Memories in the military

[ilovestrategy]

For those of you that are/were in the military, any experiences stick out in your mind?

When I was in the Corps in the 80's we had this one guy that decided to get a tan, fell asleep and was burned so bad he was on bed rest and had to apply some kind of cream on his skin.

I remember this because he lost rank and pay for "Destruction of Gov't Property."

[andym]

Of course i have loads of tales,but most arent fit to publish here.However i will rack my brain for one or two.

[06 Maestro]

Yep, if you make yourself non mission capable, there is a price to pay. Without such regulations, young and "indestructible" Soldier's/Marines would be injuring themselves much more frequently.

[m10bob]

In the sawdust judo pits in georgia, I got severe sunburn and the repetition of my judo partner slapping my burned bicep caused an open wound..Later that day, one of my unit Drill Sgt's threatened to court martial me for destruction of govt property, but some Gyrenes' in my AIT stood up for me, told the DS it was done "on the job"..

This is similar to an above story, but the point is, this was the first time I learned Gyrenes are stand up guys and work together against any "outsider"..

I was an Army Ranger.

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: 06 Maestro

Yep, if you make yourself non mission capable, there is a price to pay. Without such regulations, young and "indestructible" Soldier's/Marines would be injuring themselves much more frequently.

People often critize me for holding cynical views. On one occasion, during the military operations in Panama, some friends at college were saying how terrible it was that we had so many casualties.

I said I was very suprised at how few we had and I was very impressed that we had not had many many more. Not due to hostile activities but just because that many young men all armed and active were so well disciplined that they could avoid killing or hurting each other. If we gave all those weapons to average citizens and told them to run around in formation I reckon at least 20% would harm themselves or others is a few minutes time.

They thought I was very cynical.

[m10bob]

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

ORIGINAL: 06 Maestro

Yep, if you make yourself non mission capable, there is a price to pay. Without such regulations, young and "indestructible" Soldier's/Marines would be injuring themselves much more frequently.

People often critize me for holding cynical views. On one occasion, during the military operations in Panama, some friends at college were saying how terrible it was that we had so many casualties.

I said I was very suprised at how few we had and I was very impressed that we had not had many many more. Not due to hostile activities but just because that many young men all armed and active were so well disciplined that they could avoid killing or hurting each other. If we gave all those weapons to average citizens and told them to run around in formation I reckon at least 20% would harm themselves or others is a few minutes time.

They thought I was very cynical.

Amen, brother!

[06 Maestro]

I said I was very suprised at how few we had and I was very impressed that we had not had many many more. Not due to hostile activities but just because that many young men all armed and active were so well disciplined that they could avoid killing or hurting each other. If we gave all those weapons to average citizens and told them to run around in formation I reckon at least 20% would harm themselves or others is a few minutes time.
[/quote]

Jeffry, you just sparked a dusty memory form my early days as an enlisted man. This little memory was buried by more than another decade in uniform.
Circa '73, '74 there was an "intrusion" reported at a BLASA point (Basic Load and Ammunition Storage Area-with a NATO site in the middle holding nukes). My battery had the misfortune of the security detail on this particular evening of the reported incident. The ordnance company which provided back up reaction were called out. There was close to 200 armed men (some with M60 machine guns) walking around a heavily wooded area, less than 1/2 sq mile in thick fog looking for some Bader Meinhoff nuts. I was alone, walking very slowly, finger on the trigger and thumb on safety (maybe safety off[:)]. I remember my plan of action well; if I heard one shot, I was dropping to the ground until daylight[:D]-it would have been pandemonium. Everyone was a little uptight with the activities of Bader Meinhoff-it was not a joke. Without the discipline factor, such a situation could be disastrous.

On a related thought, I should state that it was the professionalism of the Non Comm's that kept things cool. I appreciated those guy's-both as a junior enlisted man and as an O1-O3. Non Comm's are the backbone of the system.

[wdboyd]

Salutations,

So many memories. Many sad ones, but I won't dwell on or share any of them.

In my career in the Marine Corps, the 1991 gulf war stands out. Especially the sight of all of Kuwaits oil wells on fire. It was dark at noon. It seemed we were moving into hell. Quite a memorable sight.

