Posted on Jul 1, 2014
What constitutes being "old school" in the military?
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PO2 Joan MacNeill
"Boom boom", a colleague, ex-Army Lt, was in engineering school, and for show and tell, he brought in his rifle with starlight scope, which he explained, then told the class of tender young students, how he could hit a man-sized target on a dark night at X-hundred yards. They were stricken kinda dumb. That's Boom-boom. Another colleague was in class with him, and reported it as no sea story, no sir.
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I enlisted as a Recruit E-1 in Nov 1948 and took Basic Training with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. We were issued one pair of "white" leggings to keep washed, brown high top shoes to go with the leggings, 1 pair of brown combat boots, (buckle top) and brown low quarter shoes to keep spit shined, 3 pairs of Fatigue tops and bottoms, 2 OD Class "A:" Winter Uniforms, 2 OG Shirts, 2 Khaki ties and OD wife beater type T-shirts and boxer shorts. We were issued an M-1 Garand that was stored in a locked rifle rack in the center of the open bay barracks with 25 bunks on each side for a total of 50 men in the bay. I fought in Korea with the 3rd Infantry Division 1950-51 and survived the Battle of Chosin 1950. I fought in Vietnam 1967-68 and survived TET 68. I retired as a First Sergeant E-8 in June 1971. I would not change a thing even if I could.
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Kool cigarettes in C Rats
Same C Rats, but only Camel or Lucky Strike left over from the Korean War
Humping a 90mm RR - a really fun experience for the gunner
Happy that I became an M60 gunner and never wanting the 90 back.
Ground guiding a Huey slick and the pilots betting how close they can put the skid to your helmet without hitting you
Same but dragging the skid on the ground during takeoff
Same C Rats, but only Camel or Lucky Strike left over from the Korean War
Humping a 90mm RR - a really fun experience for the gunner
Happy that I became an M60 gunner and never wanting the 90 back.
Ground guiding a Huey slick and the pilots betting how close they can put the skid to your helmet without hitting you
Same but dragging the skid on the ground during takeoff
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Cpl Gerald Hill
In addition Winston and Pall Mall and the fact non-filtered cigarettes had 5 in the package where the filtered only had 4 as a smoker I can remember it very well!
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MAJ (Join to see)
I remember riding in a deuce and a half full of guys during cold weather and the back of the truck being full of smoke. It seemed like everyone smoked in those days.
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When in Boot Camp you hand washed your own Lids and belts. Outside on the concrete wash tables.
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Wow i guess i am old school military. Hey how about using a typewriter, roller copy machine, microfiche, tape for corrections, floppy disks, spit shine boots with water and an old t-shirt and if lucky a lighter, smoking lamp everywhere except sleeping quarters and galley when meal is served, no real names just nicknames, hazing what is that it was earning your respect and qualifications, going naked on the boat except for your TLD and belt (we had someone actually do this), get drunk and not get in trouble due to your crew covering for you while you puked, getting poured down the hatch due to being drunk, halfway night, wog/pollywog iniations, pranks in general (to many to mention), and well so many more things that made it fun even though it was hard work. We said we worked hard so we played hard.
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When beards were allowed in the Navy, and the worst uniform ever in any service.The infamous Good Humor Ice Cream Man, or Milk Man uniforms so glad when Navy went back to Crackerjacks.
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PO2 Joan MacNeill
One of my sub school instructors, big old salty Hafferty, said " If you're going to be an asshole, don't be no hummingbird's asshole, be a grizzly bear's asshole!"
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It's hard to believe the military was taken over by the left. Basic training is more like girl scout camps of the sixties. They don't actually make warriors anymore. They are mostly wanna bes. It's so politically correct these days you are expected to cry like a baby, when you have to stand at attention for a minute.
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PO2 Joan MacNeill
People have been saying it's not like the good old days for thousands of years. That doesn't mean you're wrong.
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