The ladder was one of those wonderful concepts that look great on paper...but fall a wee tad short of intent when used in the real world of combat.
Hanging about with the ladders down, waiting for the guys to climb up or down, probably explains part of my drinking problem. The locals usually got a bit peeved about all the noise and found ways to lodge complaints.
Ladders rarely lasted more than a single mission. The rotorwash and any wandering in the hover ensured they got hooked over the jagged remains of tree limbs and such and it seemed the Flight Engineer got to cut them away using huge bolt croppers.
