[tears of the sun weapons]

I've never heard of a HARM with a white phosphorous warhead, either. Another discrepancy is the radio they use. The RO is carrying a UHF radio, which is strictly line of sight, but talking to the ship like he is using an HF radio, which can talk long distances. You can tell it's UHF from the "donkey dick" style antenna. I know you can't expect too much from Hollywood, but if they're going to go through trouble of using actual tactics (i.e. the peel they do when trying to break contact), it'd be nice if they could get some of the other minor details correct.

[Platoon Leadership Class]

PLC has a few options. You can do ground, air, or law. I don't know too much about the law program, but I'm fairly experienced with ground and air contracts, since I had a ground contract myself, and I've worked on applications for both. PLC requires that you complete at least one semester of college before applying, unless you are prior service. You can choose to do two 6-week sessions of OCS (caled PLC Juniors and PLC Seniors), usually after your freshman and junior years, or one 10-week session (called PLC Combined), usually after your junior year. These summer sessions are your only requirement, there are no requirements during the school year. You can get tuition assistance, up to $7000. However, the last $5200 of that incurs an additional 18-month obligation, on top of your original 42-month obligation (for a ground contract). An ROTC scholarship or a service academy is the only way to get your entire tuition covered by the military. However, both involve additional commitments, especially during the school year. If PLC is the route you want to take, your best bet is to find the USMC Officer Selection Office closest to your college of choice, and contact the OSO.

I chose PLC mainly because it allowed me to stay in the Marine Corps Reserve. If I had gone the NROTC route, I would have been discharged. However, most people find it attractive because it doesn't involve any commitment during the school year. The financial benefits are obviously inferior to an ROTC scholarship, so I suggest you investigate both avenues, especially since you still have a good bit of time left.

OCC is a program for college graduates. It is a 10-week course at OCS, virtually identical to PLC Combined, except that everyone is commissioned once they complete the course. In PLC, you will be commissioned the day before your college graduation.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. I did recruiter's assistance with my OSO after commissioning, so I'm a little more experienced with the process than the average lieutenant.

[AN/PAQ-4 Textures]

Thumper, the PAC-4C, which Dannik linked to, is an infrared laser pointer. The dot produced by a PAC-4C or a PEQ-2A is only visible to someone using NVDs. The PEQ-2A, which Cobra has provided a picture of, not only has the laser beam, but also an IR floodlight/spotlight, which lets you illuminate a dark room, again only visible if using NVDs. Gives the good guys a tremendous advantage at night, allowing us to essentially point and click. Also gives leaders a way of designating targets for their Marines or soldiers. The PAC-4C and PEQ-2A can be mounted to most of the weapons in a rifle company's arsenal, including M16s, M4s, SAWs, M240Gs, and SMAWs.

Speaking of which, has anyone thought of doing a SMAW model? It would be more realistic than carrying AT-4s, since the SMAW is reloadable.

[The Assault & MOUT Training]

I don't think it's a matter of ability, they COULD have taken the building, but chose to use TOW missiles from the SBF. The US military has never been known for sticking to the idea of proportional force, which has earned us some criticism. Oh well, better to fire 10 TOW missiles at a house than have 1 US soldier needlessly killed. Kudos to TF20 and the Puking Buzzards.