Upon graduation from AIT, it was an inspiring feeling of profound accomplishment!
So, after I got finished with this step of my ongoing challenging, yet very rewarding journey, my PDA, is the very next stage to move to, once and for all!
This stage is where all my training is finally complete, and where I move on to my permanent duty station where I begin to perform my job, on through my departure date from the service.
Do you remember the location where I chose for my PDA?
Well, I know it WASNT OK, just above TX!
Wasn't it the beautiful islands of...........HI?
Told you they were just dream sheets, well, now that I gave it away, I'm in Ft. Sill, OK bordering with the very small insignificant military town of Lawton. I'm really quite surprised how much it actually reminds me of Erie, PA, my childhood hometown. Both very small with only a couple major roads and even the same size airport,
can you believe they both have only 2 gates?
I really must admit its not the greatest PDA. On top of this very disappointing fact,
I arrived at the beyond perfect time!
Christmas!
Of ALL times of the year, to arrive on a military base! The very time that the entire base was shut down and also when everyone vanished & were completely gone. After I somehow managed to contact my platoon SGT to pick me up from battalion headquarters, he just dropped me off in a empty room that the occupants had left.
So, I had to stay in this room all alone and also attempted to acquire food from a place called, "Sub shack and pizza,"
Yes that's actually it, instead of perhaps calling it more properly, "pizza and sub shack" which makes much more sense than saying sub shack and something. It just sounds better,
right?
It turns out that I was assigned to the battalion, 1/78th FA( Field artillery). This consists of about 4-5 batteries, which then have 3 platoons.
At some very surprising, and also unexpected point, I actually find out that I'm in the...
can you guess?
Would you happen to know who else is also there?
Would you actually believe, of all those who could be here?
The trainees!!!
Yes, the very ones that are in basic training!
So, maybe if you recall from earlier on, that some very "up to speed?" guy told me I would NEVER be around trainees!
But now, who am I around?
But when I wasn't anywhere near them, I was actually around others who really enlightened me about something I was not at all familiar with. I actually for the very first time ended up learning what "near beer" is.
Imagine that!
Coming from NV, I really never even heard of this. I learned that OK does not even have normal "real" beer, as they actually have 3.2% ABV, instead of the normal up to 6% ABV, everywhere else. In order to get a stronger beer, I remember having to go to a liquor store or all the way to Wichita Falls, TX. We did go down there once and for some reason, Fergie couldn't show his ID, so we ended up driving onto the base, for some reason. Since my Military ID and Drivers license, birthdays didn't match, I was apprehensive to show both of them to the guard. Fortunately, he didn't want to do the paperwork for punishing me for not having one of my IDs, so it worked out fine. It was because the military ID I had, had a different birthday on it so I could buy liquor.
Since I was only 18, even though I was fighting for/serving my fucking country that didn't even allow me to partake of any great drinks, and could die for it, I was NOT allowed to buy/drink alcohol.
Sounds fair enough.
Yeah, its the typical fucking fair and reasonable govt, as always, without fail!
Remind me to tell you how they handle bars to re-enlistment
This reminds me of another time before I got my ID changed, I was out with Bruce and his friend, while they were trying to get me into a bar, they attempted transferring the hand stamp from his friend's hand to my hand, and of course, it didn't work.
But nice try guys, thanks anyway.
There was a bar just out of town, can you guess the name?
Did you guess "City Limits?"
Wow! maybe you were there?
Yes, this bar I somehow managed to get into.
Trying to remember the screwy laws that OK had, here at the bar, I think they could only serve beer and I remember getting plenty. One thing they did do, which I was appreciative of, actually them just looking out for themselves, if a light flashed - that meant the pigs were coming. So we had to be on our best behavior. So I made sure I wasn't drinking because remember, I can DIE for my fucking country, but still too young and irresponsible to partake of alcohol.
Yes, that makes perfect sense to me!
During my daily journeys, I made it to the mess hall a few times a day. So, I just have to relay my most wonderful & very pleasant experience with this really GUNG-HO DS, one time.
