Would you still be enlisted?

[Ned]

It's a bit different in the UK. The professional distinctions are blurred. I left in 2001 because my immediate boss was an arsehole and I reckoned that any system that could put him in such a touchy job was well broken.
Fast-forward ten years and I'm teaching, to squaddies, and it counts and gives me great job satisfaction.
So I get the buzz, impose the discipline I used to impose on others on to myself, and what I do is a great support from day to day. The really scary bit is that I could slot straight back in. Perhaps I need to let go a bit more...........

 

[Jimmy1]

It's a bit different in the UK. The professional distinctions are blurred. I left in 2001 because my immediate boss was an arsehole

I don't see any difference. I think every immediate boss was an arsehole. I think they did a course to be an arsehole.

I remember when they promoted me to Sergeant Major and I recieved my 'Warrant' (which is a lovely framed certificate signed by the Chief of Army and is somewhere around here), they told be I did not need friends.

I tried to always be a good boss, but when you are playing the Sergeant Major in charge of discipline, you had to be a discipline.

 

[Ned]

Discipline, agreed, Jimmy. My nick-name was Nasty Ned. But I did have some good bosses. Spoiled me for the arseholes, I suppose......

 

[Wagon]

Rats ran across us at night. The big sewer kind. If you could not move, you had to be defended by others or risk being chewed on.
The head was 3/4 shut off. Toilets were stopped up or broked off and didnt work. Faucets and showers didnt work. Mold grew on the walls in bright green and black sheets. some spots covered walls over 15 feet long. you can google it and see photos of what I am talking about.
no medications,food,water sometimes for as long as 30 hrs. They claimed a staff shortage was the cause. I was in for almost 3 months and I never had my bedding changed. The food is worse that what the county feeds the boys in lockup.

Hey reddevil. Are you sure that was Chicago VA and not a Navy ship you were on when you were wounded. Sounds like both of my rust buckets. Our sick bays were tops. Always johnny on the spot with the Motrin.

Dislocated knee....have a motrin
bleeding profusely......have a motrin
Got the trots....have a motrin
foot so swollen you can't put on your boondockers...have a motrin. x ray?? wtf is an x ray?

I think the Marines got the good Corpman. We got the losers.

Wagon.

 

[Wagon]

Hello All,

I just re-read this whole thread. Wow. What an eye opener. You know, I've healed a bit here. I don't hate like I used to. Matter of fact I don't hate the past at all. Managed to even forgive some people. Not that it matters to them, but it matters to me.

I still view my past with sadness and pain, but to be rid of the hate is a definite improvement. Been here for about 6 months. It has made a difference.

Just wanted to chalk up a success story no matter how small. Take those wins where you can get them Gents.

Wagon

 

[reddevil1111]

Ours carried 200 motrinpills in huge pill bottles. Same idea for us. Take some motrin and shut your hole! lol

Another reason I was thinking of adding, I served my 4 years. I was walking off base in my street clothes and I had paid for a year of college...I was going to go to school and then rejoin as an officer to make better pay. I was eating and breathing Marine Corps still. (only article 13 I had was hitting that officer, serious but it was glazed over he really was a pR%$#)
The real kick in the pants came from being stopped at the gates and being told to go back and reprocess and get all my gear, I was staying. I thought it was a joke. The 1st gulf was what happened. Another 2.5 years in the Marines. They kept telling me just another 6 months. I was so upset about it. I remember my unit was pretty gung ho about going but we were pretty small and strong in our skills. I sat on an airport taxiway waiting to load up to fly over and I saw 3 guys get up and announce that they had no intention of going to war. They were talked to one at a time. Then they were whisked away so the fear didnt spread. Most guys didnt agree with the reasons of why we were going over there. But we followed our orders and went. A lot of crap followed. I had spent all my time in a humid hot wet jungle where everything is shades of green. Off to the desert where it was blinding hot, dry, sand into every frikkin thing. Food,water you name it. caked sand in the crotch,feet,ears we used to joke we s$#t sand. Boy did I hate that place.
the stories of no food and water are true we ran out one time for 3 days. we lived in mopp level 3 and 4. I slept in my gas mask for almost a year. We patrolled the area to our front (border of Kuwait and Saudi) and had some light skirmishes with some arty and morters mixed in. I helped to clear a large trenchline complex and spent the next 4 days climbing over blown up apc's and tank's,trucks. Checking to insure the dead were dead. Most were. God did I hate that place.
We were told before we attacked that command expected us to suffer 1 in 3 casualties. I remember looking around and thinking "those poor suckers" The command really did belive the Iraqis were super tough that the 10 yr war with Iran had made them into supermen. My biggest fear was chemical weapons. We knew they had them and we didnt want to die that way.

 

[deborah l. boylan]

Hey Wagon! Didn't you know that the Navy cure-all is Motrin. You could be missing a limb and they'd give you motrin! The conversation would go something like this:
Corpman:"What are you here for?"
Sailor:" I lost my arm!"
Corpman:"Here's some motrin. Come back in a week if it doesn't get better."

And K-9, you got it right about the military not understanding PTSD. I work in a hospital full of medical personnel who haven't got a clue when someone is suffering with the pain. POS is kind to what I've been told. My CO told me that I was a disgrace to my uniform and that if she could she would have me remove it right then and there. By the way, my doc had already had a 2 hour meeting with her and the XO trying to explain to them what was going on with me. Some people just don't get it. Some people don't even want to try to understand it. I would not have passed on the opportunities that I have had in the Navy, but no way would I put in for more, even if I could. The climate just doesn't work for me anymore and since I can't go around yelling at stupid people for doing stupid stuff its better for me to go. This here canoe club is sinking faster than an Indonesian ferry and I for one have had enough!
Deb

 

[Wagon]

Right On Deb! Hey aren't you almost a double digit midget? Short Timer Aye Aye! Almost time to sign that DD 214 if you have not already.

And thanks for confirming the suspicions about the Motrin. I just bloody knew it! The bastards. My knee surgeons will thank them.

Wagon

 

[Ned]

Dan I agree about that Gulf 1 hype of the Iraqis. We thought we were going into the meat-grinder. Wrong, we were the grinder. Oops. Because we were out on flank with the frogs we never took the pills & stuff (thank f*ck).

 

[reddevil1111]

yeah I took the shots and pills. My 1st born was 2 months early and had a spinal infection and undeveloped hips. Depleded uranium from spooring, the shots,pills and some suspected exposure to chemical weapons being burned all make a nice day.

 

[Ned]

Was 'Jar-head' BS or did it get it about right?

 

[reddevil1111]

Anthony Swafford was about 2 miles from us and our encampment. The movie might tell you what he experienced...
I view it as 50% true and 50% BS for a book/movie deal.
He had it pretty easy just sitting around mostly. We ran in the sand every day. My job was to gather human intelligance. So it was up to me and my friends to either gather it directly or find someone who could tell us what we wanted to know.
I think he jerked off a lot and had a lot of time to kill. I dont remember it that way at all. My version had a lot more suffering and no fancy tents, a/c, radios, porn...We felt lucky to have food and warm water. I did reallocate a few Air Force and Army supplies... We obtained better food, weapons, ammo that way. But its not illegal unless you get caught right?