Military service tales for enlightenment and entertainment

I served once as a security guard in a White Castle restaurant. Does that count as military duty?

Enlisted - USAF. Retired after 21 years.

Enlisted Army. Everyone else went to Southeast Asia. They sent me to Germany, so no really good tales to tell.

No stories, I have a hard time with that statement, basic training, AIT, active duty, monthly drills, all kinds of things happened.
To make it easier I'll go first. Not a great story but it may give an insight into...

I was thirty-one years old when I enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard. My basic was at Ft Jackson, NC. All of the new trainees stay at the Reception Center for some time after arriving. This is to make up training platoons and companies. Once a platoon is full the whole thing is processed, assembly line style. You line up for uniforms, then you line up for vaccinations, on and on, line after line, Boring!
There is a mess hall in the Reception Center, at first glance a sparking, clean, modern facility. In line for my first real army meal I saw the cockroaches. The only thing the little creeps did not do was get in line with a tray. I quickly learned to tap my tray against the wall to knock off any hitchhikers.
Insects of many kinds are used as food in many parts of the world. Those who eat them know what they are eating. I wonder how many roaches were consumed, by the unknowing trainees, every day.
One day at breakfast I watched as the female trainee across the table form me ate her sweet roll, roach included. Did I try to stop her? By the time I saw the roach it was going into her mouth. She followed it up with a sip of coffee. Hmm. Coffee, sweet roll and roach, if I tell her she will spray everything in her mouth all over me. I said not a word to her about the roach. The reasons for my silence: 1.Would it have done any good? No 2.I had on a clean uniform. 3.It saved both of us a chewing out from some NCO or Officer.

Not a great story but true. It does give a snap shot of my stay at the Reception Center. What I would like to see is what military service is really like. Lots of people have never and will never experience any part of military life, this is for them. It is also for us, to remember the good times, the bad times and the silliness we lived through.

gus,

Did you every have to deal with any military types at Castillo Blanco?

Sam

Oh, yeah, Ft. Jackson. I visited their reception center, but did basic at Gordon (circa 1962). Back to Jackson where I discovered they had hijacked my "guaranteed" enlistment option and stuck me in a truck driver's schoo. It was tough, but I finally managed to flunk out, and did AIT as ojt 540. That's duty soldier, if you don't know. At the completion of training, I was awarded mos 710 (clerk/typist), and never looked back.

Ended up as fixwing aircraft mechanic, by the way.

roger,

I did my AIT at Gordon, 05Charlie, RATT.
Did you ever see Patrick J. Brems Barracks? Wha a dump! The buildings were two corrugated iron bays joined at one end by a cinder block latrine. No air conditioning, just exhaust fans in the roof and two floor fans in each bay. Hotter than the hinges of Hades.
We marched to and from class six times a day. At lunch I would sit in the platoon office read and drip sweat on the floor. I was just too hot to eat anything.
All the class rooms were air conditioned, set at about 60 degrees. From 100 percent humidity and temperatures well over 90 degrees to 60 degrees in the class rooms, Army style destruct testing. Every Platoon in my Company had several troops down with pneumonia every week. No heat casualties, just pneumonia.
So, what fond memories do have of FT Gordon? Endless hours at Barton Field watching retirement ceremonies? What about the kindly Drs. at DDAMC?

Sam

D-2-1, and later assignment at Signal School H&H.

Watching retirement parades? Gee, I always wondered how we looked from the stands. Well, listening to Col. Sy Stricklands unaugmented battalion commands was kind of inspirational.

1962, remember.

Oh sure. Fond memories. Did your generation still have that free transportation to Augusta, fondly known as the vomit comet?

Nope, I never went to Augusta. In fact the only time I was off post was going to and from the Airport. Cattle cars both ways. The Basic Training thing, make em suffer.
Basic was a piece of cake for me. Age had a lot to do with that but there were other things too. My Dad did a short tour as a DI at a, now closed, post near Amarillo. I had already stood White Glove Inspections, learned how to make a bunk and humped a 60 lb. pack by the time I was 12.
Then there were Catholic Schools, hell hath no fury like Mother Superior.
Yes Sister sounds a lot like yes Sir. The Principal, no pal of mine, jerked me out of line by my ear once for answering, "yes" instead of yes Sister. I stood for half an hour repeating, "yes Sister" before she was satisfied.
Did you ever get off post during basic at Gordon?

I enlisted in the Army in the fall of '68. They thought it would be amusing to send me to Ft Dix in NJ. Southern boy: Send him to NJ in the winter. God, it was cold!
I still remember our first day on the rifle range, lining up for lunch: luke warm meat of some kind,
cold mashed potatos and ice cream for desert. We had to brush the snow off of the ice cream.

Later, considering that I had a degree in accounting, the Army decided that they could use me as a combat engineer, so off I went to Ft Leonard Wood (aka Lost in the Woods), Missouri, to learn how to blow things up.
We were allowed to leave on the weekends, but where could we go? Anybody know the name of the town there? -rjb-

Ft Lost in the Woods is near St Robert and Waynesville.

Army types! Jeez! Surrounded by 'em I tell ya! lol

(Just a little good natured inter-service rivalry thing. )

fishin',

What was your branch? Got any stories? Huh? Come on I know you have some whoppers.

Sam

Fishin' was Air Force. An ossifer type, too.

Gone for the weekend
Night all, I need to get some sleep, now. We leave for the wilds of darkest Iowa in the morning. On safari in search of the elusive Lutheran Seminary Graduation. Wish Wiyaka and me luck, please. It could be dangerous for two pagans. :wink:

roger,

when I get back I'll share an ossifer story, it's kinda cute.

Sam

Lots of army schools, sent to 'Nam (67-68) From PFC to Buck Sargent. Wore a cute little black beret. Surprised everyone by surviving! Came back to the 82nd Airborne at Ft Bragg,NC. From Buck Sargent to PFC. Got out.

That reminds me. Our baseball teem (head & head, United States Army Southeastern Signal Corps school) had cheers dedicated to almost every team they played. For the Student Officers Company it was - M-I-C-K-E Y M-O-U-S-E, SIRRR, with an unbelievably pleasant emphasis on the word sir. I have always wondered if they sufficiently appreciated the well deserved respect.

That's like the friend I had that was running on a snowy sidewalk at Ft Bragg, when a butterbar stepped out of a building as Jack slid by . Jack saluted on the slide and finished it by giving the peace sign to him. The surprised 2nd louie snapped a salute in return, took two steps and stopped dead in his tracks... shaking his head in disbelief. No, it wasn't me and yes, it really happened. I loved it.

Oh no no no no no...... I retired as an E-8. Not that ossifers are necessarily terrible people but, I would never wanna be one if'n ya know what I mean.