The Official Military Thread

[Fat Charlie]

Wow. I hadn't been looking in the OT forums.

 

1. USAR 11H, ARNG 13B Active Duty ILO MP.

2. E-6.

3. Oct 91 through Oct 05.

4. CSC 3/18 INF (Reserve), A 1/172 FA (Guard). At the local Rreserve Center, Armory, and Camp Bucca, Iraq.

 

In the summer of 03 I was chiefing an M-198 with a crew of 10. In the summer of 04 I was NCOIC of a prison compound in Iraq with 600 detainees and a crew of 7. No, we didn't get any training, but we did see the cover of Time as an example of how not to run a compound. Yeah, I got out.

 

Good to see you guys here.

[firedawgs]

Kinda of late but finally got promoted to E-6 in Oct. Slowly working my way up.

[bosco]

Kinda of late but finally got promoted to E-6 in Oct. Slowly working my way up.

 

well done and congrats. bosco

[andrew.anderson]

1. US Navy

2. O-1 Ensign/"butterbar" (don't hate me enlisted guys)

3. May 06-present

4. Wright-Patterson AFB

 

 

What do you do?

[ncretter]

Right now I'm getting a masters degree, then heading to P-cola for Naval Flight Officer training

[bosco]

Right now I'm getting a masters degree, then heading to P-cola for Naval Flight Officer training

 

call Kerry and let him know. bosco

[ncretter]

LOL. Funny thing one reason I joined NROTC (and hence the Navy) was so that I could GO to college, not becuase I couldn't.

[andrew.anderson]

Right now I'm getting a masters degree, then heading to P-cola for Naval Flight Officer training

 

 

Nice...I hope the Navy is paying for your degree.

[andrew.anderson]

LOL. Funny thing one reason I joined NROTC (and hence the Navy) was so that I could GO to college, not becuase I couldn't.

 

Some ignorant people think that citizens join the military because they have no other choice. For a person who is willing to work the hours the military requires they can make much, Much better money as a civilian.

[PaulFWMotorsports]

Some ignorant people think that citizens join the military because they have no other choice. For a person who is willing to work the hours the military requires they can make much, Much better money as a civilian.

 

QFT!!

 

While my mom was broke as hell, my grandparents offered to pay my way to any of the colleges that I was accepted to.

I graduated from a private high school, which I attended on the poor white trash program, and didn't want any more help.

 

Went down to the the recruiter & signed on the spot for the Infantry, college fund/GI Bill, which annoyed the family.

 

I'll admit that the skills I learned in the Infantry (shooting people, blowing shit up, calling in arty, sleeping in snow/desert) don't directly transfer to the real world, the ability to handle stress, following through, sticking to the task at hannd, etc., are a benefit I use every day in both family & business dealings.

 

What other school will teach these skills?

[bosco]

 

 

What other school will teach these skills?

 

none. what we need is National Service. why not contribute something for the privilege of living in this country. bosco

[05ABP2.5i]

US ARMY

SSG

96-03 Active

06-Pres Reserve

Hawaii

Bosnia

Bragg

Kosovo

Kuwait

MD Reserve

LOVE EVERY MINUTE!!

 

QFT????

[SubiGT]

QFT

 

Quoted for truth

 

urbandictionary.com is a great resource for the these types of acronyms

[RaGe]

U.S.Army

SGT.

11B

FT.Benning/ 1/75th.

Ft. campbell 1/187th / air assault

Bragg /airborne

Korea

Kosovo

 

forgot to add panama jungle training.

[Fat Charlie]

Being in sure as hell isn't worth the money. With expenses and missed work, I always lost money on it. It's easier to afford part time, but it was still a bad money move. We did it because we loved it, though. It takes job satisfaction to an entirely different place. I'll never have it like that again.

Eveyone we had was there because they wanted to be there. The few that didn't, left. We didn't get many new faces, but retention was high. I shudder when I hear the word "draft" being thrown around. Yes, it'll make them better people, but I wouldn't want them in my unit. I'd rather field understrength units of real soldiers than vast armies of people whose daddies couldn't get them out of it.

