What did you do in the military?

[elsie]

USCG Radioman '75-'85 (technically '74 but couldn't go active till I graduated). When I enlisted 'Nam was still a possibility but became moot by the time I went to boot camp. I was relieved as I prefer not getting shot at.


elsie

 

[aflineman]

Retired Air Force. Job was pretty much what my handle says. Plus all other assigned duties. Poweres that be decided about 1/2 way through my time to combine us with the narrow backs and the alarm shop. Not a bad thing for the job I am in now. At the time though, most pole jocks took it as an insult.

 

[RicInOR]

For years, I didn't go to the VA because I'm relatively healthy but I took on the Veteran Outreach role for Intel Corp. I figured I should know what I'm talking about when I tell the other Veterans that they should go to the VA. Though it is time consuming, it is worthwhile to put in your package with the VA. Even if your claims are denied and don't end up getting any assistance from the VA hospital, it does help to ensure that the VA system gets the resources it needs from congress.

+1 !


My wife and I have a friend who was a Ranger/Airborne, got messed up a bit while in. He was having problems, medical - pain. My wife convinced/took him to the VA. Now with a diagnosis AND proper medication, he is a useful member of society - works on a pot farm near Pumpkin Ridge.

If you have medical issues, please get those documented by the VA. Make them turn you away, deny you. You earned the care, and should get it.

 

[Pandaz3]

@Pandaz3 - I just finished reading a Jack Reacher novel that had Fort Wolters in it. Thanks for your service, I'm sure those ground troops appreciated it when they heard the woop woop overhead.

I'm second generation USN Submariner. I joined the USN DEP November of my senior year - 1984, and turned 18 while in boot camp in Great Lakes. I spent a year in Great Lakes learning to be an Electronics Technician and then went into the Nuclear Power Program. I was a qualified Nuclear Reactor Operator before I was old enough to drink.

When I first checked into Submarine Squadron 6 in January 1988, they had me help out in Medical since my boat was in the yards. The Squadron Medical officer liked that I learned quickly how to check in patients, take vitals and was willing to learn more about what they did. He was putting this proposal for having non-medical corpsman EMT trained personnel on board the boats. I was the first person that he sent to EMT training and I helped develop that program.

I was on a Fast Attack Sub on the East coast and we got to do all the cold war stuff and then Desert Shield/Storm happened while we were deployed.

I can't say what we did but I can say that some of the "Riders" we've had on board for certain operations can really crowd the small mess decks that we have and they eat a lot of chow.

I finished my time in at shore duty in Kings Bay, as Nuc Repair Supply and my collateral duty was Base Aux Sec Force 1st Platoon Chief. That's where I learned to love to shoot.

I punched out at the 10 year mark, because I had a problem with my legs as well as the Clinton draw down... I could have fought the release but I wanted to be around to argue with the baby boy while he was still growing up. Another sea tour would be 5 to 6 years on a Fast Attack, my first boat logged over 300 days at sea in one year... so effectively my wife would be a single parent.

For years, I didn't go to the VA because I'm relatively healthy but I took on the Veteran Outreach role for Intel Corp. I figured I should know what I'm talking about when I tell the other Veterans that they should go to the VA. Though it is time consuming, it is worthwhile to put in your package with the VA. Even if your claims are denied and don't end up getting any assistance from the VA hospital, it does help to ensure that the VA system gets the resources it needs from congress.

May is Military Appreciation Month, and I just want to thank all of my Fellow Veterans for serving.

1. My Mom's Cousin was a WWII Submariner who stayed in after the War he visited my Mom in '63 (In uniform) he was a Double Senior Master Chief or whatever a E-9 is. He was a electrician for rate and He was "Chief of the Boat" I was considering the Navy he said taller people feel more cramped over time. I thought he thought I was just to stupid to be a Submariner. Probably right.

2. The VA, I have had a lot of interface there. I was initially rated 10%, then 30% for years then since 2004 60% and now 100% so I get compensation and free Medical Treatment and Drugs. It sounds better than it is. Wait Wait Wait! then see someone and wait. Then it seems to go well once you get to the hands on part. I have had numerous procedures and operations only one personnel complaint, I did not like the attitude and bedside manner of one Doctor, everyone else has been good. One trend with Eyes and Ears seems to be "You are not bad enough" so they pass till next exam. Okay enough about the facilities.

The actual first application is very important. The closer to separation the better as you can more easily find the documents. A rating of "0" is still a Rating. Like I said I got a automatic 10% (Ears) but I reflexively re-filed as I thought they were overlooking other problems and that is how I reached 30%. That gave me more rights with the VA (And a small amount of shekels every month) I was happy till Bypass City occurred and I wanted better access to the VA. That is when I reapplied and got 60% with no Agent Orange consideration so I reapplied and I got 100%. I think I could show more wrong and perhaps I should, but 100 is 100.

