Advanced Individual Training
I'm not aware of what become of any of the guys I was in AIT with at Ft.Rucker, Alabama. The whole class was almost all National Guard and Army Reserve with the exception of Zwoboda, who was a draftee, and myself who was RA. NG and AR, at the time (to me), seemed to be the refuge of those connected who couldn't keep up their grades. Those guys didn't seem interested in applying themselves there either.
In retrospect I think they resented the two of us applying ourselves to the training with such vigor either. They invited the two of us to go with them to Panama City the last week-end before graduation. Zwoboda must've smelled a rat because he refused.
As soon as we left the base they rolled up the windows and everybody but me lit up marijuana. I was the son of a career NCO in the Special Forces, and had never had inclination or desire to get stoned on illegal drugs. After a few minutes breating the trapped second hand smoke I was 'toking' with the best of'em. It was a good feeling. 'Reefer Madness' was full of crap!
To make a long story shorter; they 'borrowed my cash' and dumpped me out in Panama City, Florida and left me to hitch-hike back to base in Alabama. I got back two hours late for graduation formation that Monday and lost my promotion. Because of it. I went to Vietnam as a PFC.
The times are such that NG and AR are having as much trouble getting new recruits as the Army. Their involvement in the current action could be considered a retribution of sorts, but the fellows who shafted me are long gone surely.
For some reason the Air Force and Navy are having to turn people away though. My middle (step) son has finished a hitch in the Navy and is in the Navy Reserves now. They're trying to get him to extend for their version of OCS. I think that speaks well of him.
Relating to my son Matt
I guess you've read where as soon as my son stopped qualifying for child-support his mother kicked him out and sent him back to me.
Since his arrival he's made a lot of progress that I've not given much credit to. He's mostly lost the punk rocker look with the pink and orange bangle bracelets, the tight pink fish-net shirt, and the greatly oversized trousers. You get the idea...
To his defiant statement that he had a right to express himself any way he chooses, I countered that he was representing himself as a pagan sexual deviant to folks in the Bible belt, while looking for acceptance.
Meanwhile he was competeing with local 'good ole boys' with know histories and backgrounds for jobs with only first impressions and my small influence going for him.
Now, he's even joined a church in town where he has a small rental house and has started another job now. He was surprised and impressed that everywhere he turns from the church to local businesses he's running into folks that know or know of me and my family and speak well of us.
That's no small feat for an unemployeed slacker, married to a minority, and living in red-neck heaven as an 'outsider'.
Whether his new church membership is an act of faith, or a tool for acceptance, I don't really care. Either way it can't help from having influence on his thoughts and attitudes! He is sincerely considering being baptised though.
Relating to SeaGoers
Although my canoe is as close to sailing as I get these days, I do have somewhat of a nautical history in one of my past lives. Past lives being translated as between crashes and starting over. I have an Associates Degree in Marine Sciences from Cape Fear Technical Institute. No biggie in the grand scheme of things, but our graduates competed at Woods Hole, Scrip(t?)s and like institutions for jobs against Bachelorates from Florida State, the University of Texas, and California schools of Oceanography and Marine Biology. The University of North Carolina accepted our graduates as Juniors in their Marine Sciences majors. J.Cousteau was one of my heroes.
CFTI had a reconditioned (steel hull!) mine tender as our research vessel at the time, the 'RV Advance'. Every fourth semester was spent aboard ship somewhere in the Devil's Triangle doing Oceanographic research. It's left me with memories like; a salt water intake (vacume) lines to the heat exchangers rupturing and spraying water into the back of the main generator buss console. That left us dead in the water near the Bahamas for three days with no power.
Another time, we were doing deep water casts in that trench off Cuba and they sent gun-boats out to shoo us off. It took half a day to pull our instruments up and they got impatient to fire some 'practise' shots nearby.
The Advance was replaced with a brand new 'engineered' RV in consortium with Woods Hole and FSU. It was the demise of our Marine Technology curricullum. The school sold us out in order to be made a junior college.
Relating to fate
Funny how I've been involved in dying causes. I was in the last 'old Army' basic training class at Smoke Bomb Hill at 'Bragg. I was in VN for 'Vietnamization', while the 1st, 25th, 75th, and 23rd stood down and went home. I was in Marine Tech. 'Zebra' which I think was the last class of the curricullum. I was a Democrap when the NAACP, NOW, and ACT UP decided they were "the" minority causes of the party. I was working in the oil patch when American exploration became unprofitable, I was with AMI TSS when American Medical Incorporated and their Tech.Support ended. I went to Memorial Care Systems until I was fired in '87 and they lost their contract to Methodist Hospitals. I was a founding member of PVFFA which folded. I fear for my fire department!
Relating to my VN Service
I digress. I WAS a proud 67N graduate, and was horrified to discover that in the field 67A and 67N was considered interchangable as far a crewing went. It appeared that 67N made me prone to being assigned as a hanger rat rather than a CE. In the 187th AHC it looked like 'Gunners' were more likely to be moved into the CE slots. I ducked a hanger assignment by volunteering for 'Gunner 'cause I WAS THERE TO FLY AND FIGHT. I had a written contract that stated as much! Nothing against support folks. I just wasn't there to be one of them.
I was a pretty good 'Gunner I think. As a duck shooting at the hunter, I had a good judgement of how far to 'follow' as opposed to 'leading'. I seldom had to walk tracers to a muzzle flash.
Relating to mechWarrior
That's why I'm a 'run and gun' fighter in MechWarrior. I do snipe or slug it out sometimes though. Especially online against other 'humans' where they co-ordinate and focus on a runner coming through. OUCH!
Relating to you
Thanks for taking the time to read some of my stuff on this webLog. Wish you'd leave a comment! I use a service that tells me how many viewers visit and their referrers and such. I don't embed those stats though and appreciate when folks make comments to show others they were there. I don't expect endorsement or agreement, just opinion, feedback, howdy, a link to another site, or play the devil's advocate.
If you don't mind the association it implies I'll even make you a contributor. eMail me!
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