I'll tell you what.

If I could relive my Military Service, I'd do it very differently.

I am not being specific, because I am embarrassed. I was no traitor, but I sure would do different.

I was one dumb kid.

BTW, Honorable Discharge.

Quote from: quiller on October 29, 2015, 08:44:26 AM
I went in just before the first Forrestal fire, meaning EVERYBODY went twice through firefighting training, an experience totally unlike what many folks may think.

Crawling around without masks in oil smoke -- ah, that was something to really drive home the terror those men must have felt when that jet came down and everything went to hell up on deck. You pay attention to that stuff when the nearest land is five nautical miles straight down.

Then I got caught smoking in the company's head...and got sent back a week in training, so I got a third dose of that for my sins. I deserved it.

That's like our NBC training. We were put in a dimly lit, room with a hallway off it, and at the end is a closed door at the end. With the handle on the left hand side of the door instead of the right where one usually finds the doorknob.

Talk about a Cluster you know what, 100+ guys trying to get out of the tear gas, and those way up front ahead of ya, can't find the damn doorknob.

I had burning teary eyes for about an hour or so, and had snot hanging out of my nose down to my knees. 

Quote from: Solar on October 29, 2015, 10:15:12 AM
Yep, like breaking both legs and nothing for the pain for the next 8 weeks.
The first day really sucked, and it only got worse from there. Made some great friends though.....

Are you still in contact with any of them?

A honest question:

Do you ever feel your government could have won that war in a week if they wished to ?

That maybe having American Soldiers suffer and die was preferable to Washington Politicians ? Rather than having some balls and doing what was necessary to actually WIN ?