 

That's the downside to what's happening now. We're running out of volunteers and chewing up the ones that are left. I got out, but I still don't want to see a draft inflicted on the guys that are still in.

[Vimy101]

^ Yep. War should always be the last resort.

[andrew.anderson]

http://images.cafepress.com/product/76446363v2_240x240_Front.jpg

[Garandman]

/////and although I have different views on war, etc... thanks for your service.

 

Probably not:

 

....On the contrary, the soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.

 

But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

 

General Douglas Macarthur

May 12th, 1962

 

Civilian control of the US military is complete: I don't see too many folks raising concerns over a Coup d'etat. Soldiers fight when, where, and even how their civilian masters tell them to do so.

 

...This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

 

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.....

Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

1961

Not all Americans are aware that the first to express concern to the power of armaments manufacturers and their influence on our elected government was none other than a career military officer who wielded that power.

 

 

Don't ever forget that the original U.S. Army officers were democratic revolutionaries. Many military officers see themselves as "The Keepers of the Flame," - the guardians of American democratic idealism.

[Fat Charlie]

I believe war is about the most wrong thing we can do. I just don't think that I'm somehow special because I think that way. It doesn't exempt me from the human condition or from the service that I owe the country. So I joined and had a hell of a time. Believe me, you'll never know job satisfaction until you've been in. Give it a try, sebberry. You just may be surprised by the people you wind up with. You may be surprised by yourself.

 

All of us swore to defend the Constitution. That's above any of our parties (for those of you in one) or ideologies. It's something that ties us all together as Americans, the belief in a system that we all own and participate in. The hardships and dangers that we share add a different bond. That, and you can have loads of fun doing the dumbest things imaginable (look left).

 

If you do, then remember, there are only two kinds of soldiers: the Infantry and those who support the Infantry.

[bosco]

there are only two kinds of soldiers: the Infantry and those who support the Infantry.

 

many times during my tour in Viet Nam i had the infantry boys come back and over a beer tell me how grateful they where that they where supported by the other soldiers namely me and my M109 SP 155mm howitzer gun crew. thank you for your service. bosco

[Fat Charlie]

I moved over to M-198s, myself. Now that's a civilized way to go out to the field. Plenty of room for gear in a 5 ton, and big gun still go boom. Being air-assaulted wasn't cool, but we almost never did that. Chinook time costs money, you know.

 

What I kept trying to drill into my guys is that their job descriptions didn't matter. If we run out of gas, they're infantry. If we run out of shells, if the battery gets hit from anywhere other than in front, if we blow a damn tire, they're infantry. That's what's at the bottom of all of it. You're either the poor shmuck who has to take and hold the ground or you're helping him do it. The guys with blue cords just have it as their full time job. I recommend going that way because shoot, move & communicate is easier to focus on when it's your main focus to begin with, not something that suddenly gets dumped in your lap.

[ncretter]

Coupla questions. I pertty sure that Marines train everyone as a rifleman first. Does the Army do this too? Also, have any of you ground-pounders worked with Navy IAs in Iraq or Afghanistan?

[05ABP2.5i]

everyone goes through the same "basic" training where they teach you the basics of being infantry ie: weapons, movements, tactics, things of that nature. mind you these are very basic and in no way makes you infantry.

Navy IA??? do you mean imagery analyst?

[ncretter]

Individual augmented/individual activated. Basically, IAs get TAD orders to go to Iraq or Afghanistan and work on the ground instead of on a ship, and you aren't a seebee.

[andrew.anderson]

Individual augmented/individual activated. Basically, IAs get TAD orders to go to Iraq or Afghanistan and work on the ground instead of on a ship, and you aren't a seebee.

 

The Navy Customs Battalion for OIF worked for us when I was down there. They where around 400 Sailors all of whom volunteered to deploy as IAs. All different ratings. They went to some special training so they could serve as customs agents since customs is not actually a Navy rating. They did an outstanding job.