my dad has been in the US army since 1981. my mother in the US air force since 2003, and both my grandfathers served in the korean war.

my dad was in operation iraqi freedom in march 2003 for six monthes as a logistics officer. he took part in the bosnian peace-keeping action back in 1996 i believe. he also took part in the invasion of panama in 1990. he first joined the ROTC at the university of puerto rico, then moved to the USA with my mother back in 1981, to fort knox, where they train the tank crews. so he was a tank commander from then, to 1991. it's also why i was born in louisville kentucky, 45 minutes from the fort.

his hearing is sub-average because of the repetitive firing of the guns, which i have heard first-hand. they are very loud. the round is fired faster than the speed of sound, so u see the round fly through the air, then a huge shockwave hits your body and ears.

one story he told me about the invasion of iraq. sirens started sounding, and everyone had to put on the gas masks, and scramble to the bunkers. with 100 degree heat, wearing a gas masks sucks, especially in a bunker. some missiles started landing nearby, and some civilian workers, the women, started balling, and he told me he had to keep from laughing, even as missiles were falling as close as 200 meters away.

now, i think he's in belguim. my parents are divorced, and he's working and lives far away, so i communicate with him via email. this one is interesting, the most recent one.

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Nathan: I am the Director of the staff section at the Army Staff that talks to our Allies to find opportunities for Armaments Cooperation, and once we find them, develop the agreements with these countries to do it. Right now our effort with NATO is to ensure those countries can interoperate with our Future Combat Systems. By that we mean that we can pass data to them and that we can also receive their data. It is a very interesting job. The only problem is that I travel a lot, and when it is to Australia, Singapore, and Japan, it gets heavy because of how far those countries are. I definitely do not like to travel on airplanes. I am glad you are working in such a job. You have a lot of responsibilities in that job so give it your best. Always. Remember that you could be protecting the investments of a lot of people. This job will definitely look good on any resume you write. I am happy for you. Dad

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Originally posted by wwu.punisher The hardest part for Ripped Bag was learning to keep his mouth shut... Apparently, he did a lot of push-ups during his time in the armed forces?

Is this the suprise??

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Originally posted by Ripped Bag The hardest part? Learning to shut the fuck up.

do what your rank can handle... ive yelled at a First Sergeant..

even teh commander and I have had some words before...

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Originally posted by infinity HiGH So you guys don't drink there? ouch.... How about smoke pot? Do people smuggle in some chronic or is it complete dryness there? Originally posted by Ripped Bag No we're not allowed to drink in Theater "deployment zones", and I bet some people do smuggle some shit in, though I never chanced it.

i had a bottle of rum here... but realized i shouldnt keep it so i threw it away

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Originally posted by ::TranceVanDyk:: one story he told me about the invasion of iraq. sirens started sounding, and everyone had to put on the gas masks, and scramble to the bunkers. with 100 degree heat, wearing a gas masks sucks, especially in a bunker. some missiles started landing nearby, and some civilian workers, the women, started balling, and he told me he had to keep from laughing, even as missiles were falling as close as 200 meters away.

we still have the sirens... we still get mortared.. we dont dawn our pro-masks as mine is in a bag in my room... the NBC (nuculear-biological-chemical) threat isnt here anymore... we still have had to go to bunkers when shit comes in, but that happens very rarely... earlier in the year i saw rockets hit 200m from me... and artillery 150m from me w/ shrapnel landing as far as 50m behind me... and the only injury i sustained here was breaking my collar bone in Kuwait playing football...

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Originally posted by LiquidX In my friends camp some people have died from it. I hear also that they make you jump with a loaded bag and someone will b e pushing you down the water with the heavy bag on you back. Also ppl have died from it.

People have died? Do they have to sign some legal thing before they do it???

My Grandad was in the 1st Parachute Regiment in World War II. His group got captured by the Nazis. They were lined up and about to be shot. He said that he felt "calm" and saw a white light and everything was distant. But thankfully the order was retracted for some reason.

My other Grandfather was at Monte-casino. He asked for 2 volunteers to go on reconnaisance or something like that, and nobody volunteered. He picked two guys at random, both with families and they both got shot. He never forgave himself.

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Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike Social outcasts are often of the opinion that they must have a drink before being able to loosen up with their inhibitions, thus being able to have a good time. There's a word that sums up this sort of behaviour, and that word is 'reject.'

Last edited by _Ocean_Drive_ on Nov-25-2005 at 17:15

I havent been deployed yet, i wanna go to iraq bad. CS gas isnt that bad its not even gas really, but when i was in boot exposed to it for the first time it was a shock. We were supposed to be testing our gear for the fit of the mask and procedures when gas is in the vicinity. But it was a chance for the drill instructures to fuck with us more. We were supposed to only be in there 4 min to complete all the exercises. We were in there over 10 min they say, it felt like a half hour. I come out with snot all over my face, it was a mess. Now we go in pt gear and see how long we can last. Good stuff.

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Figure out what to do, then take a nap.

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Originally posted by gwrmarines I havent been deployed yet, i wanna go to iraq bad. CS gas isnt that bad its not even gas really, but when i was in boot exposed to it for the first time it was a shock. We were supposed to be testing our gear for the fit of the mask and procedures when gas is in the vicinity. But it was a chance for the drill instructures to fuck with us more. We were supposed to only be in there 4 min to complete all the exercises. We were in there over 10 min they say, it felt like a half hour. I come out with snot all over my face, it was a mess. Now we go in pt gear and see how long we can last. Good stuff.

you mother******s are crazy. Semper Fi

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My SpaceMySpaceMUSIC
Anti-Purple Alliance.