 

[Retired Guy]

Nope, not me. By the time my eggs got out to the troops they were green; stupid powdered eggs; that crap was only good for french toast batter IMO.

Warm green eggs was better than a cold C-Rat. A good, dedicated cook was a great asset and appreciated by all the troops.

 

[Medic!]

50 and I never have been to the VA.

They did try to hire me once.

 

[Pandaz3]

Warm green eggs was better than a cold C-Rat. A good, dedicated cook was a great asset and appreciated by all the troops.

When I was with the Infantry we loved Care packages from home. My Friends Mom used to send me homemade Fruitcake. about four of them, one at a time everyone noticed when my package arrived and started to gather round. That full size cake was gone in sixty seconds! We craved calories and sleep.

The best Army meal in the field was at 173rd's Bde Hq mess hall they filled one side of my mess kit with food and the other with Ice cream.

Leaving the Army at Oakland Army Terminal in '67 they had steaks, good ones, as many as you want. I was looking like a death camp survivor and the cook's all took notice as I returned for the forth time! Great meal.

 

[Squidly]

I saw the video of the last F-14 fly several years ago. And now the USS Enterprise is decommissioned. When I checked on board in 1980, That flat-top looked really big, but the full scope of how big did not hit me until I had been on board a few months. Watching F-14s launch and recover was the most amazing thing I ever saw up to that time. I was a Machinist Mate (Monkey Mate to my air-dale buddies), a steam plant operator, engine room janitor, and general grease monkey. Somehow I ended up on the Class N firefighting team as one of my collateral duties. I think I may have pissed somebody off.

 

[Ownerus]

Somewhere amongst my stuff I have a couple of photos I took in 1975 of the Enterprise CVA65 coming into Subic Bay as the Hancock CVA19 was leaving, headed out to be decommissioned. Two carriers in one photo. I was at Cubi Point attached to VMFA-232 as a com-nav avionics tech.

 

[Siglvr]

Army trained me how to fire a Nuclear Missile then sent me to Germany to stand behind some Germans and watch them do my job. The only interesting part of that to me was that I got to stand behind the komrads and had a loaded M-16 whereas they had their bare hands, so what I said was the way it was going to go down. Pretty boring as everyone had been vetted: army dudes by the FBI, Germans by their security services, so there was no crazies and we all did our jobs and generally got along great when sober. Had we fired them off it would have been a total mess. Thinking it's even more so now with the Ukraine standoff going on.

There were rare times where it got interesting. I was on a base that my father had helped destroy during WW2, the bomb craters were everywhere still -they'd bombed the crap out of it, and I got to think of my late father all the time everytime I walked around a crater. In fact, they did pull out one of my dads live 500 lb bombs once when a trackhoe hit it while digging, which was exciting but paled in comparison to the time one of the nucs went ahead and skipped all the normal checks and balances processes and armed itself for no apparent reason (at the time- a grounding rod inadvertently sunk not deep enough combined with some static electricity in the air). 2nd, the Brits actually ran the base and there were a lot more of them than us and they did even less work as far as I could see, but the Germans did the real work, and the few yanks around sort of watched the world go by as long as the world was going the right way. It was real fun on the many range days where all 3 nationalities all showed up with all of our weaponry and cross-played with each other stuff - with all the free ammo you can shoot with which ever automatic weapon you had on hand.

I was EOD charge for our team, which meant I got to practice blowing things up with all kinds of different things: C4, Shape Charges, Det Cord, Reg Cord, Electric blasting caps, regular blasting caps on and on. Got to help design the security for warhead exchanges we'd trade out for maintenance on Huey's which was no small thing as there was a terrorist attack alert about the same time from intelligence folks. Said attack became more tense when the terrorists attacked and got away with some unknown type of poison gas a another base that wasn't suppose to be there about 40 klics away. blah blah blah etc.

Otherwise- Amazing beer, Amazing and Plentiful Frauleins, Adequate Schnitzels, Perfect Auslese's, Solid Euro travel to Lux, France, Schwitz, Spain, Italy etc etc. I never did reconcile all of the many stupid bureaucratic bulls*it that rolled down my way from on high via Uncle Sugar which is just one of the things everyone in the military seems to get. Did my 2 years and out with an honorable.

 

[chukar]

The lack of crayon love in this thread is.... Disturbing.

