I am not an expert, of course. Only owned four wheel drives since 1980 and have two now but a little personal experience from earlier days. In 61-62, I was on active duty in the 49th AD in central Louisiana, training in case we had to kick the ass of the Warsaw Pact countries after the Soviets built the Berlin wall. I pity those poor bastards if we had unleashed the 49th on them. LOL Anyway that winter we were on a three week excercise called Iron Dragoon, I think. I was in the head quarters company of the division and was part of the medical support for the Alternate CP. They divided the headquarters in two and kept us miles apart in case the bad guys nuked one of the CPs of the division. We had the Asst, Div. Cmdr. with us and we were moving the CP so the bad guys couldn't pin point us and it was raining like a tall cow peeing on a flat rock. We got to this place where we were supposed to bivouack and this Colonel said pull off this road and set up for the night out in this field. Some EM said, "Err,****, Sir, it looks pretty soupy out there." The Colonel says," This is where the map say we are supposed to be, get out there." "But, Sir, we probably might get stuck out there." "Get your ass out there." "Yes Sir." So we began to pull our vehicles out there. I am the driver of a 3/4 ton Box Ambulance, about the equivalent of a Dodge Power Wagon with four wheel drive, for those old enough to remember them. Pretty soon vehicles start going down in the ooze. The officers say, " Break out the axes and saws and build a corduroy road out of the local pine trees." Next thing you know we have a casualty, fellow tries to cut off his leg with an axe and damn near succeeds. "Medic, where the hell are the medics?" Here I come, Sir, as fast as I can drive my ambulance. I get to where the casualty is, stop, and my ambulance sinks into the muck, listing to the port side so the running board is submerged on my side. They load our patient inside. I am already in four wheel drive and I launch my self toward pavement. No dice, could not move an inch. Finally a few dozen men push and shove and I get some traction and spin out of there throwing mud everywhere to get to pavement and to the hospital at Fort Polk. Naturally, once I get the casualty to the hospital, I sneak into my barracks and take a hot shower. By the time I get back to the bivouack area, it is dark and quite a scene. Lanterns, flashlights and headlights shining. Engines revving, tires spinning, men cursing and almost everyone stuck, except for the 6x6 deuce and a halfs. Jeeps stuck, 3/4 tons stuck. I don't remember if our faithful security platoon with the M41 was there but he might have been stuck too. The next morning, the 6x6s had to be hitched up to all the other vehicles to pull them to pavement. I spent the night sleeping on one of the benchs in my ambulance listing about 15 degrees to the side. 6x6 2 1/2 ton trucks have the best traction in mud of all the wheeled vehicles in my experience in my army.
