Night Distribution Percentage

[76mm]

I just recalled some other specific issues from my days in a tank that have evidently scarred me for life regarding night operations: during Desert Storm my tank company was, of course out in the middle of the desert. At that time, I was tank company XO and so one of my duties was to make the rounds of all the tanks at stand-to (on foot), to ensure that they were up and about in accordance with standing orders.

I forget the exact time at this point, but stand-to was generally an hour or so before sunrise, ie just before it started getting light. And I have to tell you that on many of those mornings--again, in the middle of the open desert while looking for friendly tanks in a relatively tight perimeter--I could see so little that I literally had to walk around with my hands in front of my face to avoid walking into a tank before seeing it. And, although I'm admittedly kind of a klutz, several times I fell flat on my face when I stumbled on a little divot or a deep track print.