Who has served

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Did four years in the Navy in the late 80's, a lot of that time was spent aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower ( CVN-69 )

Are You Ready For The Best Damn Ride Of Your Life

Give Me A Hell !!!

Give Me A Yeah !!!

 
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Elmgrovegnome said:
I have always wanted to but I couldn't get cleared medically. My calling was missed. I think I would have been in for the long haul.
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i wanted to join in january 1991 right during the first gulf war. however, due to an archaic WWII law, i was married and over 25 years old, therefore not allowed to join. I was told this by the recruiter and there was no exception or way around it (other than divorcing the wife). sadly enough i was divorced 9 months later (that figures), and surprisingly enough, never laid off after that point after being laid off 3 straight years from the end of january to april (which also at the time was another reason deciding to enlist, seeing how I wasnt employed and needed to stay useful.) probably would have made a career out of it, as i do tend to like stability in my life.
 
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First let me say to all. Thank you for your service! Service brat here. Dad did 26 years army. (Americal) My grandfather before him career army. (756th tank battalion) It was a wonderful way to grow up. I tell people I saw and did more by the time I was 18 than most do their whole life. But it was a different time the Vietnam war divided the country badly so we weren't always treated well in the community's we lived in some cases even dealing with open hostility. We were those people from the base. Outsiders. Happily my father lived long enough to see all that change and toward the end of his life he started getting the respect he deserved. Agent Orange got him about 5 years ago. I took a different path learning my craft on the outside then returning to the fold. My classification is a WS so I work for a living.
 
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Force16X said:
i wanted to join in january 1991 right during the first gulf war. however, due to an archaic WWII law, i was married and over 25 years old, therefore not allowed to join. I was told this by the recruiter and there was no exception or way around it (other than divorcing the wife). sadly enough i was divorced 9 months later (that figures), and surprisingly enough, never laid off after that point after being laid off 3 straight years from the end of january to april (which also at the time was another reason deciding to enlist, seeing how I wasnt employed and needed to stay useful.) probably would have made a career out of it, as i do tend to like stability in my life.
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Yeah I liked the stability of it all too. Plus I never felt strongly enough about any one profession. I know that if I had been able to go into the service that I could have chosen a path of education or more likely become an MP or something I guess. My close friend at the time was enlisted into the Air Force and my future Brother in Law was too. It benefitted both immensely. My uncle was a lifer. I always wanted to go that route myself. Put in 20+ and retire early. My friend couldn't wait to get out after his 4 years and then two years later said it was the biggest mistake of his life leaving. He said he thought it was real hard but once he was in the civilian rat race he felt that was harder. He was a dumbass and I told him so when he said he was getting out.
 
bluecoconuts said:
3/75th, Rangers Lead the Way!
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You lived my dream. Jim and I both thought we would become Rangers. I didn't get in and Jim was a tough dude but not nearly tough enough to get into any elite squads. I had a fried who was a Seal. He got a dishonorable discharge for fighting too much. He was a crazy dude and the finest physical specimen that I know. Too bad he couldn't control his temper. He became the local tough guy. The one that every tough guy from the surrounding towns went looking for when they were here. They always regretted it. I watched Bill beat up 5 guys single handedly. He loved to fight but it got him put into jail many times over.
 
Dodgersrf said:
Wow.
So your pretty much a total bad ass.
(y)
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Hah, I guess. Honestly I never felt I was, I just I did a lot of cool stuff, and I'm pretty good at shooting guns.

Elmgrovegnome said:
You lived my dream. Jim and I both thought we would become Rangers. I didn't get in and Jim was a tough dude but not nearly tough enough to get into any elite squads. I had a fried who was a Seal. He got a dishonorable discharge for fighting too much. He was a crazy dude and the finest physical specimen that I know. Too bad he couldn't control his temper. He became the local tough guy. The one that every tough guy from the surrounding towns went looking for when they were here. They always regretted it. I watched Bill beat up 5 guys single handedly. He loved to fight but it got him put into jail many times over.
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It was funny, I got the idea when I was young and saw my dad reading the book Black Hawk Down. I never really thought about the military, especially being in Ireland, but after I read it I decided that's what I wanted to do. My parents didn't think much of it, since we weren't in America, but we moved here and sure enough on my 17th birthday I brought a recruiter home and signed up. It was a lot of fun, lots of fun toys and the best guys to be with. Plus the units have more funding than average units, so better gear and more schools open to us.
 
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USMC Here! 1963-1967. Viet Nam, 1966 - 1967. 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, L ( Lima) Company! Motto- " Balls to the Wall!"
When in Nam 'Hanoi Hanna' Called us the Bastard Battalion, and Claimed in order for us to get in the unit, we had to Kill our Parents, and Eat Little Children!
We were very pleased with having a Rep with the enemy!
My Unit received the Presidential Unit Citation, Known as 'the PUC' A great Honor!
Before anyone asks, I killed 6 Gooks my 1st day in country and stopped counting after that!
I seldom discuss My service, except when among Family! Thanks for tolerating me Brothers!
 
