Army Ducks - The M60A3 Traditional Geocache
GPIRAT3: removing my caches I've hidden.
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(micro)
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The year is twenty-ten. There has been an ongoing feud between two rivals that many are unaware of. After the southern migration of the Canadian Geese, so many years ago, they have became a nuisance to us all. One inhabitant of this area is very angry at the fact that the Canadian Geese are stealing their food and ponds. They are beginning to join in massive flocks to create a force that is unstoppable. Their goal is to drive these geese back to their homeland. General Donald Duck has created an army of SUPER ducks!
I, Gen. Donald Duck of the Army Ducks, is calling you to join us in the war against the Canadian Geese. As a Geocacher and new recruit of the Army Ducks, your mission is to find caches at current Army Duck post while learning about the past wars and equipment used. Godspeed fellow Army Duck/Geocacher on your journey and hunt.
-General Donald Duck
In 1978, work began on the M60A3 variant. It featured a number of technological enhancements, including smoke dischargers, a new rangefinder, and M21 ballistic computer, and a turret stabilization system. All active American M60s eventually underwent the conversion to the A3 model. The M60A3 was phased out of US service in 1997, but it remained a front-line MBT into the 21st century for a number of other countries.
While overall a considerably less effective tank than the M1 Abrams, the M60A3 did have some limited advantages over some M1 models:
The M60A3 had a notably better thermal imaging system than that of the M1 up into the 21st Century, when many M1s had newer ones installed. It was, however, considerably noisier, emitting a loud clicking sound audible several meters outside the vehicle. The M60A3 had an exterior phone for infantry to talk directly to the crew inside. This feature was also installed on some USMC M1A1s in Iraq and is now being incorporated into all active Abrams. The diesel had lower performance, but also had lower cost, maintenance and better fuel efficiency. The exhaust temperature of an M1's turbine is very high, which makes it dangerous for infantry to take cover behind it, rather than the diesel engine on an M60A3. The escape hatch located under the hull of the M60A3 is not present in the M1 Abrams, making it more difficult for the crew to bail out of a battle-damaged Abrams than a M60A3. The M60 series' L68A1 105mm main gun fires a much wider variety of ammunition than the currently used 120 mm smoothbore on the M1 series, including a dedicated HE (High Explosive) round, and a White Phosphorus smoke round, among others. The M60 series includes instrumentation enabling indirect fire as ad-hoc artillery if needed.
Please be respectful of the area around the M60A3. I recieved permission for this cache to be placed from the bartender on duty. FTF recieves a Jolly Roger emblem!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qba'g trg GENPXRQ juvyr ybbxvat sbe guvf pnpur!! Cyrnfr eruvq jryy!