From
the Old Soldier side: When I was in the “regular Army” back in the 70’s, we had
changed many of the sayings and motto's for the Army and our Battalion. It was something I carried on many years
later when I joined the California Army National Guard.
Some
of those old sayings we changed: “US Army, we can break more shit before 9, than
most people break in a year” or my favorite: “US Army, we can waste more time
before 9, than most companies waste in a month.”
Spec 4 CI Roller dude somewhere in Vest Germany
The only US Army patch with the name of a city on it
I
was in West Berlin for the July 4th parade in 1976. We had every Soldier who could walk (and a
few who couldn't march in that parade. “I
love a parade….as long as I don’t have to march in it.” Was our motto for the
day.
"There's DUMB and there's ARMY DUMB"
One
of genius Spec 4’s (E-4, now just called a “Specialist” because they did away
with Spec 5, 6’s and 7’s) came up with something I never forgot: “The US Army,
200 years of tradition, history and shit unchanged by progress or common sense.”
I
continued using that motto, just updating the years for the rest of my career.
Some
of the silly shit the US Army does is just baffling. Some of the leaders I had to work for were
very good, and I’d follow them anywhere…but many others were less than
useless. Why anybody would have put some
of these dummies in charge of people was something I could never figure
out. Usually what I heard was: “I’m the senior
ranking person here, so I’m in charge.”
In my last years in the Guard, on deployments, fires, earthquakes etc,
that sort of system failed many times.
In some cases, the smarter bosses wouldn’t put the dummy in charge even
if he did have more stripes.
Never sleep when the rubber chicken is loose...
Well,
we can look back at the last 238 years and see what our Army has done…where it’s
been, what it’s done. How much it’s
changed history (along with the Marines, Navy and Air Force.) I still read history books about past wars…and
I still wonder if our leaders have read any of them. If you don’t study history, you are doomed to
repeat it. It seems like we have at
least a few times.
There
were many stories I’ve read of past wars and thought that the players were the
same, just different equipment and different enemies…but the story seems to repeat.
I read a story about soldiers in the
civil war being issued food rations for 3 days…then eating them all the first
day because they were so hungry. One
training mission we did at Fort Irwin many years ago, we were issued MREs for 3
days to get us through the “battle”. By
the end of the first day, half my guys came up to me and said: “Sarge, we’re
starving.”
I
just looked at them and thought that the troops really haven’t changed over the
years….just the crap we carried.
Ft Ord about 1990? Getting ammo ready for the M60 range
The
US Army uniforms have changed many times since the 1770’s. Many times in the Army’s history the uniforms
and weapons they were using at the beginning of some wars were not what they
were using by the end. This history
lesson repeated around 2005. Our unit
was wearing BDUs’ before Iraq (we wore them in Bosnia). Then for Iraq we were
issued DCUs. Part way through our
deployment, troops were arriving wearing the ACUs’.
The
ACU’s are the worst piece of shit uniform ever issued in our Army’s
history. Polyester and Velcro that fails
when needed the most.
In
my Army / National Guard career, I wore 4 combat uniforms. In 1974 we were issued 2 sets of Class A’s
(dress uniform) with a Class B (minus
the green dress jacket) 2 sets of khakis, 4 sets of OD Green fatigues, and a
set of PT shorts and shirt…and 2 pairs
of black combat boots and 1 pair of black low quarter shoes.
For more History of Army uniforms:
How come the Marine uniforms always look better?
8 comments:
One thing that doesn't change are NCOs adapting. Mid 60's Army, no NCO could get physical with the troops.
My platoon sergeant would pull two troops into the room along with the person he was displeased with. Then he would say words along these lines. "PVT Dumbass is a cluster#*^&. You two are going to get him un#*^&ed. So you will have enough time for the job, don't plan on any passes until you finish". He would usually pair one black, and one white, trooper so as to appear fair.
1. On leadership, have come to the conclusion that things sucked so bad from late sixties to early seventies because the Army commissioned all its good NCO's.
2. Just about all the senior NCO's were morons or criminals at that time.
3. Early seventies, the Army started RIFing the good guys and things began to improve.
4. The Army I worked with a decade later was light years better than the one I served in.
5. Got the same uniform issue you did.
6. In VN wore ripstops (then called jungle fatigues). Were not durable, but were excellent for patrolling in -or just diddy bopping about the area, for that matter.
7. Had to turn in every bit of issue gear, when returning to CONUS. A series of REMF PFC's who processed us threatened us with staying in-country, every other sentence.
8. Came back wearing wrinkled khakis and moldy low quarter shoes that had been sitting in my duffle bag for a year.
9. No souvenirs for any of us. Came back with the duffle bag and an AWOL bag containing a paperback and a carton of cigarettes.
10. Sorry to hear that the ACU's aren't any good. Like that Camo pattern. Like the DCU even better.
11. To the extent that camo matters on any battlefield we're likely to be on, lighter is better.
Always.
12. OTOH, am little interested in concealment.
13. We seem to be handing out NODS, thermal imagers, radar to every third world crap outfit that shows up. To the extent that they use them for something other than weights to keep their rugs from shifting, who cares about camo?
14. Enough rant. Always glad to read one of your posts.
V/R JWest
That's why I had to get out in the 70's...they'd promote somebody just for re-enlisting...regardless of them being able to read and write.
The guys I worked with in OIF 3 were for the most part some of the smartest people I ever saw!
That was a great post and oh so true. Thanks for posting.
Good one, and nice rant! Oh, and that last picture, I 'think' it's more about the BODY in the uniform that the uniform per se... :-)
rubber chickens... those are standard issue, right? Do they make them in cammo yet?
That rubber chicken went to Bosnia and Iraq...then I mailed it to a friend who deployed again later. I think they ended up eating it.
Ha. Love the joking around. Those are fun times. Now...about that black tape and those white box growths on your face. I am somewhat concerned about that. LOL. Love the rubber chicken btw!
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