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Posted: 5/12/2014 5:51:01 PM EDT
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I know this is a technical forum, but I didn't want to post this in GD because I actually want some serious and true stories.
Anyways, what are some of the greatest experiences you have had while using your night vision devices? This could be hunting, camping, site seeing, ect. As you can tell, I have been trying to justify a PVS for a while now. Anyways, this post is not about me and my justification issues, but a place to tell your favorite night vision stories. Go! |
| For me it has to be the first time I put my PVS-14 up to my eye and looked through night vision for the first time. That was an incredible feeling that I don't know if it can be matched, I was simultaneously awestruck and had the biggest shit eating grin on my face. I also enjoy seeing peoples reaction to looking through it for the first time, it is always some form of "HOLY SHIT" or "WHOA" etc... |
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I took my wife out to the horse pasture in pitch dark and asked her if she could see the horses.
She said no. I handed her the TNVC ITT Pinnacle GEN III PVS-14 Night Enforcer and asked her to look through it, she knew nothing about NV. She gasped and said, "You are not supposed to be able to do that!" 
Meaning that God did not allow for humans to be able to see like that at night for the previous couple of million years...... 
I asked her to look up at the sky and see if she could see the stars. She gasped again and said, "Oh My God!" 
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| I was out looking over a field and kept seeing what looked like whispy shadows darting back and forth across the field. I hit them with an ir flashlight only to discover they were a pair of coyotes chasing mice. I must have watched them for 20 minutes or better darting around and having fun. They got as close as 20 yards to me without realizing I was there leaning against the post. I cleared my throat and they where gone, like a fart in the wind. |
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I know this is a technical forum, but I didn't want to post this in GD because I actually want some serious and true stories. Anyways, what are some of the greatest experiences you have had while using your night vision devices? This could be hunting, camping, site seeing, ect. As you can tell, I have been trying to justify a PVS for a while now. Anyways, this post is not about me and my justification issues, but a place to tell your favorite night vision stories. Go! I read this and realized that I've never used NVG's for hunting, camping or sight seeing. People do that? I've only used them for work during training or overseas. |
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For me it has to be the first time I put my PVS-14 up to my eye and looked through night vision for the first time. That was an incredible feeling that I don't know if it can be matched, I was simultaneously awestruck and had the biggest shit eating grin on my face. I also enjoy seeing peoples reaction to looking through it for the first time, it is always some form of "HOLY SHIT" or "WHOA" etc... Indeed, and watching satellites whiz by while star gazing is brilliant. 
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I'm a Flight Equipment Tech so I handle all of the unit's AN/AVS-9s.
Here's an example. They're steroscopic so you get some depth perception out of them compared to something like a PVS-14 where you get NONE. I've used them on and off over the years to screw with folks or to go outside the hanger and look at the stars. 
Best thing I probably ever did with them was when they had some of us doing HMMWV driver's training. I was already licensed so was acting as the "instructor" for some guys getting their road miles. Part of that training is to drive x number of miles at night with goggles. You're actually supposed to use the PVS-14s during that training but the Armory was being dicks so we just checked out two sets of our own goggles along with two flight helmets and did the training with those. We drove over to Camp Devil Dog (in Jacksonville, NC where the East Coast guys and gals do Marine Combat Training) and proceded to black the the truck out and don our goggles. Then we drove over and screwed with the MCT Trainees. Blacked out noisy ass Humvee in the pitch black night, no moon or anything. I took off the helmet and swithched to the handheld battery pack. I could hear them as we drove by "What's that fuckin noise?" "I dunno man sounds like a truck". Then we saw some moon beams (right angle flashlights) light up. "Oh shit it's a fuckin' Humvee.......what the fuck is the driver wearing?" They probably thought he was an alien or something. The Flight helmets are covered in white reflective tape. His head probably looked like a bright red orb as we drove by. Good times. Don't get to do that often enough :/ I really want to get my hands on some AN/AVS-10s :D |
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I took my GF out with a PVS-14 and a Sentinal.
We walked around the desert, did a little shooting. Then she tried to give me head with a PVS-14 on( that didn't work too well) But then we banged both with NODs and it was pretty epic. It hard to keep situational awareness tho because if you are focused at "the task at hand" then you are out of focus for your environment. All in all a great night. 
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Indeed, and watching satellites whiz by while star gazing is brilliant.
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For me it has to be the first time I put my PVS-14 up to my eye and looked through night vision for the first time. That was an incredible feeling that I don't know if it can be matched, I was simultaneously awestruck and had the biggest shit eating grin on my face. I also enjoy seeing peoples reaction to looking through it for the first time, it is always some form of "HOLY SHIT" or "WHOA" etc... Indeed, and watching satellites whiz by while star gazing is brilliant.
