[SOC] Aphorisms to live by

[Kevin Rock]

"You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3." 
- Paul F. Crickmore (test pilot) 
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 "A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." 
- Army's magazine of preventive maintenance. 
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"Aim towards the Enemy." - Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher 
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"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend. - U.S. Marine Corps
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"Cluster bombing from B-52s are very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground." 
- USAF Ammo Troop 
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"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." 
- U.S. 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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"Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo." - Infantry Journal
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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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"If your attack is going too well, you're walking into an ambush." - Infantry Journal 
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"Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing." 
- At the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Japan 
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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-Monthan AFB, AZ , 1970 
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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!" 
- Attributed to Ray Crandell (Lockheed test pilot)