Since I was PP (Perm Party) I was allowed to go into the mess hall without waiting in line. So, on another "fun" day, this one very bold brave gung ho MF DS, who just happened to be a SSG E6, didn't want to let me through. But when I spoke back to him, he really hated the fact that I stood up for myself. So, the next thing on his agenda, was attempting to humiliate me in front of his trainees. This MF SSG actually had the balls & told me to drop!! (Do push-ups)
I didn't have to because I was PP, remember?
Apparently he wasn't quite sure what permanent party was, I surmised he didn't really have any clue, as it wasn't within his own mind, because I asked him...
what part of PP don't you comprehend?
Since I knew that I didn't have to do the same things as the trainees, I just stood my ground. When I did this though, this DS didn't get the message that I was PP. My patch on my left shoulder signified that I was PP and NOT a trainee. But since he was oblivious, I eventually, did have to get someone from my unit to straighten him out.
Then to my disappointment, it was just my luck, I only found another E6, of equal rank. No higher rank was available right then. So, this SSG didn't really do jack. He just stood at parade rest, hands behind back, modified version of attention, while he just stood there doing nothing at all, and also NOT saying anything at all either. To this very day, I don't remember him saying, jack shit! He just stood there as still as can be, listening to the other SSG DS that was equal rank.
But after all this hassle, I did actually get to walk thru to eat.
Then on another fun filled day, during my wonderful military experience, I ran into SSG Cooper. This guy had just about every patch I could ever think of, on his uniform, starting with Airborne Ranger progressing through Special Forces, all the way up to Green Beret, if memory serves. This dude was cool as fuck! I even remember him picking me up from the airport. Well, its really too bad the fun times only lasted so long. Later it was revealed that all his patches really should be somewhere else, because at some point he took most, if not all, of them back off his uniform. We actually found out that he really wasn't authorized to wear any of them at all! That totally caught me way off guard! During this whole fiasco, I caught up with him and confronted him.
"Why would you wear all those patches if you weren't even authorized to?"
He didn't really have any valid answer at all. He just told me that he was getting out of the service, anyway.
Are you ready for my next story?
This next one is going to throw you for a loop!
Since all this happened so very long ago, I will concentrate on just the main points. SGT Vaught was also in my unit. I really had nothing against him at all. The very abrupt unanticipated reaction to his movement though, really beyond surprised me, while it also fully revealed just how much supremacy and authority the military industrial complex actually has.
Their domination over servicemembers is way beyond out of control!
Brace yourself for this one, because patches have nothing over what happened to Vaught. Keep in mind, that SGT Vaught was just a buck SGT, so an E5.
To the best of my recollection, Vaught misplaced more than just a few grenades. Perhaps a crate?
Now if you think taking off a few miniscule patches is harsh or intense, just attempt to comprehend what getting busted down to absolutely nothing feels like!
YES!
Believe it!
He got busted all the way down to NO rank whatsoever! He got demoted ALL the WAY from e5 - e1 for losing grenades. Try to understand that he didn't just get demoted 1 rank, as in an E4, they took everything he had away!
What makes this so goddamn deplorable, is the fact that this would NEVER happen in reverse, EVER! The military, and the government overseeing it, has always been unreasonable to members of its ranks!
This extremely iniquitous punishment against Vaught was completely immoral!
Hoping that you understand my pertinent intent here, its absolutely NO problem, EVER, in the least to strip him of ALL his rank, but consider the case moving entirely in the opposite direction.
Do you ever in your entire existence, surmise that they would even consider promoting an E1 straight up to an E5?
Hmmm, not really sure, but I would venture to make a safe bet, and conclude they might do it, perhaps on the very same day that we can walk on water or swim to the very bottom of the ocean!
How do you feel about the BIG HAPPY WONDERFUL military so far??
Now, I should begin with MY OWN personal adventures.
