Quote from: hokiewoodchuck on May 08, 2012, 07:29:16 PM

You will have to explain what the acronyms mean. I will pass on the info. He met with me and a Marine General (ret) friend of mine to gain some insight so anything you can give me will do him just fine.

Oh- Acronyms. Sorry about that.

RI = Ranger Instructor - like a DI, but much worse. DI's aren't allowed to eat you.
PL = Patrol Leader - The guy in charge
SF = Special Forces - the guys with the funny hat.
SFAS + Special Forces Assessment and Selection - Where you get your rear end smoked and wonder," Why did I do that?"
Q course - Special forces Qualification course - Where you earn your skill identifier and green beenie.

It's been ages ago so I no longer know the address to the Ranger School. Sorry. Sending him a crusty chocolate  HO-HO would really be funny!

Quote from: Ford289HiPo on May 09, 2012, 02:45:30 PM
Oh- Acronyms. Sorry about that.

RI = Ranger Instructor - like a DI, but much worse. DI's aren't allowed to eat you.
PL = Patrol Leader - The guy in charge
SF = Special Forces - the guys with the funny hat.
SFAS + Special Forces Assessment and Selection - Where you get your rear end smoked and wonder," Why did I do that?"
Q course - Special forces Qualification course - Where you earn your skill identifier and green beenie.

It's been ages ago so I no longer know the address to the Ranger School. Sorry. Sending him a crusty chocolate  HO-HO would really be funny!

Ahh yes...I see some of that ego coming out......however I spent my time in Force Recon..2d Marines. Training side by side with some of the SEALS years ago.

Ranger School got nothing on me. That's boy scout camp.

Aside from all that, during my forestry career I spent 4 years living in Columbus Ga actually Harris Co and during that time I was called fro  time to time BY the Army Corps of Engineers to entertain the the idea of buying their timber on base so I got to see some of that 'boy scout training' in progress. LOL!

Here is the thing.....I bought some of their timber and damn if old Patton was still trying to kill people..let me explain. Years ago when Patton was a young commander of a tank battalion....the word was he would open live fire at the woods during training. Some of these smaller pine trees grew big with rounds embedded in them.....so 45 years later here I come with money in hand and buy some of that timber. The second the bandsaw hit the round, it was sent flying through the air ricocheting all around the damn sawmill.....workers were ducking for their lives, holes were being blown in the roof, machines were disabled, etc.

We didn't buy any more of 'Patton's' Timber.

Then there was the time some of his men got locked up in th Pheonix City jail and Patton wanted them released. The sheriff said no. Patton then took two tanks to the jail, lowered the barrels directly at the sheriff's office........let's just say the sheriff changed his mind.....LOL!

Quote from: hokiewoodchuck on May 09, 2012, 04:45:36 PM
Ahh yes...I see some of that ego coming out......however I spent my time in Force Recon..2d Marines. Training side by side with some of the SEALS years ago.

Ranger School got nothing on me. That's boy scout camp.

Aside from all that, during my forestry career I spent 4 years living in Columbus Ga actually Harris Co and during that time I was called fro  time to time BY the Army Corps of Engineers to entertain the the idea of buying their timber on base so I got to see some of that 'boy scout training' in progress. LOL!

Here is the thing.....I bought some of their timber and damn if old Patton was still trying to kill people..let me explain. Years ago when Patton was a young commander of a tank battalion....the word was he would open live fire at the woods during training. Some of these smaller pine trees grew big with rounds embedded in them.....so 45 years later here I come with money in hand and buy some of that timber. The second the bandsaw hit the round, it was sent flying through the air ricocheting all around the damn sawmill.....workers were ducking for their lives, holes were being blown in the roof, machines were disabled, etc.

We didn't buy any more of 'Patton's' Timber.

Then there was the time some of his men got locked up in th Pheonix City jail and Patton wanted them released. The sheriff said no. Patton then took two tanks to the jail, lowered the barrels directly at the sheriff's office........let's just say the sheriff changed his mind.....LOL!

Ego? Awww, c'mon Mr Woodchuck. I left my ego in the footlocker with all that other junk-n-stuff after I retired. I never saw much sense in posting an "I Love Me" wall in my house. No one is impressed.