Time spent each year at the rifle range was enjoyed, even when it was hot or raining. Obtaining 9 0f 10 bullseyes from the 200 meter range in the standing offhand position seems to stand out. I was only able to do it once or twice. I had eight out of ten several other times. I was always deady accurate at 800 meters in the prone position. No brag, just fact. I experianced no dropoff in score when we moved from the M-14 to the M-16. As a matter of fact, my scores increased a bit with the M-16. Eventually, that is.

Other than that... I participated as part of a small test team for a then, new aircraft instrument landing system. It struck me that what we were doing was being done for the very first time and that I was contributing a unique service. I specifically remember the night we manned the equipment all through a twenty four hour period and the night boasted a very bright full moon. We clearly saw dear passing nearby. It was a rewarding experiance that has stuck with me through the years.

Oh.. the test was successful and the equipment was put into active sevice shortly thereafter.

[Halsey]

ORIGINAL: m10bob

In the sawdust judo pits in georgia, I got severe sunburn and the repetition of my judo partner slapping my burned bicep caused an open wound..Later that day, one of my unit Drill Sgt's threatened to court martial me for destruction of govt property, but some Gyrenes' in my AIT stood up for me, told the DS it was done "on the job"..

This is similar to an above story, but the point is, this was the first time I learned Gyrenes are stand up guys and work together against any "outsider"..

I was an Army Ranger.

I got a sawdust pit story, too.[;)]

My Ranger buddy was a West Point Cadet (Pete Zelinski), so him and I teamed up together for hand to hand.
We were the two of the smallest guys in the training company.[:D]

When Sgt Swanckenbeck (related?), saw us playfully tossing each other around.
He paired us up to the two largest guys in the pit.
It wasn't pretty...[:D]

I got a ton of story's.
I only talk about the amusing ones.[;)]

Once a Ranger, always a Ranger.[;)]

[Cheeks]

Paris Island - 1985

I believe we were in the 3rd phase of training and about to go through grenade range. If anyone remembers this occasion, you can recall how DEAD SERIOUS the Instructors were. You were instructed on how to receive the canister from Instructor (the position on where your top hand was to be, the bottom hand position, etc...) in great detail.

Anyways...my turn comes up. I remember to do everything right concerning the canister hand-off.

You then travel to that concrete pit. That Instructor then tells you to remove the grenade. I started to remove the grenade.... and then my world went to HELL.

I momentarily reflected on how similar these grenade canisters were to the Pringles Potato Chip canisters (except the color)….. and apparently that thought put a HUGE SMILE on my face.

My smile set the Marine OFF into an extremely high orbit. You would have thought he caught me sleeping with his wife by the way he was acting. During this whole scenario, the rest of the platoon is watching from that block building…they can’t hear a thing but they know damn well I’m getting a two-minute chewing by the way this witch-doctor is dancing around me.

Anyway.... he calms down and I now have the grenade in my hand. Looking back now, I can’t remember how many steps there was in throwing a grenade but I can tell you where I tripped up……pulling the pin. I was ready for what Hollywood’s view was … you know …. macho men pulling the pins out with their teeth. For those of you who were not in the service… you can not pull the pins with your teeth.

It went something like this….

Instructor: “Pull Pin!”
Me: [grunt] [struggle] - two seconds later - [grunt] [struggle]
Instructor: “PULL PIN!!!”
Me: [grunt] [struggle] - four seconds later - [grunt] [struggle]
Instructor: “PULL THE G** D*** PIN YOU F***** WIMP WRISTED *** “blah blah blah !!!”
Me: [grunt] [struggle] - two seconds later - [struggle] [struggle] [struggle] – Success!

It took 10 seconds to get that pin out; apparently my Senior DI timed me.

So I get to the part where I actually throw the damn thing, and as soon as it left my hand the instructor grab me by the flack jacket, lifted me off the deck and slammed me head first into the concrete wall. Now… he did this with every recruit – but I think he added a whole lot more muscle to the wall impact for me.

For disgracing my platoon, the DI’s gave me the nickname “Lady-Fingers”.