Keeping in mind I was just a punk kid out of HS, I really hadn't had much work experience. I really had had only a couple of part time jobs by this time. So, since I was such a model soldier while I was working for Alpha battery, they figured out a way for Bravo Battery to find me to their liking. After all, they always seemed to have some reason for other personell to actually operate the equipment, instead of me most of the time.
So, eventually Alpha simply pawned me off to Bravo batt.
Alpha batt, worked on the self-propelled artillery, while Bravo batt, worked on the towed artillery. This was what differentiated them. So even though I was trained officially in self prop, they pawned me off to towed.
For a while this seemed to work. Eventually Bravo had the very same feelings for me as Alpha did. Then something happened.
AGAIN!!
Now, Bravo seemed to acquire a similar notion as Alpha originally had. Therefore, when "special duty" came up and gave an opportunity for Bravo batt to graciously volunteer someone for this duty, I'm sure you must know who they had at the top of their list. Of course they loved me so much that they, at some point, had no reservations sending me on assignment for 2-3 months.
The new place was called "Range control"
Yeah!
You guessed it!
I worked on the ranges, and other basically bullshit duty. I think they also loved me just as much as bravo did, because they sent me right back to bravo.
Yes, everyone, I was loved back then just as much as I am today.
During my duty at range ctrl though, I did meet SFC David W. Ray. That means he was an E7. You can only go up to an E9, so he was up there in rank.
But he was as cool as fuck!!
Needless to say, he was best friend while I was in the army!
We got to know each other and he actually had me over a few times, where I had the pleasure of meeting his family. I will NEVER forget him and his wonderful family, Kristi and Lil Davy.
Oh, I almost forgot Grizz, Bronca, and Dixie.
They were their kids????
NO!
Their Rottweilers.
I actually was going to get 1 of Grizz's pups, but never did. He did take me on his boat and other fun things that I will never forget. I even kept in touch with them after I was back home. At some point, he talked about having me back to help him with things. But we never connected and I never saw them again. I can only hope they are all fine.
On to my next escapade as you continue to be well versed with all of my memorable antics.
I do remember that I had had such an affinity for the barracks, with all their lovely unannounced inspections, that I finally stayed with a couple of guys off base in their house. Obviously, this was not official, as the military would never allow such an appealing arrangement to actually occur. This was the 2nd situation that requisite to be concealed. The 1st was my fraternization with Dave & family. The were times after evening formation that I vanished so fast after evening formation, SGT Zuber mentioned it. The 1st SGT and my platoon SGT were actually talking about inspecting the house I was living in, off base but thank god they never did.
Because it was a total major mess!
While I was still employed by Alpha, I had acquired my first car, a 67 barracuda, that ended up being propped up on blocks. This car never really got driven since I was essentially sold a lemon. At best, this one really needed a TON of work, including the body, which had too much bondo all over it. In light of all this, is probably the reason that I only paid a whopping $500 for it. It also seemed like it took an act of congress just to obtain the title. At the time I didn't really have access to them.
Well, what should I do?
Hmmm, I perhaps have a thought that may work.
I KNOW!!!!!
My 1st SGT!
He is, an E8, the enlisted SGT in charge of the batt, which remember, E9 is the absolute highest possible, so he was way up there in the ranks.
I will never forget 1st SGT Wolf.
Now he was one, you really didn't want to fuck with, or especially get on your bad side at all. Believe me, take my word on this one! But he did end up helping me when he called the SSG E6 who sold me the barracuda with no title. He threatened to call the NCO support channel on him.
No, I have no idea what that is, but I assume you don't want to deal with it, so I acquired my title.
Thanks, 1st Sarg!
When you are that high in rank you get called 1st SGT.
E8 and below was just called SGT
Well, do you really desire to continue?
If you took your break, I will continue
My next story proves how invariably DISHONEST the government always is!
Since my whole ordeal in the army was so pleasant, all the time, I was on CQ (Charge of Quarters) duty one night. This meant 1 NCO, (NON-Commissioned Officer) which was usually E5-E7, and I were required to work at the battalion level, which is made up of about 4 batteries/companies. I and SSG Stiff were on duty while the rest of the world slept. I knew it was going to be a long night so I guess I was trying to keep us both awake and joke around a little.
