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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/MediumSavings4968 on 2024-06-15 07:48:13+00:00.
Not sure if this one counts as Malicious compliance but you guys tell me
So My dad (Born in the early 1950s) volunteered and enlisted in the marines (willingly i might add at the age of 17 near 18 ). He stayed in the marines for a "full tour" during the Vietnam war effort. but dad was disappointed to find out due to the surviving son clause he would never get to see battle. Dad worked hard as a missile tech, support and then he was reassigned to a desert base (not named). He was made part of a special operation group that tested out the latest weapon systems from the developers.
So one day the Sargent (SGT). walks in and ask for volunteers to fire a band new radar aimed gun system. (Noted here that it was Radar-aimed, but still required for someone to sit in the chair and actually fire the thing.) it was designed for Anti-Air defense but they wanted to see if it could repel ground based units, or at the least suppress them. The room got excited as everyone wanted to be part of it, but nobody wanted to sit their keister in the firing chair. The SGT Screams at everyone saying there has to somebody in here whose good at aiming a gun. Suddenly everyone started recommending my dad. voices called out :
“get bobby (name changed for privacy) over there, he’s the craziest SOB whom ever shot a gun”
“yeah bobby, he’ll shoot anything”
“bobbys, the best aim out of all of us”
“bobby tests stuff like this all the time”
yeah, they pawned off the duty to my dad. My dad didn’t know the difference and he liked shooting anything new and classified. (now declassified and way way obsolete.) The SGT. grabs dad and "nominates " him for the job.
So they drive dad out to the test site and was given the scenario.
SGT: Your target, marines, are somewhere in the distance. he points at a dot in the distance. what we have here is a fake contingency of troops, armor and equipment. tonight in the bles-sed A.M. you men will set this gun system up as fast as possible. then you will fire the weapon, giving it all hell! is that understood?
Dad & his team: sir, yes sir!
My dad and his team do some test runs just with the setup and then gets some shut eye.
So about 2 AM, the siren goes off. Dads team, half dozed but ready and alert, race to the to the equipment. They hook it to a jeep and drive it to position. they put it in place putting the anchors down. the gun comes online. dad gets his targets on Radar. Dad lets the gun go crazy on the target
Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak (etc.)
the gun fires whats feels like dozens of rounds. dad checks the radar screen and looks puzzled.
The SGT asks him: WHAT IN THE HECK HAPPENDED MARINE?!
Dad: well sir Im not at all sure. I shot the heck out of the target but according to radar its still standing there, its still pinging me back.
THE SGT: DID YOU MISS? DID YOU JUST GET YOUR PLATOON WIPED OUT! DID YOU FAIL YOUR FELLOW MARINES?! DID YOU FAIL YOUR MISSION?!
THE SGT: BREAK IT ALL DOWN AND DO IT AGAIN.
My dad and his team break it all down pull the system back to the base camp.
So about 3 AM, the siren goes off. Dads team race to the to the equipment again. They hook it up, drive to the position. they anchor and dad gets his targets on Radar. Dad lets the gun go crazy again.
Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak (etc.)
the gun fires more rounds. dad checks the radar screen and still puzzled. the targets remain. The SGT checks his the screen over.
The SGT: YOU JUST WIPED OUT YOUR ENTIRE BATTALION BY MISSING MARINE. I TOLD YOU TO NAIL THE TARGET AND DIDNT BRING ONE DOWN!
Dad: but Sarge listen Im almost certain were hitting it. by my calculation the targets should be Swiss cheese by now. I think we should inspect the targets first before we waste more rounds
THE SGT: YOU THINK? YOU THINK MARINE? YOUR ORDERED TO SIT IN THAT CHAIR A THIRD TIME AND WELL THIS TIME WE WILL BE A PERFECT RUN AS I WILL SUPERVISE THE WHOLE SHIBANG!
4 AM hits. My dad and the team are in perfect sync. If you slowed it to the slow motion, you would see them moving in the grace of any dance troop. the gun gets setup in the fastest time on record. dad aims and fires
Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak (etc.)
dad, warm in the chair says "sir were hitting it but
The SGT: FIRE MARINE
Dad: but sir …
(OK Que Malicious Compliance.)
The SGT (Interrupting): I SAID FIRE MARINE! FIRE NOW!
Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak (etc.)
The SGT: FIRE TILL EITHER YOU EXPEND YOUR AMMO or YOU OVERHEAT! AM I CLEAR?!
Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak Klak (etc.)
Dad’s team reloads the weapon system as the ammo runs low again and again until the ammo is out. Id say it was a minute from overheating, at least by dads word.
Dad checks the radar. the target remained. The Sargent throws his hat and binoculars on the ground. (Don’t know why he had them, it was night and the target even with the binoculars couldn’t be seen. )
at 5 am and first dawn they drive toward the targets. the targets grow in size.
The targets ended up being : 2 Sherman tanks, two half tracks and a bunch of scarecrow dummies. (all originally headed for the scrap heap). with a brick wall that had been half hastily set up behind it.
everyone was surprised to find dads gun had turned them all into Swiss cheese. they were able to shine lights thru huge holes in the armor plating, the dummies were missing whole sections of their chests heads and other even knocked off their posts. The half tracks were all but nothing, and the back wall had huge divots. obviously the bullets had gone clean through the armor and hit the back wall.
Dad (murmurs smug) : think it worked Sarge. Think I hit it.
The sarge threw his hat to the ground and did a little rage dance upon it. (yeah this is about as close you are gonna get to fallout )
Another “detail” went out later that day to not only clean up the mess but they started running metal detectors over the sand around and behind the targets. the system had accurately hit its targets without bullet spray around the area. The metal detector team found bullets that had gone thru the wall. the weapon array went on to be scrapped before mass production. dad never got those details (Who knows budget, efficiency, Feasibility, who really knows, ). The gun’s control and aim system would end up being used in a variety of systems later on until that became obsolete.
That Sargent gave dad every fire control job and testing system after that until he was discharged.