What is your favorite memory of all time while serving in the military?

Well I am old but yet senile...and my favorite memory is when I was a Marine guard at the Boston Navy Yard. One of my posts was the USS Constitution (Ole Ironsides). I had the 1200 to 0400 hrs watch, & I swear I could hear voices as the wind howled through this old ship. So I told the Sgt of the Guard that I thought Ole Ironsides was haunted and he said it was my imagination and to get over it... But I never did get over it..

On my first Ship I received a letter addressed to, "Gene Treants, United States Navy."

Building in Pascagoula, MS, and Commissioning my last Ship, USS Anzio (CG-68) in Norfolk, VA. (This could be a book, not a short story)

That time I went to Corsica, France to train with the French Foreign Legion. Only to have one of my Soldiers get hurt during the training event and get evacuated to Toulon and me with him. Then spending 5 days in Toulon and the Hospital Sainte Marie over Memorial Day weekend. After he was flown to Landstuhl, getting a car and driving across France to Ste Mere Eglise to participate in the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. Also meeting a lot of really nice French people through out Toulon and France and then commenting about it on Rally Point.

Ohh wait, that's happening right now. Every moment in the Army can be a memory. You just have to make it.

Well as one of the old school codgers I am thankful for useful devices like Miracle Ears and Clappers to make being a senior citizen a bit more easy.   My War Story was being an observer of a tornado that was hitting Cabot, Arkansas.   I was asked by KARK-TV what I was seeing.   Lots of adrenaline and just plain crazy.

When I found out I made the 8 list and my BN CMDR at the time looked at me and said "The Army finally got it right" is my favorite personal memory. Bringing my entire platoon back alive from my first trip to Iraq and bringing my entire company home in one piece my second tour are tied for my favorite professional memory.

The time I went against convention in a new squadron and fought to work on the flightline instead of a desk job where every woman in the squadron were assigned. Because of my efforts all female technicians were reassigned to the shops corresponding to their rate

Overheard radio transmission "receiving friendly fire, returning same" Acting as relay for Army Recon unit helping them coordinate their extraction, getting home alive, and many others, Just to clarify, these are two separate instances, not related

It would be the time we went to Greece for a live fire exercise. I remember I was the lowest man on the totem pole and I had to walk in the make sure we didn't have a leak on the fuel systems. When it was safe everyone else would come in to go to work. Jumping forward. After all the test on putting the Missles together we went on the hill to launch three of the four and take the fourth one apart. Well the first one fired off no problem, the second one fired off no problem. The third one didn't fire and we had to wait thirty minutes to see if it would fire. Well it never did and our platoon sergeants had to draw straws to see which A&T would have to go down and take it apart. You know the story my platoon drew the short straw. Well we went down there to start taking it apart. I was the boom operator and I was nervous as hell. It was my first time during this. I was a cherry in the military at the time still. So when the launch crew brought the Missle down. We transloaded it to our track and started taking it apart. Lucky for us the battery's had died in it and the replaced them and fired it off the next day. I also learned that day to put on sun tan lotion because everyone burns. Lol.

Iraqi police ammo truck in our convoy hit an IED. Having to sit in an MRAP while several thousand rounds of ammo cooked off and knowing there was nothing we could do to help except clean up the mess afterwards had to be the worst ever. Best, taking off my boots and wiggling my toes in the grass at Ft Dix when we landed on the way home from my last deployment.

Their are many great memories. The one that I get a kick out of telling over and over is this one. As part of FDC on one FTX in 1982 I had the pleasure of diving the commands jeep on an advance party move with the Battery Commander and 1SG on FT Carson.

The rain had been coming down for hours and the 1SG wanted to get us parked and set up to move the Battery in to it's new firing position. we started around 2030 looking for a new home. Around 1130 after we had to cross a creek (by this time a small river) and the jeep was being pushed sideways down the creek, it took everything the jeep and I had to get out of there to the other side. Once on the other side and solid ground we continued forward.

Out of nowhere I heard a swoosh and heard the sound of the commanders getting hit. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the flash of a hambone hand swooping from the back seat to the commanders head. Big Ben Howell 6'3 (or even bigger) the 1SG had smacked the commander upside the head and told him he had about 10 minutes to find the battery a home and get us parked or their would be more to follow. He did!!!!

Once we got back to garrison, the following week we didn't see the commander at all he would walk into his office shut the door and stay there all day. The BN CSM asked Big Ben what happened while we were in the field with a big smile on his face, as the BN Commander told his battle what occurred and that the commander learned a valuable lesson from all of it, your senior enlisted Soldier may have valuable insights if you are willing to listen or they will find other ways to get you to pay attention.