I must have gone too far because he got up and said,
"I'm pissed now!"
The next thing I know my head is slammed up against the wall and bleeding. As he has me forced up & pinned to the wall, he then says,
"there's a time to be serious!"
So, like my whole life, I fucked up again, and it's ALL MY FUCKING fault. So I always bring it on myself, its NEVER about anyone else, its never them!
Its ALWAYS my fault, EVERY SINGLE time.
So yes I get it and I totally understand, ok?
So I didn't know what else to do, as I could see that I was, by far, NOT in his good graces, so the only response for me was just to get up and leave.
Staying was not an option.
So, I just walked out to think of my next move while I got help. As usual, no one was ever around when I needed them so the only one I could find was a DS from one of the training units.
He wanted me to walk on his left side, but not his right.
Not to worry, I have no idea either.
He called SFC Maldanado, who was in my unit so I knew him, so he could deal with the situation internally, and he spoke with me. Of course, it eventually went to the BC (Battery Commander) usually a CPT. So I do remember speaking with him and SFC Durden while we were in my room. The only little tid-bit I can recall from here was that Durden made some remark that I wasn't saying, "Sir" often enough.
When all was said and done, the fucking nigger gets away with it and said I "slipped on a bar of soap"
In short, he denies it.
But don't worry, "justice was served," as it was ALL MY FAULT,
HE was the SGT,
I was the PVT,
so I was the one responsible for everyone and everything.
He has no responsibility for his actions.
Am I clear?
Great!!
We'll move on then!
So, if I was a straight serious MF, this would not have happened.
So it was ALL MY FUCKING FAULT!
And another time, I accidentally damaged a truck door, and because the other guys there, were laughing at me, I fig I would laugh too, (Yeah I know, not the best action I could have done!) and because I laughed, the two Mother fuckers said it was me who fucked up and also that I laughed, so, indubitably, I got to pay for it!
unlike the other two MF that laughed or in routine circumstances where the fucking goddam govt pay for it themselves.
Never in my case because its ALWAYS MY FUCKING FAULT, NEVER ANYONE ELSES.
Understand?
I will mention that it takes a unique person to be in the military. You have to be very attentive and not think, just do what you're told.
Simple!
So, LISTEN UP!
HMM, so far you would be TOP-NOTCH!
As long as you do this and then move your body according to the commanders orders & dictations, YOU would be OPTIMAL!!
For those of you that think, however, like me for instance, it's just NOT a good place for you or for me, as you have seen thus far.
If you have a brain and desire to be yourself, and think like a normal person, and be a little different, it's not a good place for you.
If you want to be controlled 24/7 and told what to do 24/7, like how to sleep, act, eat, drink, and be under control even when you are off base, this bullshit is PERFECT for you!
That's EXACTLY why I am NOT a fit at ALL.
OH SHIT!!!
I never introduced you to guerra. He was, my platoon SGT, SFC Guerra, he was always getting on me about shaving. Sometimes I didn't bother to do it EVERYDAY, because it was too hard on my baby face.
Then one day, he got me in a room by myself and I started to explain,
"SGT, I...."
but then...
"Shut up before I smack your god damn ass!" he retorts back.
I figure after my experience with Stiff, I better do it.
Cause you know how it works, if I would have said something and he did smack me,
who would believe a lowly shit PVT over an upstanding, believable, and fat E7 like him?
After that, I just did what I was told and acted like a perfectly good little subservient soldier, and did EXACTLY what I was dictated/ordered to.
I finally learned my lesson(s) after all, I must learn someday!!
Also, even though OK didn't have any helmet law or anything else to wear while on a motorcycle, I, as an army GI, (government issue) was required to wear.....
ready for this list?
You better be!
Helmet, of course
reflective road guard vest
boots
gloves
face protection
long pants
long-sleeved shirt
etc
etc
etc
EVEN OFF the base!
Now, when you are a GI, you are susceptible to not only state law but military too.
