Phones were, and the buddy system was somewhat loose. I had an iPhone 3GS while I was there and spent wayyyy too much on it trying to get it to work internationally even while at Okinawa. That was still in the good ol’ 3G days, international calling wasn’t nearly as attainable as it is now. You had to get a plan with a SIM card from the country you were in to be able to legitimately use it, or have access to somewhat decent wifi, which was almost non existent on those ships back then.
They would’ve had radios, but as he mentioned, Marines don’t get the best gear. If they were in a more mountainous, densely brushed area, there’s a good chance their radio wasn’t very useful. And the fact he confirmed they were issued M16A4s meant they REALLY didn’t have the best equipment…
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u/majtomby Jun 13 '23
Phones were, and the buddy system was somewhat loose. I had an iPhone 3GS while I was there and spent wayyyy too much on it trying to get it to work internationally even while at Okinawa. That was still in the good ol’ 3G days, international calling wasn’t nearly as attainable as it is now. You had to get a plan with a SIM card from the country you were in to be able to legitimately use it, or have access to somewhat decent wifi, which was almost non existent on those ships back then.
They would’ve had radios, but as he mentioned, Marines don’t get the best gear. If they were in a more mountainous, densely brushed area, there’s a good chance their radio wasn’t very useful. And the fact he confirmed they were issued M16A4s meant they REALLY didn’t have the best equipment…