Veterans On the Board

[Bobbyhank]

I'm just curious, have any one of you had shore leave on AUTEC, Andros Island? I was the youngest In Water controller, at 25. You Submariners partied hard ashore.

A hand full of us were able to get off the boat for 24 hours at Andros so I did some snorkeling. We slept at some Military barracks for just one night, then took a helicopter ride back somewhere to meet up with the boat. The water was great … nice and warm and very clear. It may have been sometime around 1979. I am a non drinker so I didn't do any partying.

 

[Bobbyhank]

I’ve been to Ft. Ritchie and to Site R (ANMCC) I helped install an EMP hardened communication system at Site R and the mountain top. It was the GWEN system. It was scrapped after 6 months online. It took a total of 4 years to construct that nationwide comm system for the USAF. I also did it at NORAD CMC in CO and the NMCC at the Pentagon.

Site R ? I used to do some industrial instrumentation work at the Site "R" wastewater plant that was off site. I actually grew up not too far from there. The 9 hole golf course at Blue Ridge Summit was where I got my first job. I was pushing a mower after school and all summer at age 12 ( 1968 ).

 

[ls23h]

Sadly, FT Ritchie was closed during BRAC. Site R is still up and running

 

[70dart340]

A hand full of us were able to get off the boat for 24 hours at Andros so I did some snorkeling. We slept at some Military barracks for just one night, then took a helicopter ride back somewhere to meet up with the boat. The water was great … nice and warm and very clear. It may have been sometime around 1979. I am a non drinker so I didn't do any partying.

I started there in 1981 after my USMC tour. I'm glad you got to do some snorkeling. That's the 3rd longest barrier reef in the world, after Australia and Belize. I started on the remote downrange sites. I was in the water every chance I got. Lobster, grouper, snapper, hogfish..... I ate good.

 

[Monk67]

How about we see how many Vets we have.
List your branch and years in, also if you served overseas. Middle East, Europe, South America don't matter. Let's recognize everybody.

US Navy Seabees
Builder 2nd Class
'67-'69 21st NCR Davisville, RI
9 Years reserves

 

[go-fish]

US Navy Seabees
Builder 2nd Class

Hoorah Seabee! CM2 here

 

[jazak5]

5th SFG(A) 84/87 MOS 18E can't tell you all I will say is we should of kicked some a-- back then and we would have not have the problems...

 

[70dart340]

I understand. They train us, arm us, and then won't let us do what we're supposed to do. Friggin' politics.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

If I had a dime for every time I heard the phrase; " Ahhh...the command climate has changed....." right before we went out to do damage.......

 

[70dart340]

Whatever the circumstances, in an era of volunteer and drafted veterans, I love and respect you all. Veterans are finally getting some respect. Not like when I got spit on by some hippies in SFO when I returned from Okinawa in 1978. All vets have my respect. I have USMC veteran plates on my Nissan Frontier DD. The extra fees go to the Wounded Warriors. I've met many USMC veterans because of my plates.

 

[VintageRacer67]

Whatever the circumstances, in an era of volunteer and drafted veterans, I love and respect you all. Veterans are finally getting some respect. Not like when I got spit on by some hippies in SFO when I returned from Okinawa in 1978. All vets have my respect. I have USMC veteran plates on my Nissan Frontier DD. The extra fees go to the Wounded Warriors. I've met many USMC veterans because of my plates.

I agree with your statement about veterans. I respect anyone who stood ready to fight for our country, regardless of if they fought overseas or vigilantly prepared for a fight that never came.

I also agree about the Veteran plates. I have Purple Heart plates on my Dart and have met a lot of really cool veterans because of them.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

Something that bugs me about our fellow citizens:
Telling veterans they should be ashamed for furthering this , or that, regimes wicked aims. We don't swear an oath to any political party, to any agenda, to any regime. We swear an oath to our fellow citizens, to our country, to our Liberty, our Freedom our flag. We swear an oath to enduring things, priceless ideals and ideas.
We sign a figurative "Blank Check" to pay to keep those things alive, even up to and including by dying ourselves in order to do so.

Why can people not see that? We aren't asking for any recognition or payment, just understanding and maybe a little respect.

 

[WV64Signet]

U.S. Army Special Forces, Retired. 1985 - 2005
Long time commo guy.. I have the shoulder and lower back surgeries to prove it.
10th Special Forces Group 3rd Bn and 1st Bn...SWC Tour spinkled in.
Cheers @jazak5 18E fellow code room survivor.
MFFI 468
SFODA 096, 016, 014

No offense to the current company... but the best people on this earth and off it I met on my Teams....

 

[Dartsun]

U.S. Army Special Forces, Retired. 1985 - 2005
Long time commo guy.. I have the shoulder and lower back surgeries to prove it.
10th Special Forces Group 3rd Bn and 1st Bn...SWC Tour spinkled in.
Cheers @jazak5 18E fellow code room survivor.
MFFI 468
SFODA 096, 016, 014

No offense to the current company... but the best people on this earth and off it I met on my Teams....

I feel the same way with the guys in my Artillery and the Armor battalions I worked for and attached with.

 

[70dart340]

I love my fellow Jarheads in HQ 4th MARDIV, and my crypto tech Buddies at Cherry Point. It just proves my theory that Veterans share a forged link from our service. The antifa and defund the police in Portland and Seattle have no idea what will hit them if they keep up their nonsense. One more year, and my wife and I are moving back to NW Florida.

 

[go-fish]

No offense to the current company... but the best people on this earth and off it I met on my Teams....