[Joshuatree]

Great stories guys, thanks. And Cheeks, your story really made me laugh out loud. I mean the coffee was almost on my monitor... [:D]  [pull the G***D*** pin... hahaha]

[rogueusmc]

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

For those of you that are/were in the military, any experiences stick out in your mind?

When I was in the Corps in the 80's we had this one guy that decided to get a tan, fell asleep and was burned so bad he was on bed rest and had to apply some kind of cream on his skin.

I remember this because he lost rank and pay for "Destruction of Gov't Property."

I knew a kid that got these charges on him and busted to Private for getting drunk (underage by the way) and burnt himself right between the eyes with a cigarette...[8|]

[Halsey]

In Rigger School, we had a Marine Gunney as an instructor.[;)]

I told him that I had tried to enlist in the Corps, but they wouldn't accept me.
When he asked why I was rejected from Marine enlistment.
I told him my enlistment was rejected because my mother and father weren't brother and sister.

That one only cost 40 pushups.
It was well worth it.[;)][:D]

[andym]

Ok,one night i was on Night duty on an Orthopeadic Ward in RNH Haslar.My oppo,Theo dropped by and as usual we started to tell Ghost stories.After an hour or so we got a phone call to take a body to the Mortuary from the ENT ward.We should have known something was afoot,you dont get too many deaths on an ENT ward.Off we bimble to the ENT ward at the other end of the Hospital.Haslar was built in the 1740's so has a big history and has a certain Gothicness about it.We arive in the Ward to find the beir already there with the "body" inside,this was the 2nd time we should have known somethjing was up,but we didnt.So we set off down the deserted wards and corridors to the main gate and outside towards the Mortuary.As we rounded the block corner we hear a banging from inside and "Oi,let me out,i'm not dead!"Me and Theo leg it back round the corner crapping ourselves.The voice from inside the beir becam more fruity and colourful as time passed,we spied the Night Superintending Matron on her Rounds walking down the road.Obviously she sees and hears the beir and goes to investigate.She opens it up and one MA Tony Patton sits up and subjects her to a mouthfull of invective untill he realises its not use hes shouting at!.Upshot was we all got hauled in front tof the MAA in the morning,me and theo just got a bollocking but Tony got a set of 9's(KP to our colonial bretheren)for his trouble!

Then of course theres the dit about the Petty Officer with a Vibrator stuck up his bum![:D]

[rogueusmc]

We were shooting on Green Beach in Subic bay once...

We blew up one of the big pink balloons the meteorology guys had and told a PFC that we needed to take some readings. We told him to take the balloon to gun eight and runn across to gun one jumping up in the air every 8 steps. We were sitting there watching the kid when the Gunny come out of his hooch and asked, "what the hell's he doin'?" We told him that we were taking some readings. He said, "that's f&%*ed up" then laughed as he walked back into his tent.

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: wdboyd

... In my career in the Marine Corps, the 1991 gulf war stands out. Especially the sight of all of Kuwaits oil wells on fire. It was dark at noon. It seemed we were moving into hell. Quite a memorable sight.

My brigade supported the Marines in '91; I also got some close-up views of burning oil wells, and recall the perpetual darkness during the day.
But at night, the fire from the wells bounced-off the clouds and illuminated the desert!

Also, all the bombing before the ground offensive apparently created condensation nuclei, resulting in a record rain that year such that the desert was actually turning green!

[rogueusmc]

ORIGINAL: Joe D.

ORIGINAL: wdboyd

... In my career in the Marine Corps, the 1991 gulf war stands out. Especially the sight of all of Kuwaits oil wells on fire. It was dark at noon. It seemed we were moving into hell. Quite a memorable sight.

My brigade supported the Marines in '91; I also got some close-up views of burning oil wells, and recall the perpetual darkness during the day.
But at night, the fire from the wells bounced-off the clouds and illuminated the desert!

Also, all the bombing before the ground offensive apparently created condensation nuclei, resulting in a record rain that year such that the desert was actually turning green!

Who were y'all with? I was C Btry 1st Bn 12th Mar Task force Papabear but fired for Ripper and Tarow also.

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: rogueusmc

Who were y'all with? I was C Btry 1st Bn 12th Mar Task force Papabear but fired for Ripper and Tarow also.

