Vietnam-era Radiomen life expectancy was 5 seconds

At the height of the Vietnam War, up-and-coming commo guys who wanted to learn the art of radio operation would walk into a classroom and see a huge number five written on the chalkboard. Inevitably, someone's curiosity would win out and they'd ask what the big number meant. The instructor would then calmly tell them, "that's your life expectancy, in seconds, in a firefight. So, listen up and you might learn something that'll keep you alive." That number wasn't some outrageous scare tactic. During the Vietnam War, the odds were tremendously stacked against radio operations — and that 5-second life expectancy was, for some, a grim reality. For more subscribe: http://bit.ly/2ojIN9o Get more We Are The Mighty: http://www.wearethemighty.com   / themighty     / wearethemighty     / wearethemighty   Host: U.S. Air Force veteran Shannon Corbeil   / shannoncorbeilacting   All music licensed through Jingle Punks