Have you served in the Military

I spent 3 tours in Vietnam and did eight years in service.

 

I served 20 years active duty Air Force and I'm currently on my 11th year as a civilian worker in the Air Force, so I guess you can say 30 years in. The Air Force has been very very good to me.

 

I spent almost 6 1/2 years in the Air Force.

 

5 years in the Army and 2 tours in Viet Nam.

 

Sorry, TC, you must have missed the question. Salty asked if anyone served in the military.:tongue3:

I was stationed at Ft Carson, Colorado '79-'81 with the 4th ID. Every once in a while they would let the AF cadets out of their cages and let them roam about Colorado Springs without adult supervision. I remember a formation where our company commander reminded us that the cadets were soon to be officers and it was inappropriate to ask, "Excuse me driver what time does your bus arrive?"

Then we deployed to Ft Irwin for the re-opening of the Nat'l Desert Training Center. I spent 3 months sleeping in a pup tent while the AF pukes attached to us would leave at 1700 hrs and drive back to their hotel in Barstow.

 

Yes Padre while all the grunts sleep in tents we Air Force pukes sleep in very nice air conditioned quarters, we work less hours, get better food, and all with the same pay as you all. I'll leave it up to the reader to determine the common sense here. lol

 

Seriously, however, two of my nieces served in the AF during the most recent conflict. The younger of the two was a dental hygenist. She had some video of firefight she and her unit went through. It was a far cry from the lightweight reputation I once thought of.

 

Thank you, sir, for your service.

 

Thank you, sir, for your service.

 

Thank you also, sir, for your service.

 

A good Christian friend of mine was stationed in the Army in Germany in the 1980s and married a German girl. One of his daughters is now married to one of my sons and they have 5 kids.

Thank you for your service.

 

God bless you, Tom, for your service.

 

You are a man with real evidences of what military life was really like, although I'm sure the experiences of every former or current serviceman posted here were full of more of the same as well as individually much different memories of a very real time in their lives. Thank you all for your service.

 

You guys are funny. I liiiiiiiike it.

 

I volunteered for the draft in 1971 and spent 3 years in the Army, about 2 years in the 82d Airborne at Ft. Bragg and about 6 or 7 months in the U.S. Army West Point Prep School at Ft. Belvoir, VA. I later opted out of going to West Point because I believed the Lord wanted me to go to Bible school instead. Coach 'K' of Duke basketball fame was on the staff at the Prep School when I was there.

I was eating breakfast at a Waffle House out of town one time when I heard a commotion near the front door. Some young Christian had given an older guy (a few years older than me at the time, maybe 55 or 56 years old) a tract and the old guy exploded and launched a verbal assault on the poor kid. My dander got up a little so I went over and invited myself into the conversation. The kid wisely slipped out the door and I talked with the loud guy. In the course of the conversation he told me he was in the marines in 'Nam. I told him I had been in the Army and he replied, "I didn't say 'Army', I said MARINES.' I replied, "Oh yeah, my niece is in the marines." It got funnier after that, and the guy did calm down.

I was back in that city several years later visiting a church near that Waffle House, and saw that same guy, but was not able to talk with him. The preacher told me the guy had gotten saved and when I computed the time frame the preacher told me it was only a short time after that young Christian had given the man that tract. I have never seen the young Christian again since that first time and I doubt he is aware of what giving that man that tract had done. God bless those who go out as ambassadors for Christ, casting their bread on the waters.

 

It has changed a lot, the Air Force is much tougher than they used to be. When I was a young pup in the 70s I remember hughly fat Master Sergants that in now way could pass PT test today. We were always looked upon a weak and laughed at sometimes but that is OK. Your right about the times, I met a SSgt personalist who volunteered for security duty in Iraq and "she" saw some very hairy stuff.

 

Funny you should mention that. When I deployed in support of operation deny flight over Bosnia in the early 90's, we built and maintained the tent city that the Marine unit lived in while we stayed in local hotels. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. :smilewinkgrin:

 

What's the difference between the AF and the Boy Scouts?