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More from: "My Time in Service."
T- Square.
Lt. Colonel Charlie Brown shared a story about "Shade Tree Mechanics." Folks who, without much book learning- could fix, design, build, or improve just about anything. In the thread there was a mention that most Soldiers could read and write. Well, I was in the Infantry in 1969...and a whole lot of my Company had GT Scores in the 90's. So yeah, they could read and write their names, and maybe a street sign...but Vietnam was still raging, and they put a lot of on the "bubble" Recruits through the system.
But uneducated does not mean unskilled. And sometimes, it hid genius. T Square...as we called him, was one of those. He could walk in a room, look at the four corners, and rattle off the Square footage to within inches. One time we walked into the Post Chapel, and he stopped and whistled. He was looking up into the Rafter with a smile on his face. And he said:
"Man oh man, whoever built that was a Master Craftsman."
We were like ...confused.
"What are you talking about T?" ( We called him T to his face, but T Square when referring to him.)
He pointed up to the joists....
"I mean look at that! That is an unusual angle, looks to be like 17.5 degrees. That ain't an easy cut. And you can't even see the fasteners. Good work there, eh?"
Now I should mention, the Lieutenant and the Captain with us at the time, were both West Point Grads...and they could do the Math alright, but neither of them could have eyeballed an angle from the ground looking up ...they could show you the geometry on paper....T Square did it all in his head. Somehow.
He did stuff like that all the time. Like when they had to put drywall in the Quonset Huts to make little offices.
T Square walked the length and breadth of the place, asked if they wanted the walls to go up to the ceiling and make rooms, or if they wanted just cubicles.
Then he told them how many sf of dry wall they would need.
The Post Carpenter scoffed at his estimates. Until the job was done, with little waste. He had (Pardon the pun , but can't help it) nailed it!
Then the Post Carpenter saw the wooden scaffolding that T Square had anchored everything too.
"What the heck? How did a Finish Carpenter - good enough to make furniture for sale, end up an Infantry grunt?"
He wanted to know where T Square got his Carpenters license or apprenticeship at.
He didn't have a license, nor did he go through an apprenticeship. He just built stuff until (as he often told us): "The pattern fits in my head."
Not only could he do geometry, figure out areas, and volumes, but he could do it all in his head. So the Battalion Commander got wind of him. Forced him to get a GED. And man, you talk about eager to learn.
He aced the Math Part, had to take an extra six weeks for the English Part, and the Post Carpenter had him take the Local Carpenters Union Qualifying exam. And he aced it and they granted him a license. On a side note, I thought that Union did the right thing. They didn't quiz you on paper, they gave you carpenter type real life situations and scenarios, and you had to build it.
Practical exams...not book stuff. And they put things in the specs that you had to catch would cause the angle to be off, or the load shifted, or whatever.
If you passed that exam, you could build anything from a one room cabin, to a whole house.
And yes the Post Carpenter stole T Square from us. He earned a 12 W MOS with some help from the Officers, Senior Sergeants and the Paper Pushers...and left 11 Charlie behind.
The Army gave him a chance, He took it and ran with it. I bet he did 30 years with that new MOS.
T- Square.
Lt. Colonel Charlie Brown shared a story about "Shade Tree Mechanics." Folks who, without much book learning- could fix, design, build, or improve just about anything. In the thread there was a mention that most Soldiers could read and write. Well, I was in the Infantry in 1969...and a whole lot of my Company had GT Scores in the 90's. So yeah, they could read and write their names, and maybe a street sign...but Vietnam was still raging, and they put a lot of on the "bubble" Recruits through the system.
But uneducated does not mean unskilled. And sometimes, it hid genius. T Square...as we called him, was one of those. He could walk in a room, look at the four corners, and rattle off the Square footage to within inches. One time we walked into the Post Chapel, and he stopped and whistled. He was looking up into the Rafter with a smile on his face. And he said:
"Man oh man, whoever built that was a Master Craftsman."
We were like ...confused.
"What are you talking about T?" ( We called him T to his face, but T Square when referring to him.)
He pointed up to the joists....
"I mean look at that! That is an unusual angle, looks to be like 17.5 degrees. That ain't an easy cut. And you can't even see the fasteners. Good work there, eh?"
Now I should mention, the Lieutenant and the Captain with us at the time, were both West Point Grads...and they could do the Math alright, but neither of them could have eyeballed an angle from the ground looking up ...they could show you the geometry on paper....T Square did it all in his head. Somehow.
He did stuff like that all the time. Like when they had to put drywall in the Quonset Huts to make little offices.