Well i should add my stories.

My Great-granddad (Who i'm named after) had a long millitary history.
Joined the 28th Gloucestershire Regiment and served in India and Ireland. Then..
Boer War (1899-1902) South Africa:
Joined underage into the British army infantry. I only know a little. Whilst on patrol at night he got caught up in an artillery barage and separated from his squad. Shells were falling all around him and he dove under a Cart. Already hiding under there was a Boer (enemy) soldier, both were about 16 at the time. They just looked at each other smiling, waited for the shelling to stop and then went there separate ways.
Also when one of the leaders of the Boers ( ithink it was Schwartz) my great grandad had to sleep with him in his cell to make sure he didn't commit suicide.
WW1: Served in the Calvery at Malvern Barracks.
WW2: Served as an Air raid warden.

Don't know loads about him as he died before i was born.

Grandad Hughes: Dont know loads about him but i know he served throughout WW2 in the British 8th Army or "Desert Rats". Fought through North Africa against Rommel and then Into Italy. Text books say the 8th were involved in the D-Day landings but i'm not sure if he did. He also Died before i was Born.

Grandad Sage:
Joined the RAF at the start of the war as an engineer working on the aircraft. Took the tests to become a RAF Bomb gunner after having a friendly chat to some of the Gunners before they went up on a mission. None of the guys he spoke to returned from that mission so he scraped that idea.
He then moved to RAF Hullavington, a Commonwealth pilot training base. He witnessed some of the trail flights of the Avro Lancaster. They were testing it on night flying. My grandad was in the hangar and was like "WTF is that!?" The Lancaster had come in for a landing and overshot the runway and crashed into a country lane. They had to close the road off while this "Top Secret" plane was slowly dismantelled to be taken away in lorrys.
One day he and a Friend of his were working at the far end of the airfield on some of the equipment used when the base was attacked by a twin engine fighter/bombers (i presume a BF110). His friend ran one way and he ran the other, a bomb landed behind him just as he was jumping a fence. He cleared the fence but his Beret had fallen off whilst running and it landed near the bomb crater. Whilst he had to walk the 4 miles around the perimeter to get to the entrance of the base, his friend found his Beret and pressumed he was dead. All the engineers were very upset for a few hours until my granddad turned up at the main gates...they were all like WTF!!!
Flew with a famous guy (Was the owner of Englands Glory matches, can't remember the name) in a Westland Lysander where they'd do hedgehopping. This is where the pilot would fly (Obviously) and my grandad would man the Gun in the rear seat. They'd fly low over the hedges looking for any paratroopers that may be hiding waiting to attack. During this time he was tought the basics of flying by the pilot and even flew a few times. He then took the "Pilots test" that officers who had already been training took.
One night whilst the pilots were night flying, my grandad was putting in some overtime at the hangar fixing one of the aircraft. A canadian pilot crashed on the strip and landed his plane nose down. It set alight and my grandad rushed over as he heard the man scream as the fire got closer to the cockpit. He dragged the pilot out to safety. The plane then exploded 20 seconds later. The CO called my grandad in and went absolutely mad at him saying "You have to wait for the emergency crews, we could have lost 2 men tonight rather than 1". My grandad obviously wasnt gonna wait for the emergency crews to turn up whilst the pilot was been toasted alive so he stood by his decision. The CO was furious and shouted at him for the next 15 minutes then said he will continue working for the next 2 days before been discharged.
The next day my Granddad was called into the COs office, the CO was sat there holding a slip of paper. My grandad thought it was the discharge forms. "Read this" Said the CO. It was the results from the Pilots test, he got 89%, He was top of the class and he had no official training. My granddad turned round and said "You Discharged me, so i'm off!" Hehe.
He spent the rest of the War in Birmingham working at Rolls-Royce as an engineer for the Merlin engines. Here he met my nan and that was that.

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Originally posted by gwrmarines I havent been deployed yet, i wanna go to iraq bad.

you are a frickin moron... this has been the worst year of my life...

but marines only do it 7 months... thats a little more doable...

still though... its rough... and it has nothing to do with bullets or bombs or any "enemy" activity... just the way of life here... even with internet in my room, with my own bed, closet, AC, free laundry by foreign nationals, dfac w/4 meals a day, a taco bell, burger king, subway, pizza hut, a PX the size of walmart, and the ability to wake up at noon on most days... i'd still trade every dime i made to have my year back...$50k+

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hazard pay w00t

quote:

Originally posted by Zewad you are a frickin moron... this has been the worst year of my life... but marines only do it 7 months... thats a little more doable... still though... its rough... and it has nothing to do with bullets or bombs or any "enemy" activity... just the way of life here... even with internet in my room, with my own bed, closet, AC, free laundry by foreign nationals, dfac w/4 meals a day, a taco bell, burger king, subway, pizza hut, a PX the size of walmart, and the ability to wake up at noon on most days... i'd still trade every dime i made to have my year back...$50k+

You're crazy! This first time I got back from Iraq I wanted nothing more than to go right back, so my second tour was all volunteer baby. Back home things felt stale, things felt like slow motion, everything we were doing and training on was bullshit, I felt like I needed it and had to get back. So I did...

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