So, if I was in Lawton, the town outside the base, I would not just deal with the local town pigs, but the fucking MP's too.
Basically Double Jeopardy.
Yes, against the 5th amendment, I know.
But we all know how well the fucking govt listens intently to their own rules.
But don't think, for a second, that it was ALL bad, I did get a single moment of fun too. When I and SPC Rothfus were driving his old muscle car, we were racing another one, and then the bitch in the car even flashed us!
But now, remember that you are not allowed to have any harmless fun, because just then both of us got pulled over, us & the other car. While we were stopped, I do remember, that the other car not only had a delicious looking bottle of liquor but also a nice new shiny shotgun too.
Isn't that just fantastic?
We can only just assume what happened to him.
Oh wow!!!
Are we finally getting to the end?
Well, stay right here and keep on reading, for the answer!!
But after my many "joyful" experiences and my one single brief fun time, it was finally that time.
To go home????
Sounds like it.......It was almost time for ETS.
Now, what does that stand for?
Well maybe,
Is it Estimated Time of Separation?
OR is it
Expired Term of Service?
I have actually heard both versions,.
I recall that I overheard SFC Guerra was being transferred to Germany.
Well, I guess it didn't matter, since I was getting out anyway.
Unless by some act of the fucking govt, they would send me to Germany?
But, how the fuck would this happen to me?
Ha-ha, LOL, I'm GTFO (getting the fuck out!)
No worries for me.
But when I got my ETS, the only stipulation was that I didn't come back!
Hmm, I wonder why???
It is called a Bar to REenlistment.
Now, it is imperative and crucial that YOU understand what this is!!
Read below and DO NOT miss this!!
It means:
We DONT WANT YOU, DONT COME BACK. DONT TRY TO Reenlist WE DONT WANT YOU!! NO OTHER WAY TO PUT IT.
GOT IT?????
Now you are gone, NO further relationship ever again.
Now don't forget what they said,
I was NOT to be in the army ever again!!
REMEMBER THIS!!
Now, (or actually then) I did a dity move. This is where I move myself and, by god, the govt actually pays for it.
I know, amazing huh?
I know, I'm surprised too.
I weighed my car and trailer BOTH when empty AND when full. This shows how much I am transferring out of the army. That way I could get reimbursed based on weight.
Since I was driving, I thought it would be good to have a gun for protection. I looked around at pawn shops and finally saw my Taurus 357 mag. calling out to me.
I bought it when I was just 20, my first gun ever!
The memorable moment here is when he asked me if I was 21.
I think I said something like,
"Sure"
I'm actually somewhat surprised that really worked, because saying it that way, almost sounds sarcastic.
But it worked!
I bought my first gun B4 I was 21.
NO ID, NO checks, NO days like that anymore. These Days are long fucking gone.
Don't we wish we had those days again?
Not in this new fucking world and new everything else and the NWO that's coming and already being put into action.
YOU just wait for what's coming next!!!
If you think these muzzles are bad.....
I had acquired an 80 Dodge Mirada, with a 318 V8, from SSG Barth, which was ok, not the best shape but thought it would make it back to Vega$. Forget about the old cuda from 67 that I remarked about earlier, got rid of it. At some point Dave told me to carry enough cash for the trip, but I didn't bring too much.
So I ventured from Lawton, OK heading west to Vega$ NV.
In the process, I broke down 3 times.
1st it was a thermostat.
then the belt
then last, it was the pump.
The greatest cooling system I had?
I should have listened to Dave and brought enough cash.
The only thing that saved me was my 87 Honda Hurricane, yup the old CBR600, fastest bike I ever owned, that was in the trailer I was pulling, that I also forgot to mention. Yes, cell phones are faster, as long as you have one, but this was before they were popular.
Drove it to a gas station and got a truck to tow my car.
The car worked ok then on
Bye now - I wont miss you!
Now I was FINALLY OUT of the fucking army!!!!
ONCE AND 4 ALL!!
Or was I?
Stay tuned.............perhaps for the sequel?
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