I've done that but I was in the field training or on deployment. 
Actually I realized I've kind of done something with them that was non work related. Lately my 3 year old is asking me to let him keep them in bed at night so he can see the "monster" and shoot him if he comes in. lol So I let him use them until he falls asleep. |
| Standing next to a creek bank absolutely still overlooking a field. I notice two young foxes trotting my way following the creek bank. The first one stops cold 4' in front of me and looks up as if he's thinking "I dont remenmber a tree stump here". He speeds away. Fox #2 does the exact same thing. |
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Probably sitting on a screen line at Ft Lewis pulling watch during an FTX after one of our guys told the story about a sasquatch like creature that apparently inhabited the woods around where we were sitting. Didn't help that a breeze was blowing through all the dense underbrush and the shadows were everywhere.
I was glad to have nods so at least I would have some warning when sasquatch came to eat my face |
| A month or three ago, while hog hunting with a buddy, we crawled up a pond levee and peered over the top looking across the pond and into the hay field on the other side. That night was the first warm night of the year around here, was about 65 degrees, no clouds and the moon was on the other side of the earth. There were 9 or 10 deer out absolutely playing grab ass and the more we watched, it became clear that they playing tag. I swear. We watched for about 20 minutes as they chased on another around the field, through the pond edge and wrestled in the field. Coolest thing I've ever seen outside, NV or not. |
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I have two.
Both were in Sadr City in 07. The first, happened while myself and 3 others on the team were deciding how to get from one rooftop to the next. The rooftop we were on was about 5-7 feet higher than the one we needed to get to, but with about a 5 foot gap between them. We decided that we would just jump across, after all, we jump out of airplanes, and this is only 5 feet. By vote, we decided Pat, who was 6'5" and 40 pounds heavier than any of the rest of us, would go first, because if it held him fine, it would hold the rest of us. Pat jumps the gap, PLF's beautifully, and gives a thumbs up. Jones was up next, and also landed fine. Next up it's my turn. I had a little more weight than the rest of them, because I was carrying the M24 and all kinds of other junk, but overall, I was probably around the same weight as two of the others. Anyway, I blew threw that roof like it wasn't even there. So I'm laying on my back in this house, with what feels like a fatal case of my tail bone being shoved out through the front, and all I can hear on the roof from my buddies is a roar of laughter. I couldn't see crap, because it sheared the ANVIS goggles in half, and neither half was still on my helmet. The ocular gouged a nice cut into my left eyebrow, for which I was awarded a Fentanyl Lollipop. I ended up having no serious injuries from the event, other than my pride being deeply wounded. And better yet.... There were 12 of us walking down an alley about half a click north of the south wall of Sadr. I was out front when the call came over the radio that one of the guys was in desperate need of bowel evacuation. So The section leader called up and told me to find a good building to secure so that our guy could take care of business. Naturally, I took my time picking the perfect building in hopes that he would soil himself, but to no avail. Finally I find the perfect house, the crappiest one I could find, because I new the toilet would be a hole in the floor, if anything at all. So our breacher steps up and makes short work of the door and we secure the first floor. Rather than waiting for us to secure the second floor, and roof top, our boy squats over the hole and lets her rip. Before he even gets going good, we hear people stirring and jabbering on the roof and making their way down to our level. Keep in mind we are all blacked out at this point still. So, half the guys go up to head them off and hold them on the second floor while we stand back with the pooper. It sounds like things are about to get real up stairs when our boy claims he is done and needs someone to pass the paper. Really guy? yea let me run down to 711 and get you some. Of course we all had wet wipes with us, but that wouldn't be as funny as watching him try to figure out how to clean up in the dark. He ended up ruining his man scarf. Once he was done and up we white lighted the room and discovered that absolutely nothing actually made it in to the shitter hole. All the occupants of the house turned out to be 20 something males, 6-7 of them. That isn't that out of place, but they still got PUC'd until we could better search the house and find....weapons. Anyway, that's probably not that funny unless you are standing there hearing the dialogue, but it is still one of my favorite memories under the green. |
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I dunno D43, there's just something about randomly bursting into someone's home, defecating on their floor, tying them up, searching their house, and confiscating their shit that just doesn't quite rub me the right way
Of course, the fall through the roof had me chuckling. |
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I dunno D43, there's just something about randomly bursting into someone's home, defecating on their floor, tying them up, searching their house, and confiscating their shit that just doesn't quite rub me the right way
Of course, the fall through the roof had me chuckling. It had a lot of people chuckling, just not me! Its funny now, but I didn't think it was then. Me not being a super macho guy, I thought I broke ever bone in my body twice. Turns out they all came out ok from that one. I would agree with the first statement, were it anywhere else. That place, in that timeframe, may have been the only place in the world with no good guys. Everyone legitimate left the area prior, the house wasn't even theirs, they just took it over to use as a base of operations, which was really common then. And here I thought we were being nice by not doing an explosive breech! lol |