None taken. I worked with every branch's special operations units from Tier 1 down. I can't say I disagree. I was just a Seabee "tech support" guy. I did operate outside the wire on mission with NSW as a driver and gunner.
There are really special people in all the branch's special operations units but the 18 series guys were always the best. Real people. The NSW guys I started working with at my first unit (NSWU-4/SOCSOUTH) were older dudes that were true quiet professionals. Sometime in the early 2000's it completely changed to primarily being egotistical and loud. It used to be that you could only tell a SEAL by his mustache and short shorts. Now they want to tell you. I know some solid dudes but sadly, the overall culture was like this when I got out in 2011. There was a lot of Frogmen getting into serious legal trouble and it was swept under the rug. Punching women, drugs, wrecking gov vehicles coming home from the bar, stealing ammo and NODS....
I hear they are finally reining in that behavior.

 

[WV64Signet]

None taken. I worked with every branch's special operations units from Tier 1 down. I can't say I disagree. I was just a Seabee "tech support" guy. I did operate outside the wire on mission with NSW as a driver and gunner.
There are really special people in all the branch's special operations units but the 18 series guys were always the best. Real people. The NSW guys I started working with at my first unit (NSWU-4/SOCSOUTH) were older dudes that were true quiet professionals. Sometime in the early 2000's it completely changed to primarily being egotistical and loud. It used to be that you could only tell a SEAL by his mustache and short shorts. Now they want to tell you. I know some solid dudes but sadly, the overall culture was like this when I got out in 2011. There was a lot of Frogmen getting into serious legal trouble and it was swept under the rug. Punching women, drugs, wrecking gov vehicles coming home from the bar, stealing ammo and NODS....
I hear they are finally reining in that behavior.

Things came to a head in Apri 2019 when the "We have a problem" memo came out from NSW.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

Combat Aviation folks are always pretty tight, a family. Everyone else from other branches are always glad to see us...
When that AH64D rolls in with the 30MM chattering and Hellfire's sailing away from the rails, they tend to remember who came when they were called...

 

[WV64Signet]

Combat Aviation folks are always pretty tight, a family. Everyone else from other branches are always glad to see us...
When that AH64D rolls in with the 30MM chattering and Hellfire's sailing away from the rails, they tend to remember who came when they were called...

Rotary Wing ECAS always welcome.

Done some over the shoulder 2.75 work before. Nice effect even with a grease pencil cross hair

 

[go-fish]

Combat Aviation folks are always pretty tight, a family. Everyone else from other branches are always glad to see us...
When that AH64D rolls in with the 30MM chattering and Hellfire's sailing away from the rails, they tend to remember who came when they were called...

Got a ride from 160th on a few occasions. Got my fast rope qualification with them.

 

[70dart340]

I'm proud to be a member of the "Silent Majority." It's pretty easy to pick out the Veterans in day to day life. Polite, helping out the elderly, and look you dead in the eye when talking to you. I can tell in day to day life. I'm proud to be one of the quiet ones that helps an old woman with a flat tire. Inevitably, another Vet will stop by to help. If they're driving an old Mopar, I'm pulling over to help. My WA state USMC plates help to make instant friends. One of the few Veterans benifits.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

I'm proud to be a member of the "Silent Majority." It's pretty easy to pick out the Veterans in day to day life. Polite, helping out the elderly, and look you dead in the eye when talking to you. I can tell in day to day life. I'm proud to be one of the quiet ones that helps an old woman with a flat tire. Inevitably, another Vet will stop by to help. If they're driving an old Mopar, I'm pulling over to help. My WA state USMC plates help to make instant friends. One of the few Veterans benifits.

Just this morning in the grocery store parking lot a fella walked up to me as I was returning to my truck and reached out to shake my hand. He didn't say anything, just nodded at my veteran plates and winked. Turned and walked away. I used to have these ones on my vehicles but VT has too many people who are politically motivated to dislike them and what they represent. So i switched over to the ones with just the flag and United States Veteran on them.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

I'm proud to be a member of the "Silent Majority." It's pretty easy to pick out the Veterans in day to day life. Polite, helping out the elderly, and look you dead in the eye when talking to you. I can tell in day to day life. I'm proud to be one of the quiet ones that helps an old woman with a flat tire. Inevitably, another Vet will stop by to help. If they're driving an old Mopar, I'm pulling over to help. My WA state USMC plates help to make instant friends. One of the few Veterans benifits.

I spent a couple of years at Ft Lewis in 1980-81. Rained a lot..lol.

 

[66fyssh]

I retired from the Air Force 15 years ago and still miss it every single day. I posted my career before but a quick rundown:

Army Reserves - Field Radio Repair

Air Force- Ground Radio Repair to include 3 years in Tactical Communications with the Ground Launched Cruise Missile system at RAF Greenham Common in UK.

Air Force - Recruiting

I finished as an Instructor Supervisor in Communications-Electronics

I would go back tomorrow if they would let me. It's much nicer leading people that have a greater purpose than making money for a company, and who are willing to put their lives on the line for each other.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

I retired from the Air Force 15 years ago and still miss it every single day. I posted my career before but a quick rundown:

Army Reserves - Field Radio Repair

Air Force- Ground Radio Repair to include 3 years in Tactical Communications with the Ground Launched Cruise Missile system at RAF Greenham Common in UK.

Air Force - Recruiting

I finished as an Instructor Supervisor in Communications-Electronics

I would go back tomorrow if they would let me. It's much nicer leading people that have a greater purpose than making money for a company, and who are willing to put their lives on the line for each other.

This is why military people have a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. The two are like night and day.