T Square walked the length and breadth of the place, asked if they wanted the walls to go up to the ceiling and make rooms, or if they wanted just cubicles.
Then he told them how many sf of dry wall they would need.
The Post Carpenter scoffed at his estimates. Until the job was done, with little waste. He had (Pardon the pun , but can't help it) nailed it!
Then the Post Carpenter saw the wooden scaffolding that T Square had anchored everything too.
"What the heck? How did a Finish Carpenter - good enough to make furniture for sale, end up an Infantry grunt?"
He wanted to know where T Square got his Carpenters license or apprenticeship at.
He didn't have a license, nor did he go through an apprenticeship. He just built stuff until (as he often told us): "The pattern fits in my head."
Not only could he do geometry, figure out areas, and volumes, but he could do it all in his head. So the Battalion Commander got wind of him. Forced him to get a GED. And man, you talk about eager to learn.
He aced the Math Part, had to take an extra six weeks for the English Part, and the Post Carpenter had him take the Local Carpenters Union Qualifying exam. And he aced it and they granted him a license. On a side note, I thought that Union did the right thing. They didn't quiz you on paper, they gave you carpenter type real life situations and scenarios, and you had to build it.
Practical exams...not book stuff. And they put things in the specs that you had to catch would cause the angle to be off, or the load shifted, or whatever.
If you passed that exam, you could build anything from a one room cabin, to a whole house.
And yes the Post Carpenter stole T Square from us. He earned a 12 W MOS with some help from the Officers, Senior Sergeants and the Paper Pushers...and left 11 Charlie behind.
The Army gave him a chance, He took it and ran with it. I bet he did 30 years with that new MOS.
Mathematics
Carpentry
Soldiers
Knowledge
Education
Posted 2 d ago
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SGT Kevin Hughes Some people can do a lot with very little education. At least the Army realized his potential. The last year I was in the Corps they moved me to the office. I guess the finally realized I had a brain. I could do a re-up package completed with DD-214, discharge certificate, enlistment contract, pay and all the other things that go with it within a hour. The Career planner used to bring me the record books from other companies so they could get the Marine to re-enlist and get sworn back in before they had a chance to back out!
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SGT Kevin Hughes
Looks like the Marines realized potential too! Had our re-up guys been as good, I might have done 20 uninterrupted- instead of my checkered career. On the other hand ...I met my Kathy and the rest has been pure gravy.
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Maj Robert Thornton
Somehow after being in the Air Force as a Nurse for a little over 2 years, I applied for Anesthesia School. A strange thing happened prior to my notification. We had the Command Nurse down doing her yearly visit. I took the 2300 to 0700 shift that week to avoid her.
To my surprise, in she walks into the SCU at 0115. She proceeds to ask what my plans were going forward, and I told her I had applied to Anesthesia School. You would have thought I had applied for astronaut training or something. She told me if I got in it meant I would have to study for the rest of my career. Then she told me I wouldn't get in on the first application.
Lo and behold, a few weeks later my Chief Nurse came in with the news I had been accepted into the Anesthesia program. I realized later, one thing she didn't like about nurse anesthetists was we were under the medical staff in the hospitals, not under nursing services. Cheers.
To my surprise, in she walks into the SCU at 0115. She proceeds to ask what my plans were going forward, and I told her I had applied to Anesthesia School. You would have thought I had applied for astronaut training or something. She told me if I got in it meant I would have to study for the rest of my career. Then she told me I wouldn't get in on the first application.
Lo and behold, a few weeks later my Chief Nurse came in with the news I had been accepted into the Anesthesia program. I realized later, one thing she didn't like about nurse anesthetists was we were under the medical staff in the hospitals, not under nursing services. Cheers.
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SGT Kevin Hughes
Maj Robert Thornton - That's the way to show those folks who don't believe. I have never understood not encouraging folks to push themselves ...and every good Professional at anything...studies for the rest of their lives! Good on you!
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Cpl Vic Burk
SGT Kevin Hughes - I always encourage my students to go as far as they can in life. Don't sit still and wait for things to come to them, go after them yourself.
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Probably had a lot of OJT in that area prior to entering the service. I had an NCO that was a brick layer before entering the service; SSG Hennessy. SFC Foreman was another.
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SGT Kevin Hughes
Man Colonel, I shook hands with a Mason/Bricklayer once...and I won't do that again. Their grip strength is out of this world. I was surprised to find out the Army had an MOS for guys like T Square. I think it is a little broader in scope than just carpentry...but he found a home!
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