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It had a lot of people chuckling, just not me! Its funny now, but I didn't think it was then. Me not being a super macho guy, I thought I broke ever bone in my body twice. Turns out they all came out ok from that one. I would agree with the first statement, were it anywhere else. That place, in that timeframe, may have been the only place in the world with no good guys. Everyone legitimate left the area prior, the house wasn't even theirs, they just took it over to use as a base of operations, which was really common then. And here I thought we were being nice by not doing an explosive breech! lol Quoted:
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I dunno D43, there's just something about randomly bursting into someone's home, defecating on their floor, tying them up, searching their house, and confiscating their shit that just doesn't quite rub me the right way
Of course, the fall through the roof had me chuckling. It had a lot of people chuckling, just not me! Its funny now, but I didn't think it was then. Me not being a super macho guy, I thought I broke ever bone in my body twice. Turns out they all came out ok from that one. I would agree with the first statement, were it anywhere else. That place, in that timeframe, may have been the only place in the world with no good guys. Everyone legitimate left the area prior, the house wasn't even theirs, they just took it over to use as a base of operations, which was really common then. And here I thought we were being nice by not doing an explosive breech! lol Yeah... I just fear the day is coming when this will be commonplace in the good ol' US of A. It already is happening, with domestic LE going full .MIL in many places, when there simply is no justification for it -- and "our post 9/11 world" is a fallacy. Ugh... going off topic on one of my favorite axes that has little left to grind
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Realizing that dogs can see just fine in the dark:
Got PVS14, going out for the first time with it. Dogs want to go out too. "You guys don't have night vision goggles, but I guess you won't get too lost in the yard." Standing around looking at stuff "This is awesome! There's a billion stars! The porch light 200 yards away looks like the sunrise! The entire house is lit up by an LED on the fan!" Dog brings frisbee to my feet. "He must have heard me standing here." Throw it. He goes straight to it. "He must have heard it hit the ground." Throw it a few more times. He's catching it out of the air like it's noon I can't even see some colors of frisbees through the NVGs (the yard is littered with them). The other dogs are chasing each other like nothing's different.
Those bastards can see better than I can and it didn't cost them a dime 
It only took them about three nights to learn that Joe's new magic hat = go out and play! |
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Yeah... I just fear the day is coming when this will be commonplace in the good ol' US of A. It already is happening, with domestic LE going full .MIL in many places, when there simply is no justification for it -- and "our post 9/11 world" is a fallacy. Ugh... going off topic on one of my favorite axes that has little left to grind Quoted:
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I dunno D43, there's just something about randomly bursting into someone's home, defecating on their floor, tying them up, searching their house, and confiscating their shit that just doesn't quite rub me the right way
Of course, the fall through the roof had me chuckling. It had a lot of people chuckling, just not me! Its funny now, but I didn't think it was then. Me not being a super macho guy, I thought I broke ever bone in my body twice. Turns out they all came out ok from that one. I would agree with the first statement, were it anywhere else. That place, in that timeframe, may have been the only place in the world with no good guys. Everyone legitimate left the area prior, the house wasn't even theirs, they just took it over to use as a base of operations, which was really common then. And here I thought we were being nice by not doing an explosive breech! lol Yeah... I just fear the day is coming when this will be commonplace in the good ol' US of A. It already is happening, with domestic LE going full .MIL in many places, when there simply is no justification for it -- and "our post 9/11 world" is a fallacy. Ugh... going off topic on one of my favorite axes that has little left to grind Cant say I disagree with that...It happened to my wife not long ago. |
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I forgot about this one until this evening.
I was doing a night land nav course when I was a recon squad leader in a scout platoon. We were doing it in buddy teams. I can't remember why since normally we went solo, but I was leading this particular leg. We were in all of our gear and full rucks. The area we were in was wide open, just as grass field. The guy that was following about ten feet behind said that all of a sudden I just disappeared. One second I was there and the next I was just gone. He ran up to where he last saw me and looked down. I had been walking, looking ahead at the wood line and I stepped off into what used to be a basement, except all other traces of the house were gone. The weight of the ruck pulled me around so I fell on that first. When my guy walked up and found me, I was laying there like a turtle on my back. |
| My favorite experience with NV was my first night patrol in afghanistan. I had trained alot with the issued PVS-14's I wasn't impressed by there capabilities at all while state side, but as soon as I got to the sandbox it was so surreal for me that first SKT. That feeling of badassness wasn't trumped until my first tic. |
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