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My niece's husband is in the Army. He gets to test new weapons all day long. How fun is that!!!!!!!!
 
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Ramhusker said:
My niece's husband is in the Army. He gets to test new weapons all day long. How fun is that!!!!!!!!
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Got to play with a few experimental weapons in my day, most are pretty awesome! It's funny, there's a guy at my work who was fresh into the Battalion right as I was getting out, (he was actually in my company, albeit a different platoon, small world) and we were swapping old stories. Talking about how selection and Ranger school have changed some (it was RIP when I went through, it's RASP now) and how Sniper school has changed. I went through it with the M24, but that's been changed to the M2010 (and now the CSR).. He asked how I did on the 110 range, and I said "The hell is the 110 range?" He goes "The rifle?" And I said "The only 110 I know of was the X110, got one in Iraq and hated it, went back to my 24"

I knew it as the "X" 110 because it was experimental when I got it, but it had been adopted by the time he went through. Then I found out he failed his final shot but passed because he scored so high in other parts of the course. When I went through if you failed your final shot (2 shots to hit a target at an unknown distance with unknown conditions) you were out. We had a guy who was by far the best student in our class who missed his final shot by about 2 feet. Made the correction and had a light strike, bad primer.

Too bad, so sad, he should have hit the first time, he failed the course. Turns out he, among others, were part of the reason why the Army changed the course around. When my buddy went through 5 years later that was an example that instructors used to teach students to pay attention and get it right the first time. :ROFLMAO:
 
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Force16X said:
i wanted to join in january 1991 right during the first gulf war. however, due to an archaic WWII law, i was married and over 25 years old, therefore not allowed to join. I was told this by the recruiter and there was no exception or way around it (other than divorcing the wife). sadly enough i was divorced 9 months later (that figures), and surprisingly enough, never laid off after that point after being laid off 3 straight years from the end of january to april (which also at the time was another reason deciding to enlist, seeing how I wasnt employed and needed to stay useful.) probably would have made a career out of it, as i do tend to like stability in my life.
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I admire your effort. We can all serve the community in many ways though. The best feeling I've ever had is reading to young children one on one who's parents didn't teach them to read. Far more rewarding than anything I've ever done to serve other than feeding starving people. It's amazing how quickly you can change them from defensive and confrontational into interested in a good story.

The hardest to reach, the boy in the corner, is usually the most intelligent just pissed at the world waiting for you to care. The moment when all that effort turns to "let me read", it will break your heart with pride.

I did lie to get into the Marines though. After I reached the end of bootcamp I admitted it to my drill instructor because I trusted him to guide me. He said, don't worry, you'll outgrow it. It was just a bee allergy that would have prevented service.

I would encourage everyone to serve the community. Karma is only slightly less beautiful than service.
 
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US Navy. Joined the Navy Nuclear Power Program in January '91 (actually went to MEPS March '91. I got lucky with the married deal. I was also married, but only 22 at the time.). Was 23 weeks into the 27 week Nuclear Field Electronics Technician (ET) "A" School, the hardest of the three ratings to get into, the hardest academic "A" school in the military and about to graduate with honors when I got diagnosed with Crohn's. I wanted to fight it, but the Navy doc over-medicated me...by a boatload and 20 days later I had a Grand Mal seizure that nearly killed me. Stopped breathing for something like 4 minutes and had to be resuscitated by the EMTs. Left a lesion in my brain that I have to this day. Left me with daily migraines that can't be treated like regular migraines because they aren't vascular in nature.

I woulda been a Reactor Operator (RO) had I finished my school and as much as I loved the Navy, I woulda tried to be a lifer or at least done my 20. I dunno if I coulda done it because my wife of 25 years now doesn't handle being without me well. At all. Not that I do much better, but I manage.

In a really weird turn of events, I was in a VA in Los Angeles and met a pair of Vets and we were swapping stories as Vets do and after I told mine about the "Gipper" speech about the Doc giving me the max meds for my body weight and having to "hit it hard" and all that, they looked at each other and one vet said, "bet I know the name of that Doc." I was incredulous. No way. There are thousands of military doctors. Then he blew me away and named him. Even described him. Same damned doctor had jacked up both of them. The one at Walter Reed and the other at Bethesda. By the time the Doc got me, he'd been Frank Burns'd all the way to Navy Captain (O-6), but treating recruits in Orlando, something you'd expect to see a Lieutenant to do. Captains should be running departments, not treating recruit drip... Now I got why. The Navy had passed this guy around like one of those Catholic priests.

Never got to my boat, which is a shame because I loved the work.

I was going for boomers. Run silent. Run deep.

And hey, I've eaten worse things than clear lettuce...
 
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