I played jarhead from '88-'94. Enlisted as an 0311 (basic crayon craving knuckle-dragger). The Green Weenie saw fit to put me in MCSF Bn. Pacific, FAST Co.

We played games around dry-docks during RFDF missions in Bremerton, sat on the border in Arizona to watch for drug trafficking.

I received some excellent schooling in blowing stuff up and swimming without fear.

I ended up my "career" with 1/7 in 29 Palms and Okinawa.

 

[Ferryman]

I was Engineman 1st Class (E-6) when I got out in '90 to do the Merchant Marine thing.

1st tour I was A-gang on a guided missile cruiser.

2nd tour was with Special Boat Unit 12. Fast boats and guns!

Got to make two deployments with a SEAL Team platoon. Those were fun and interesting times! (No, wasn't a comando, just the guy who drove the boat)

 

[gryghin]

I was Engineman 1st Class (E-6) when I got out in '90 to do the Merchant Marine thing.

1st tour I was A-gang on a guided missile cruiser.

2nd tour was with Special Boat Unit 12. Fast boats and guns!

Got to make two deployments with a SEAL Team platoon. Those were fun and interesting times! (No, wasn't a comando, just the guy who drove the boat)

Thanks Uber, BZ...

I was their undersea Uber pusher... Engineering Nuke ET1/SS.

Those dudes could eat.

 

[jackrv]

Shipfitter/damage control on a destroyer 1968 to 1972. Same at swan island in Portland at the reserve center. Later it became hull maintenance technician.

Personally I liked the term shipfitter better.

 

[ilostmypswrd]

USMC Cmbt Eng (1371) also my plt`s 60 gunner, and back up loader for the 106 RR, also for a very brief time was a mule driver, and back up A driver for the Gamma Goat, dudes that was such a blast.. Joined in 72, missed Nam by a year or so, wheee, so lucky,though I did see combat in Subic Bay on many occasions, lolololol, to many San Migals and to many LBFM`s. Got out in 80. Did a couple of floats on the USS Tarawa, good ship great squids great chow. Should have stayed in for my 20/30, alas hind sight sucks...SEMPER FI.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Protected the concert seats while friends were off getting beers. (KISS army)

 

[jblake00]

USCG 2002-2006.

-Boot camp in Cape May NJ

-Non-rate in Engineering on a 210' WMEC Venturous. Meet the ship in the yards at Baltimore, then headed home to St. Petersburg FL. Did 1 cruise through the Carribean, "escorted" a couple of Navy subs through the Panama Canal, had a blast in Cartagena Columbia.

-A School, and some C Schools, for 10 months in Petaluma CA for Electronics Technician. Volunteered for an emergency billet to Astoria OR on the WMEC Steadfast.

-ET3 on the 210' Cutter Steadfast, or as we called it, cell block 623 (hull number). Spent 2.5 years on board, traveled from Victoria B.C. down to the coast of Peru. Had numerous other jobs besides fixing radar/comms gear, and augmenting the radio room watch station because of the clearence i held. I also was Starboard side held tie down crew, 50. Cal gunner, and Soda King to name a few. Had a blast, even when I didn't think it was at the time. We worked with the Navy looking for drugs, human trafficking/immigration, and plain old search and rescue. Found 3 Columbians one evening floating in a hollowed out tree, 60+ miles off shore. They had gone fishing and had a storm run up on them and got lost. They didnt have much for food, fuel, or water so they were happy to see us on day 3. Good times.

 

[oremike]

I joined the Navy in July of '75 was in the recruiters office signing the papers and saw there was a boot camp in Orlando FLA so asked to go there. After boot it was BE/E school in Orlando and then to the big suck (great lakes) from Sept -March for FT(G) school. After getting my rating I Mac flighted to the Philippines just in time to be in the transit barracks for Typhoon Olga. I reported to the Camden (AOE-2) after the storm as a Gun Fire Control Technician only to find out what I really was was a forklift driver in the ammo holds for underway replenishment's. Did my 4 years and got my honorable, liked all the places I went but not really how I had to go get there.

 

[PNW Pineapple]

United States Marine Corps
0311 Infantry Rifleman 2004-2008
1st Battalion 3rd Marines Charlie Company
Combat Tours in Iraq an Afghanistan.

 

[wired]

You know I went into Bi-Mart one time and I was talking to the clerk cuz I was giving up military discount or just buying a bunch of camping gear or something like that. She was probably about 18 years old and she looked up and she's like were you in the army and I was like oh yeah I was and you can tell she either had a boyfriend in the army or she was going in or something like that. She asked me what's the army like? I looked at her I said you know it was a lot like jail. She gave me that confused look.