what is a army tunnel rat?

Answer 1

A guy with an enormous set of gonads who would go down in the tunnels in Vietnam. At the 1st Engineer Battalion, their motto was "non gratum anus rodendum" and their mascot was a picture of a rat with a bottle of booze in one hand and a revolver in the other. I met a former tunnel rat when I was stationed in Okinawa and, to quote Hank Hill, "that boy ain't right." None the less, if I had to get caught in a bad situation in the meanest bar on the planet, he's the guy I'd want by my side. Even though he was a fairly little guy, the guy I knew was convinced that there wasn't a person on the planet who could kick his @ss. He was one of the quietest people I've ever met, but I certainly wouldn't have wanted to find out how tough he truly was.

Answer 2

The tunnel rats were American, Australian and New Zealander soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. In the course of the war, the Viet Cong created very extensive underground complexes. Whenever troops would uncover a tunnel, Tunnel Rats were sent in to kill any buried enemy and to plant explosives to destroy the tunnels. A Tunnel Rat was equipped with only a semiautomatic M1911 handgun and a flashlight.


Tunnel rats preparing to place charges and make connections for detonationThe tunnels were very dangerous, with numerous booby traps and enemies lying in wait. Often there were flooded U-bends in the tunnels to trap gas. Guards manned holes on the sides of tunnels through which spears could be thrust impaling a crawling intruder. Not only were there human enemies to deal with, but also different creatures such as snakes, spiders, scorpions, ants, and bats.

Due to the confined space, the tunnel rats disliked the massive muzzle blast of the M1911 pistol, which would often leave the tunnel rat temporarily deaf, and it was not uncommon that they used whatever alternative handgun they could come across. The Soviet-made pistols the enemy carried were particular favorites, but they were extremely rare, and the soldiers would often have someone at home send them a civilian pistol or revolver. Among the favorites were the German Luger and Walther pistols, many of which were brought home by returning American troops. Others would trade their pistols for revolvers used by other personnel. Many used improvised suppressors on their pistols to further reduce the noise.

Tunnel Rats were generally men of smaller stature and, due to prejudices in the military of that time, exclusively White or Hispanic soldiers.

Answer 3

"The tunnel rats were American, Australian and New Zealander soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. In the course of the war, the Viet Cong created very extensive underground complexes (see Củ Chi tunnels). Whenever troops would uncover a tunnel, Tunnel Rats were sent in to kill any buried enemy and to plant explosives to destroy the tunnels. A Tunnel Rat was equipped with only a semiautomatic M1911 handgun and a flashlight."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_rat

Answer 4

In Vietnam, the Vietcong used a system of tunnels to do everything: hyde, rest, take care of their wounded..and get out of in order to do their rampage: shoot and kill. When US soldiers found a tunnel, they would first send in a soldier of small size to explore the thing and "eliminate" all danger.