· Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.
· If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you may have misjudged the situation.
· If two things are required to make something work, they will never be shipped together.
· Why does your 500-watt VRC-26 (real old) not make it across 200 miles while a ham with 50 watts on the same MARS frequency can be heard from Stateside?
· Murphy was a grunt, only remember your hand grenades when the sound is too close to use them.
· Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Messages In This Thread

Murphy's Law of Combat
Re: Murphy's Law of Combat