Misconceptions of Military Service

[vulcan]

Sargents got it easy

Some people think once you made sargent, you got it easy. My civilian friends think so anyway. The promotion comes with a lot of responsibility IMO. I remember each step up the NCO rank meant less sleep & more work, Being a Corporal was the best . You had enough authority to get details done & but were still considered one of the guys. I ran a Vulcan gun platoon in the 82nd ABN at age 21. The unit was understrength & had "acting jacks" filling positions meant for 2 grades higher. I often wondered what my friend back at home was doing while I burning the midnight oil filling out platoon paperwork. It was kinda weird,my driver was in his 30s. I sometimes think people get this idea from watching gomer pyle & seeing the sargent "get over". My hat's off to all the young NCOs in the service . My mother definitely liked what she got back from the service

 

[Bob A]

That Reservists are not real Soldiers. Huh! I had D Battery, 2d Battalion, 14th Marines with my unit in DS.
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Bob A,

I was in that unit up until shortly before DS. We didn't seem all that organized but I guess we were after all.

GT

GT, compared to 2/10, the boys from Waterloo had all their feces consolidated in one sock. And the sad thing is that 2/10 was better than most battalions in the 2d Division.

Semper Fi

BA

 

[.45Ranger]

Hey Robby! What years were ya on the F.I.D? My brother in law served on her from 85?-89 I think. Me I haven't heard any misconceptions in regards to ex-military. But then I never brought the subject up in casual conversation. I wasn't very proud of my time in the Navy. Felt like I had basically wasted 2 years of my time and others. Mostly doin this:banghead: My attitudes is slowly changing but there is still that one steaming pile of oxygen wasting sewage I wouldn't mind havin' a crack at.

 

[BlackArrow]

Hey Jorah, I've seen you shoot!

Jorah may have not gotten a lot of training in the Navy but the Boy can shoot! Don't mess with him!

 

[Robby from Long Island]

.45Ranger,

I was on the USS FORRESTAL from '61 to '63 after spending a year with VW-2 at Patuxent River Naval Air Test Center, Md.

Wish I could say I had an exciting job on the flight deck, CIC, Pri-Fly, Bridge or engineering, but I didn't. I spent a couple of years working in the Air Office pushing papers. Hey, we can't all be heros........

Safe shooting.

 

[Sodbuster]

That Reservists are not real Soldiers.

Or not real Marines. Joe Foss was a Marine reservist. Lots of them buried in the south Pacific. Lots of Army reservists buried above Omaha Beach. Air Force reserve pilots died in Korea.

 

[MarineTech]

I just can't understand why in the world we let them get away with that kind of crap. We should have sent several very large MPs to collect that particular young lady (and any others like her), put her in handcuffs, throw her into a GI car, and tell her she can choose between two destinations: Leavenworth or the Gulf, and she's got 1 minute to decide.

M1911

This is pretty much what happened in the Marine Corps when Desert Shield kicked off. About 5 or 6 Marines decided that they were Conscientious Objectors when they found out that they'd actually have to make good on their enlistment and fight. As I recall, most of them claimed that they had joined up for college money or to learn a skill and that they didn't believe in fighting. They were re-assigned to the Pendleton Brig. Not on the good side of the bars.

 

[M1911]

This is pretty much what happened in the Marine Corps when Desert Shield kicked off. About 5 or 6 Marines decided that they were Conscientious Objectors when they found out that they'd actually have to make good on their enlistment and fight. As I recall, most of them claimed that they had joined up for college money or to learn a skill and that they didn't believe in fighting. They were re-assigned to the Pendleton Brig. Not on the good side of the bars.

Hooah! Thank God for the Marine Corps.

I did not serve. My cousin, who was my best man, recently retired as a CWO4. I've forgiven him for looking more impressive in his whites (and sword) then I did at my wedding.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

USN

That CPO's are GOD.

Ooops, that's not a misconception, just a fact.

 

[Chvelle]

When I was in the Army, I was in a gunbunny unit stationed in Germany. On the rare occassion we would have to pull gate guard duty, we were armed with a -16 and an unopened case of ammo. We also had two of our live fire field exercises were cancelled and another was cut short due to budget cuts. If somebody wanted to do some damage, they could have beenin and out before we woul of had the case broke open. We only went to the range once or twice a year just to requalify. When I was in, I only got to shoot the 16, an M60 and the 203, I missed out on th .50cal, .45 or the M3 Grease gun. I don't know what they would do if you requested to go to the range

When it was time to pay in the desert one of our female soldiers stole a guys truck, six cartons of smokes and shagged a$$ back to Wisconsin. THe trucks owner had to take a taxi to the ship and fork over all his cash for the ride. Four months later, she was caught and instead of getting slammed in jail, was given a general discharge. No charges for theft, desertion,...nothing. The trucks owner got a storage bill for $1500 , He wrote back and told the guy to come on over and pick it up.

During DS, four out of seven females in my unit got pregnate during their time over there, and two others before the SHTF stateside.

 

[UnknownSailor]

I joined out of high school in '78. High asvabs, was told that I could basically have anything but nukes (bad math) so joined with no set job in mind. Halfway through boot I was called to review dreamsheet, select job... when interviewer heard I was colorblind, he circled about 5 jobs in the corner of the sheet; store keeper, aviation store keeper, and three other varieties. So I became a ****kicker and ended up in New London, CT, about 80 miles from where I grew up. Lived on "Building 11" on State Pier; the ship left the pier once while I was on board, steamed around long island sound for a day or two, then came home. When I asked about getting transfered elsewhere if I re-upped, was told that they needed SKs right there in NLON, but I might get a chance to move on my second re-up... eight years in New London I would have been in an asylum. I saw... Great Lakes, Meridian MS, and NLON... some world. As we sang in boot camp, "raisin, raisin, don't be blue... my recruiter screwed me too...


-J.

PS: I actually did get a couple jobs with my hard-earned Store Keeper Skills, and I surely grew up fast in those two years I was in the Nav... I just wonder -now- if that interviewer in Boot was told... listen, we need SKs... get 50 of them out of the current crop...

Supply field news flash.

As of 0001 01 January 2003, the AK rating no longer exists. AK and SK merged.

All I can say is......I'm not happy. I liked being an AK.

One other thing. The sea/shore rotation is 48/36 for SKs now.

That is all.

 

[jmbg29]

I served in the US Navy. Most people think I was on a ship....I never seen a US Navy ship during my entire hitch. I was strickly land duty in isolated places.

I saw a few, but I didn't have to ride around on 'em.

The old days of the MN rate being flown to all of their duty stations is over. The filthy Klintonista made them pull sweeper duty half of the time. Any self respecting mineman would swim to shore, rather than bob around over a damn minefield.

Thank you God, for sparing me the indignity of serving under that Demorat commie.