Heavy Military Hardware (Tanks etc.) train transported in Santa Cruz today

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
Look at the camouflage pattern, doesn't look like Iranian sand, more like rain forest or Afghan

The terrain in Iran is definatly not just desert. Iran has mountains, forests etc..

Found a link for Iranian tourism. Might not be the safest place for Americans to go right now though

www.chavvosh.com...

Originally posted by Mkoll
Anybody have any ideas on where we might want to deploy forest camo Bradleys?

No, but it's reasonable to assume that tanks can be REPAINTED ... and maybe this is what this is, they are all on the way to get a sand-camo? Just my $0.02

Maybe they're going to the NTC at Ft.Irwin.I was a scout in the Cav and the vehicles were put on trains to get there.

i havnt read everyone's comment yet, but is it possible there getting refitted? they don't look like they are finished yet, unless they take off the turrets for transport.

but thats my guess.

love and harmony
Whateva

reply to post by cavtrooper7


Yup, I'm thinking the same thing, we put all our armor and such on a railhead from Ft Hood to transport

ETA: you were in the cav too? Same here! HHC 1/8 Cav 1 CD
Garry Owen!!!

Originally posted by revmoofoo
WOW! That was a long train. I did start counting the tanks, but got bored and played with my cats instead. lol

Rev

I got to 99 before the video ended.

1.) Rail is probably the most efficient method to transport these things across a country. So probably easier to do one single haul then 50 different ones via flatbed trucks.

2.) The tanks all have their barrels and firing mechanisms removed, likely for safety concerns traveling through states and probably regulations... Same reason I have seen hummers with the enclosed canopies being shipped without a .50 cal mounted atop.

3.) Tanks can be painted for any theatre they go into. And probably is done in the field even if in a hurry... So just because they are forest green doesn't mean they are being shipped to somewhere Europe or south America.

My guess? They are being taken out of mothball storage from somewhere. Maybe these are 1990's Bradlys and are going to be upgraded? I can't see why they would have them still painted in national guard colors.

I also so an interesting documentary where damaged vehicles are stripped back down, destroyed parts replaced and refitted and then rearmed to go back into the field. But I doubt we lost 150 Bradleys in action.

Other interesting point, is there was also the fuel trucks that are attached to these units, being transported. So it does seem that could be some evidence of a sort of activation... Either training in the open spaces of USA or...

Probably just preparing to go to war with Iran...

holy snappin duck sh*t.....if australia has bought them.....then we have probably just doubled our tanks we own

I've spent most of my life living quite close to train tracks(in PA) and have seen plenty of trians like this. they travel to and from a near by military camp/base. i have many storys from my childhood about them, but i'll bite my tongue on this one.

That's a lot of Bradley variants.
The train was carrying 2 different variants from what I saw, divided by that other set of wheeled vehicles.

It reminds me of all the trains conspicuously loaded with equipment, vehicles and hardware the first gulf war, then again with Iraq and Afghanistan.

It might be something to note that these are all detailed woodland green; not typical of what you'd expect of a desert environment.
Someone's probably already mentioned all this though.
That's what I get for being late to the party

Originally posted by funnybones
OMG there loads of them where was the train going do you now

www.sierra.army.mil...

This is where they are going. They are either new or refurbs. They do not have their main guns yet for safety reasons. They will leave this place to go anywhere in the states or the world. Given the paint job they could be going anywhere but the desert unless they absolutely need them there and then they would paint them in country.

I used to watch tanks on the test track in Warren Michigan. Gen Dynamics had a plant there. Not sure where they make them now. Down south I think.

San Diego is a huge Navy base. Maybe they will go on a gator freighter there.

There are a grand total of three places in the world I can see this many (forest camo) Bradleys being useful:

- Iran, in the mountain and forested regions of the north near the Caspian Sea, or Azerbaijan (suggesting an invasion through Turkey with a rapid-strike armored push

- Korea

- The United States

Can anyone identify the variants? There were at least two.

reply to post by klhbrown


i counted around 120 vehicles, 110 bradly tanks and 10 Oshkosh HEMTT M978 A2 tankers. although from the looks of it they are not armed.

definitely something happening worldwide. i visited france recently (summer-ish) and the on main motorways every other vehicle was an army unit which on a re-thought is now strange. i think we are on the eve of something

the lot of you get spooked when you see a trainload of non-armed bradleys dont you? I live like 2 miles south of camp Pendleton and I'm used to seeing 3-4 OD painted APCs with tan colored hummves rolling down the 76, whole convoys on the I5 heading down to Miramar on nearly a weekly basis, a couple of Chinooks and Blackhawk flying here and there every few hours... honestly nothing to fret about. If these Bradleys were heading down here I wouldn't worry too much, they're most likely going to be used for exercises.

While youre watching this video, remember that we HAVE NOT declared war on ANYONE.

Obama = Dictator

Maybe Mitchell Combs (however it is spelt) prediction of an earthquake and massive flooding coming soon to California is true, and they are just moving their toys out of harms way, I doubt it of course but it is a remote possibility, remote being the operative word her of course.

It does seem a huge amount of APC's being moved, they are not tanks by the way. There are lots of possibilities why they are being transported, I would tend to lean towards it just being what it seems, the transportation of military equipment from one camp to another for a run of the mill training exercise

Maybe they are on their way to some large facility to get painted sandy tan color. Then once painted, they head for middle east?