Combat correspondent for HHC, 1st "Tiger" Bde, 2nd Armd Div, originally attached to 1st Cav, but later Op Con'ed to 2nd Marines into Kuwait.

We didn't take our Div HQ to Saudi as the unit was actually inactivating when Iraq invaded Kuwait.

[m10bob]

ORIGINAL: 06 Maestro







I said I was very suprised at how few we had and I was very impressed that we had not had many many more. Not due to hostile activities but just because that many young men all armed and active were so well disciplined that they could avoid killing or hurting each other. If we gave all those weapons to average citizens and told them to run around in formation I reckon at least 20% would harm themselves or others is a few minutes time.

Jeffry, you just sparked a dusty memory form my early days as an enlisted man. This little memory was buried by more than another decade in uniform.
Circa '73, '74 there was an "intrusion" reported at a BLASA point (Basic Load and Ammunition Storage Area-with a NATO site in the middle holding nukes). My battery had the misfortune of the security detail on this particular evening of the reported incident. The ordnance company which provided back up reaction were called out. There was close to 200 armed men (some with M60 machine guns) walking around a heavily wooded area, less than 1/2 sq mile in thick fog looking for some Bader Meinhoff nuts. I was alone, walking very slowly, finger on the trigger and thumb on safety (maybe safety off[:)]. I remember my plan of action well; if I heard one shot, I was dropping to the ground until daylight[:D]-it would have been pandemonium. Everyone was a little uptight with the activities of Bader Meinhoff-it was not a joke. Without the discipline factor, such a situation could be disastrous.

On a related thought, I should state that it was the professionalism of the Non Comm's that kept things cool. I appreciated those guy's-both as a junior enlisted man and as an O1-O3. Non Comm's are the backbone of the system.

[/quote]


This sure sounds like Fischbach to me...

Baader Meinhof..Yeah..After Nam I was sent to Gutleut Kaserne, became a Military Policeman and that terrorist group was something some of us deploed and trained to interdict.
We worked with the Kripo, many of whom (in Frankfurt) had served with the 4th Polizie Division on the eastern front, and some had been Fallshirmjager.
Stories only shared with others of the common bond.

[Greybriar]

A couple of days before Christmas in 1968, my unit was securing a forward artillery base somewhere in Vietnam. We were told we were going to be there for quite a while, so our Christmas packages were brought out with our other mail (my aunt Maude had been good enough to send me a fruitcake in a tin!) and we kicked back to enjoy the holiday season.

That afternoon word came down that we were moving out in ten minutes! We had been resupplied with C-rations and water which hadn't even been broken down as well as bundles of sandbags for the emplacements we were to have built. All we could do was grab everything and try to get it on the choppers in time to lift off. That part of the maneuver went as well as could be expected.

They choppered us from there to the top of a mountain where we were supposed to set up a new base. The engineers had already blasted a few craters for the artillery emplacements, but they weren't anywhere near completion. Everything seemed rather disorganized to me.

The chopper I on was lowered itself to about a foot off the ground when we began heaving all the supplies out. By the time we were finished, the chopper had climbed another two or three feet off the ground and had moved forward over one of the craters the engineers had made which was several feet deep. Seeing the distance I had to jump, I stepped outside the chopper and stood on the skid. I reached inside the door to balance myself before jumping off, and wouldn't you know it--the fruitcake my aunt had sent me slipped out from behind the suspenders on my pistol belt. I instinctively shoved it back into position and while in the process the pilot took off!

Since the flight started at the top of a mountain, we gained altitude very quickly. In a few moments we were thousands of feet off the ground! All I could do was hang on for dear life! Fortunately a side gunner saw my predicament and came to my assistance. I was using what looked like an old World War II vintage packboard with a plywood frame and a canvas stap. There was only one rivet left holding the strap to the packboard at the top where the strap overlapped, and it was partially pulled through. At any rate, the gunner got me turned around with my back to him and was yanking on the packboard to get me back aboard the Huey. I very cautiously and slowly maneuvered myself back aboard.

The pilot had been circling the mountain and soon landed (no more hovering!) on the ground. The guys in my unit cheered when I got out.