Why Does the Military ?

[MilDot1960]

A lot of us shoot distances using yards and of coarse the EU uses meter, But every thing in America is measured in Yards Inches and Gallons and ounces and the list goes on like temperature and Hg when measuring the Baro , Watching US troops on YT in the Gulf I noticed that they call out in meters, The metric system makes a lot of sense and it is easier when using a calculator because the numbers go up to 10 and then that becomes a whole number as the number gets bigger, But seeing as the US still uses the imperial system why does the military use meters,

I have never understood why America uses Degrees F because 0*f is equal to -32*c but water freezes at 0*c which is 32*f and seeing as water freezes at 0*c and that zero could be seen as the starting point where water becomes either Ice or Water baring in mind that we are made up from about 85% water it would make sense to use *c when it comes to measuring temperature which of coarse is the metric system,

This does cause some serious head scratching when you use half metric and half imperial measurements within the US Military., Growing up in Oz it is easy for me because we use the metric system but over here they use both just confuse the Natives,

So whats your spin on this crazy world of numbers ?.

John.

 

[sandwarrior]

A lot of us shoot distances using yards and of coarse the EU uses meter, But every thing in America is measured in Yards Inches and Gallons and ounces and the list goes on like temperature and Hg when measuring the Baro , Watching US troops on YT in the Gulf I noticed that they call out in meters, The metric system makes a lot of sense and it is easier when using a calculator because the numbers go up to 10 and then that becomes a whole number as the number gets bigger, But seeing as the US still uses the imperial system why does the military use meters,

I have never understood why America uses Degrees F because 0*f is equal to -32*c but water freezes at 0*c which is 32*f and seeing as water freezes at 0*c and that zero could be seen as the starting point where water becomes either Ice or Water baring in mind that we are made up from about 85% water it would make sense to use *c when it comes to measuring temperature which of coarse is the metric system,

This does cause some serious head scratching when you use half metric and half imperial measurements within the US Military., Growing up in Oz it is easy for me because we use the metric system but over here they use both just confuse the Natives,

So whats your spin on this crazy world of numbers ?.

John.

It's not that hard. A lot of science is founded in Europe. They've been using metric for hundreds of years. Since we sell to them A LOT, international companies decided back in the 1920's that we should start converting to metric. Obviously, that conversion hasn't taken place. We've grown accustomed to our way of measuring things, so we continue to use it.

The military was all metric when I was in back in '81. We used a lot of metric as early as WWII.

An interesting factoid if that helps you, when it comes to fine machining, inches are king. Everything is broken down in thousandths or ten thousandths of inches. ISO 9001.

 

[FS1]

My guess would be that Metric is base 10 and makes easier math.

 

[ArmyJerry]

Because we have so called allies and we had to standardize maps with them. Now that they have proven feckless and useless on the military front we should go back to a our standard system. USA USA USA, fuck ISO and Fuck Europe/Nato.

 

[Maggot]

Then thers this:


Nuff said

 

[MilDot1960]

Yeah I agree, counting to ten and starting over does make it easier because it is a round number, It works with our fingers and toes and calculators.

Over here we buy milk or Gas/Diesel in litres yet go to the Pub and the beer is sold in imperial pints (20 fluid ounces) but the silly part is soft drink is sold in the shops in mils mililiters or litres, When you buy a fridge or freezer here they are measured in Litres not CU FT. and the same when buying buckets,

Yet I prefer to shoot in yards but I use Mb for the pressure and degrees *c for the temp. for some strange reason I have mixed up and reversed what the Military does, which makes it awkward when you guys are talking about how pressure effects the bullet drop or worse because as you go up a 1000ft up a hill you get a 1*f temperature drop, so I have to either convert every thing or reset my Apps to understand the cause and effect. I think I need to re-educate my self and Only use either a metric system (only) or an imperial system but not mix it up.

john.

 

[MilDot1960]

Because we have so called allies and we had to standardize maps with them. Now that they have proven feckless and useless on the military front we should go back to a our standard system. USA USA USA, fuck ISO and Fuck Europe/Nato.

Lol, yeah, This US military measures in meters and the Maps over here is measured in meters and every thing in between is a total Cluster.

John.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Ah, brings back memories of Dan Aykroyd and the famous 'Decabet....'

Eflegle!

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[Barneybdb]

A few years ago I was doing some work in Europe with another engineer from the US and this subject came up. He told a story about your Highways Department that cracked me up. Apparently they experimented with the metric system for highway signs, they were to be 750mm high, 600mm wide with a 50mm border. In the middle they would say 65 MPH.

 

[Clearlight]

Bring back the cubit .

 

[MilDot1960]

A few years ago I was doing some work in Europe with another engineer from the US and this subject came up. He told a story about your Highways Department that cracked me up. Apparently they experimented with the metric system for highway signs, they were to be 750mm high, 600mm wide with a 50mm border. In the middle they would say 65 MPH.

Yeah that sounds about right,

When you think about it America was one of the first metric countries when they adopted the Dollar hundreds of years ago, the UK coinage only went metric in 1969/70.

The UK uses metric Tonnes (Tons) as well which is 1000kg/2240 lbs and a UK Gallon is 4.55 litres where a US Gallon is 4 Litres,

John

 

[Maggot]

Bring back the cubit .

Expecting a flood?

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Bring back the cubit .

Not to mention the Dram, Firkin and the micromort...

With you Clearlight!

Cheers,

Sirhr