WISDOM FROM MILITARY MANUALS

'If the enemy is in range, so are you.' - Infantry Journal-

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'It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.' - US.Air Force Manual -

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'Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons.' - General MacArthur -

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'You, you, and you ... Panic. The rest of you, come with me.' - U.S. Marine Corp Gunnery Sgt.-

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'Tracers work both ways.' - U.S. Army Ordnance Manual-

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'Five second fuses only last three seconds.' -Infantry Journal -

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The three most useless things in aviation are: Fuel in the bowser; Runway behind you; and Air above you. -Basic Flight Training Manual-

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'Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once.' - Maritime Ops Manual -

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'Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.' - Unknown Marine Recruit-

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'If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him.' -USAF Ammo Troop-

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'Yea, Though I Fly Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 50,000 Feet and Climbing.' - Sign over SR71 Wing Ops-

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'You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3.' -Paul F. Crickmore (SR71 test pilot)-

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'The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.' -Unknown Author-

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'If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage it has to be a helicopter -- and therefore, unsafe.' - Fixed Wing Pilot-

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'When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane, you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.' -Multi-Engine Training Manual-

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'Without ammunition, the USAF is just an expensive flying club.' -Unknown Author-

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'If you hear me yell;"Eject, Eject, Eject!", the last two will be echos.' If you stop to ask "Why?", you'll be talking to yourself, because you're the pilot.' -Pre-flight Briefing from a 104 Pilot-

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'What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots? If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; but If ATC screws up, .... the pilot dies.' -Sign over Control Tower Door-

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'Never trade luck for skill.' -Author Unknown-

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The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in military aviation are: 'Did you feel that?' 'What's that noise?' and 'Uh Oh' or (appended from the Arkansas Air National Guard):"Hold my beer and watch this!" -Authors Unknown-

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'Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.' -Basic Flight Training Manual-

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'Mankind has a perfect record in aviation - we have never left one up there!' - Unknown Author -

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'Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it.' - Emergency Checklist-

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'The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.' - Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot) -

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'There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.' -Sign over Squadron Ops Desk at Davis-Montham AFB, AZ-

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'If something hasn't broken on your helicopter, it's about to.' - Sign over Carrier Group Operations Desk-

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'You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal.' - Lead-in Fight er Training Manual -

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As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck arrives. The rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks,'What happened?' The pilot's reply: 'I don't know, I just got here myself!'

Remember: there are more airplanes in the sea, then submarines in the air.