Road Spikes At Checkpoints?

piyopiyo13 · March 2004

In the news today - Marines Kill Driver at Haiti Checkpoint. I was wondering why the armed forces doesn't use spike strips at their checkpoints. They have designed strips of spikes that can be armed and disarmed remotely, so why not lay a couple of these babies out a few hundred yards away from the checkpoint?

If it's a friendly vehicle then retract the spikes, otherwise leave them armed. If it's an unknowing civilian <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif' />, then most likely he'll stop after having all of his tires blown out. If it's a determined suicide bomber <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif' />, then he won't stop but will be slowed down, allowing the soldiers to react. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif' />

I dunno, they probably already use them. Thoughts?

piyopiyo13 · March 2004

Oh, and I know that in a lot of cases it isn't possible to lay them out "a few hundred yards away", but in cases where it is applicable, are they used?

Bill_Door · March 2004

As far as I have seen (which is a tiny amount) they don't use spike strips, possibly because the Army and Marines wouldn't require them for their primary role and so none were issued, or the military is operating on such a shoe-string budget that it can't even provide proper protective equipment to all the front line troops, let alone spike strips.
And also, in some places the strip could just be driven around.

Nemesis_Zero · March 2004

<span style='color:white'>***Moved.***</span>

Melatonin · March 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Bill Door @ Mar 9 2004, 06:13 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> or the military is operating on such a shoe-string budget that it can't even provide proper protective equipment to all the front line troops, let alone spike strips.
 </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
the US millitary this year probably the highest level of funding of any millitary. ever.
Isnt Bush well know to be spending more and more on this?
or have I got things mixed up.

Nemesis_Zero · March 2004

This is a very different topic, but the military funding is mostly going into high level projects (think 'B2 bombers', 'SDI', and so on), which leads to the paradoxical situation that the actual grunt is often underfunded.

Handman · March 2004

I think marines holding big guns should be enough to deter most people. The spike strip would only chew up the tires, drivers wanting to get through would just ride on the rims, in which case they would light the car up anyhow. All that the spike strip would do is waste money, and possiblely give marines a false sense of security.

That_Annoying_Kid · March 2004

the sad fact is that grunts are underfunded, but they are the core of any military, sure flying around and dropping bombs while unseen is all gravy, but when it's always going to come down to a presence on the ground.

Spike strips would be a good idea, but it probably won't get implemented becuase it requires the no load paper pushers to do to much work

HI LB! <-- he is looking at the thread

Moquiao · March 2004

u have realised around most checkpoints it is desert right? they can kinda drive round.

imho... not spike strips.

remote claymores. im serious... say 2 either side of the road on one detonator.. with a man no more then 3 m away.. should a vehcle coem crashing thru as in.. dodging it

it can be percieved as a threat.. and u can blow the hell out of the car.. sounds fair to me.. if you run a checkpoint..

Bill_Door · March 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Melatonin @ Mar 9 2004, 07:12 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Bill Door @ Mar 9 2004, 06:13 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> or the military is operating on such a shoe-string budget that it can't even provide proper protective equipment to all the front line troops, let alone spike strips.
</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
the US millitary this year probably the highest level of funding of any millitary. ever.
Isnt Bush well know to be spending more and more on this?
or have I got things mixed up.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Who said anything about the American Military? No, they get enough money for all the shiny kit.
I was talking about the British Army, which had to rely on soldiers buying their own kit or borrowing off the US Army or Marines.

piyopiyo13 · March 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Handman @ Mar 9 2004, 03:17 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>The spike strip would only chew up the tires, drivers wanting to get through would just ride on the rims, in which case they would light the car up anyhow. All that the spike strip would do is waste money, and possiblely give marines a false sense of security.</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

Well, I wasn't proposing that the spike strips stop the vehicle altogether. I meant that they could be used as a way to weed out innocent civilians from suicide bombers, as well as to slow the vehicle down to buy the guards some time in deciding how to react. Maybe we could throw a few speed bumps after the spikes for good measure. So if you see a car blow all its tires on the spike strip, and then go crashing over the speed bumps like there's no tomorrow, then by all means, open fire. Or maybe if we used Moquiao's idea of claymores and threw those in after the speed bumps...

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Moquiao @ Mar 9 2004, 05:43 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>u have realised around most checkpoints it is desert right? they can kinda drive round.</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

Really? If they can drive around the checkpoints then why bother having the checkpoint in the first place? <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif' />

Road Spikes At Checkpoints?

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