What is your top 10 list of cool/unique things you've done in your military career?

SIR

1. Meeting my wife, we were both stationed in Germany at the time.
2.Going through an IED attack with my oldest son on FOB Shank.
3. Jumping with my oldest son with the Italian Army at a drop zone just outside of Pisa.
4. Jumping with my youngest son at Fort Bragg, I was the PJ and he was my #1 Jumper.
5. Jumping with my oldest son on his last jump at Airborne School.

1)Made a hand puppet from C4
2)Blew up a hand puppet made from C4
3)M2 50 cal. Nuff said
4)Almost blow myself up
5)Almost get blown up by some one else
6)Occupy a hostile nation
7)Thermite Grenades. Nuff Said
8)Play a week long game of laser tag with guns. And tanks. And Helicopters. And APCs. And a couple thousand buddies. In Germany.
9)Cross both the Tigris and Euphrates.
10)See what happens when you put 200 lbs of high explposives in a 15 foot hole. (Spoiler alert, it makes a much much bigger hole).

NOT IN ORDER

10. The Golden Shellback ceremony.

9. Living in Germany and Korea.

8. Visiting Israel.

7. Touring the Babylon ruins.

6.Building schools and wells for impoverished neighborhoods/children.

5.Hitting Australia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan, Kenya and Hawaii within 12 months.

4.Traveling from state to state accrediting and assessing institutions, giving classes on the latest instructional methodologies.

3. Working to make changes/improvements for entire Proponents/ MOS's.

2. Getting to network with Senators, Congressmen, Generals and Senior Executive Service personnel.

1. Recieving countless hours of schooling, certifications, qualifications, and training, all the while deploying and performing missions to place all that information into use and context.

In case you can't tell, I absolutely LOVE the military.

1) Serving my country.
2) Following in my fathers footsteps.
3) I got to see the Northern Lights while stationed in Fort Drum.
4) Seeing the Vulcan weapon system fire live at night, the tracers going down range was awesome.
5) Traveling to Korea.
6) Taking leave while in Korea and going to Australia.
7) Being able to go back to the Philippines to see the country where I was born.
8) Making friends that have been life altering, especially while attached to the 4th BN. 31st Infantry Regiment at Fort Drum.
9) Taking the river cruise of the 1000 Islands area while stationed at Fort Drum.
10) Taking the longest plane flights I have ever taken and I did it twice going and twice coming. Korea

My top 10 in no real order would have to be:
1. Had the chance to get stationed in Germany
2. Had the ability to see the Reserves side and the Active side of things.
3. Became family with people who started out as complete strangers to me at every station I have been to.
4.Been deployed 4 times and each time I learned something new.
5.Linked up with a lost contact friend at SLC half way around the world from where we last saw each other. (8 years since last saw each other)
6. Got the chance to assist in training America's Force while stationed at NTC.
7. Completed a Spur Ride and earned my Silver Spurs also deployed with them and earned my Gold Spurs.
8. Trained Soldiers!
9.Had the ability to work with some amazing people who will forever be mentors to me.
10. This one is really my number one, but had the ability to watch my Soldiers grow, some promoted to the ranks of NCOs and some transition to officers. Had some Soldiers that no one wanted to work with (screw ups) so they gave them to me (I was training room NCO at the time) and turned them into Soldiers that excelled and got promoted.

1. Serve my country
2. Continue the family tradition
3. Become a NCO and worked my way up to SSG(P)
4. Graduate OCS
5. Deploy 3x and also complete one tour to S. Korea
6. Live and visit places I would never go on my own
7. USAREC
8. PL,AS3,XO,S4,and Troop Commander
9. Meet patriotic brothers-in-arms
10. Shop at the PX ;)

1. Parachute from a plane.
2. Helocast from a helicopter.
3. Rappel from a helicopter.
4. Fly in a helicopter.
5. Watch the sun rise over the Top Hat Mountains in the high desert of New Mexico.
6. Step on an ROTC cadet's head and have her thank me (long story but one of my highlights).
7. Ski from Switzerland to Italy and back to Switzerland and across the Matterhorn.
8. Contract a Medal of Honor recipient.
9. Watch Bundeswehr paratroopers dropping like flies from formation after a night of drinking ‘weak’ American beer.
10. Get the chance to serve my Nation and meet some of the most interesting people from across our Country.

10. Bradley table 12, Mech Infantry platoon live fire
9. Range 19 at Ft. Riley. Night familiarization with the M203. Targets were M114s. 2 firing orders on line, one engaging with HEDP, the other illuminating.
8. Seeing expert coordination between 2 M249 SAWs. One picked up a burst right as the other finished. It was Armageddon in stereo.
7. Cooking an MRE for a stray dog in Srebrenica.
6. Facilitating reenlistments. Seriously, it's awesome. Even more so when when I get to give away bonus money.
5. Calling cadence.
4. Participating in the dedication of a 16th Infantry monument in Arlington.
3. Seeing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown
2. Leading troops
1. Leading troops

These are some of my fondest and most memorable moments so they are all pretty well number 1

1.Call me a sentimentalist, But viewing some of the most awesome sunsets thousands of miles from nowhere.
2. Mountain warfare training, California and South Korea
3. Setting in a hooch as an interpreters radio operator listening to the Korean Marine commander giving a speech to his men, I have no clue what they were saying, but thought it was really cool. They actually came in unannounced and without prior notice, so at first I thought I had been overrun.
4. Australian repel in South Korea.
5. Driving around Hong Kong for hours because of a communication gap between us and the cab driver, but I think the driver had as much fun as we did.
6. Living in Hawaii for three and a half years.
Traveling to different countries and exploring off the beaten path.
7. Night FPF in 29 Palms
8. Living in LA-X for three days because of the United Airlines strike. Glad the First Sargent was understanding.
9. Living on ship (USS DENVER) for six months. PT on a the flight deck presented new terrain everyday.
10. Seeing Ray Charles perform in Hawaii.
11 NFL Pro Bowl.

Not in any particular order:

12. Finally making it to Germany on a few occasions for pre deployment exercises.

11. Meeting US Senator Jack Reed from RI in 2 separate combat zones

10. Meeting President George Bush in Somalia 1991.

9. Riding in Blackhawks on several occasions.

8. Going to Pan Mun Jom and North Korea (inside the building of course) while stationed on the DMZ in Korea.

7. Deploying as Brigade S-6 to Iraq covering 6 units in an 800KM COMZ.

6. Being the S6 for 1/506 IN (2nd IN DIV).

5. Eating a traditional dinner with a Japanese officer and his family at their house while at Yama Sakura.

4. Visiting Inchon and other Korean War battle sites as an ROTC cadet while on CTLT after Advanced Camp.

3. Being part of a 2 joint task forces, working side-by-side with officers NCOs and enlisted from all 5 branches of the military.

2. Finally making Field Grade after 10 years as a Captain - my own choosing/fault but loved every minute of it.

1. Having the honor and blessing of working with some of the best people in the world especially all the Senior Section NCOs that always stood by me and taught me the ways of the world.