What Makes You Angry Today?

[Wagon]

Hey, Wag. Air Force has got Sea Survival School! Interested?

Sarg

And Sarge, sea survival training is where I got my ears blown out. It was a lot of swimming and training under some good instructors.

Think I've had enough of survival at sea. And I'm not even sure how you get your ears blown out in it. Did they throw grenades at you when you were in the water?

 

[Sludge]

Only medal I have that means anything is an unofficial "Good Cookie" presented to me on the fly by a MARFOR CO after I helped out his guys. Could never wear it on my uniform, but I am proud to have gotten it. I keep it in a shadow box to remind me that there are few people in the world with some honor left...even if I'm not one of them.

I also kept all of my old command ball caps which I still wear every so often, because ya'll ground-pounders may have sharp looking uniforms, but we squids get the coolest looking covers.

I do miss my WESTPAC and UNITAS cruise jackets though. Lost them when we had a flooding issue on a certain hunk of shit tried to go four-wheeling on a certain coastline.

 

[Lee C]

Had another steroid injection in my knee and was advised not to do anything to aggravate it for 72 hrs so i went for a run !
They dont understand the beast :rolleyes:

 

[JarHed]

OK, since we seem to be on the subject of medals here one for ya'll.

Saw this in a copy of the Marine Corps Times that a buddy of mine gave me.

They've just recently created a "Distinguished Warfare Medal that will be awarded to pilots of unmanned aircraft, offensive cyberwar experts or other who are directly involved in combat operations, but not physically in theater and facing the physical risks that warfare historically entails. "

Kinda' knew something like this would come down the pike with the changing battlefield but the kicker is this; traditionally combat valor medals have an 'order of precedence'. This new medal will rank just below the Distinguished Flying Cross and will be worn ahead of the Bronze Star w/combat V device.

Personally, I think this is total BS. People that are in a safe bunker at a computer terminal sometimes half way around the world from the real combat will be getting a medal for 'Valor'? This is another move in the wrong direction for the military in general. The more we remove ourselves from the hell and death that is war the more likely we are to have war. Just a very personal opinion here, of course. Sorry if I've stirred the pot.

 

[Ned]

1. The people who dream up, implement and endorse total wank like this are about as disconnected from real soldiering as it is possible to be.
2. And I don't care if some of them are 5-stars, refer to (1) above.

 

[Xaosoul]

Kinda' knew something like this would come down the pike with the changing battlefield but the kicker is this; traditionally combat valor medals have an 'order of precedence'. This new medal will rank just below the Distinguished Flying Cross and will be worn ahead of the Bronze Star w/combat V device.

WTF??????????

Are they gonna start handing out medals now to my son for playing his "Call Of Duty" video games now?

f*ckin' jackasses. It's dishonorable bullshit like this that makes me want to grab the nearest civvie and bash their head through a wall. f*ckin' ingrate bastards... time for a smoke break.

 

[IraqVet86]

I have been following the news regarding this issue lately, and I have to say that I am severely pissed. At best the award should come before or after the Arcom.
The military has been doing their awful best to sanitize the reality of combat. I agree this is a step in the wrong direction.

 

[Wagon]

Maybe if they let me design it that would be ok. Something ridiculous with little flashing lights and pink streamers.

 

[Anglesachse]

Medal yes, But no way should it be above or even equal anything Combat related.

At a push a minimised Campaign medal.

 

[Sarg]

Been following it as well and it ain't over til it's over. The military is catching hell for this from congress, the well established military org. lobby and some highly placed retirees. Get the feeling that it will by lowered in presedence to the other medals. I mean the Purple Heart, for christ sakes.

Must be something in the water.

Sarg

 

[JarHed]

OK, here's what the actual medal looks like and below it is what it should look like.

 

[vikingr12]

Think I've had enough of survival at sea. And I'm not even sure how you get your ears blown out in it. Did they throw grenades at you when you were in the water?

Yes. It was a advanced level training since we were combat rescue. We were diving a wreck in the Gulf of Mexico to get used to underwater weight and structures and stuff. Mostly just getting used to scuba in the first days in maybe 30 feet. We had the required buddy system. Two of us were heading back to the pier (small, really small) and there was a Seal observer. Don't know how he got hold of a C grenade since that stuff came later in the training but he threw it ahead of us to show what concussion is like underwater. Our instructor went ballistic I understand.

He misjudged our bubbles I guess and put it way too close. My buddy had bleeding at the nose and like me had his ears blown. I knew his lungs were in trouble so I carried him to the shore and gave him MTM just for a short time until he came around. I had a helluva headache and wondered what the hell happened. I still have a "catch" in my ribs when a take a deep breath.

Don't know what happened to the Seal. He disappeared. The buddy had to recycle his training which means he probably washed out of the program. I never had to use the training later. Some of it was fun but the hardest part was the swimming pool laps (and treading water for centuries) and the pressure tank. Whew....scary.