Force Recon is cool. One of the SOF team! I worked with a cantankerous old fart in Iraq that was former FR (and he let me know it).  Of course, he had the added benefit of being in SF back in the 70's.

Heh-heh! I recall some lumber incidents like that at Ft Polk also. Oh...and Phenix City <shudder>..........

Quote from: Ford289HiPo on May 09, 2012, 08:05:25 PM
Ego? Awww, c'mon Mr Woodchuck. I left my ego in the footlocker with all that other junk-n-stuff after I retired. I never saw much sense in posting an "I Love Me" wall in my house. No one is impressed.

I agree Ford, I have all that crap form 40 years ago packed away, I see no reason to have a shrine for it, like so many I know seem to do.
I see it like an Al Bundy syndrome, where he still lives the days of a high school quarterback as if it still means anything.
I had the best job the Army had to offer and was quite proud of my accomplishments, but that was yesterday, in fact, 14,600 yesterdays ago
Too much has happened that is far better than those days, in fact, when I sit back and think about them, the one memory that comes to mind, is I repeated over and over, never Re-up, never Re-up, never Re-up, for a damn good reason, it actually sucked, no matter how good I had it.
Memories are a funny thing, they make you forget all the shitty times.

Just messing around. For me that was decades ago. Many humbling miles have passed since that time. I look back and cannot believe the things I did.....young and didn't know any better....and it is probably a good thing.

Now that 'cantankerous old fart' comment...........is something I resemble. I wondr if we are all seen that way...... 

PC was so bad when I was there the doctors left and their patients came to our side of the river and the doctors wouldn't see them. They sued PC doctors right out of town and out of business.

Thaks for the info, I'll be sure to speak with my nephew. I don't know when cause he said for the next 6 months(?) they are cutting off all communication(phone) due to training.
Did he mean 6 months or is it 6 weeks? Did I hear him correctly?

I know we have seen this before but I think it is appropriate for this discussion...LOL!

I am over 60 and the Armed Forces thinks I'm too old to
track down terrorists.  You can't be older than 42 to
join the military.  They've got the whole thing ass-backwards.
Instead of sending 18-year olds off to fight, they ought to take
us old guys.  You shouldn't be able to join a military unit
until you're at least 35. 
For starters, researchers say 18-year-olds think about
sex every 10 seconds. Old guys only think about
sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000
additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy..
Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a
cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier.  'My back hurts!  I can't
sleep, I'm tired and hungry.' We are impatient and maybe
letting us kill some asshole that desperately deserves it
will make us feel better and shut us up for awhile.. 
An 18-year-old doesn't even like to get up before 10am .  Old guys
always get up early to pee, so what the hell.  Besides, like I
said, I'm tired and can't sleep and since I'm already up, I may
as well be up killing some fanatical son-of-a-bitch. 
If captured we couldn't spill the beans because we'd forget where
we put them.  In fact, name, rank, and serial number
would be a real brainteaser.
Boot camp would be easier for old guys.. We're used to getting
screamed and yelled at and we're used to soft food.  We've also
developed an appreciation for guns.  We've been using them
for years as an excuse to get out of the house, away from the
screaming and yelling. 
They could lighten up on the obstacle course however... I've
been in combat and never saw a single 20-foot wall with rope
hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any push ups after
completing basic training. 
Actually, the running part is kind of a waste of energy, too... I've
never seen anyone outrun a bullet. 
An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still
learning to shave, to start a conversation with a pretty girl.
He still hasn't figured out that a baseball cap has a brim to
shade his eyes, not the back of his head.
These are all great reasons to keep our kids at home to learn a little
more about life before sending them off into harm's way.
Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten coward terrorists. The
last thing an enemy would want to see is a couple million pissed off
old farts with attitudes and automatic weapons, who know
that their best years are already behind them. 
HEY!! How about recruiting Women over 50...in menopause!!!
You think MEN have attitudes??
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh my God!!! If nothing else, put them on
border patrol. They'll have it secured the first night!

Quote from: hokiewoodchuck on May 10, 2012, 07:10:25 AM

For starters, researchers say 18-year-olds think about
sex every 10 seconds.

Hmmmm................ I must not be as old as I thought

Quote from: hokiewoodchuck on May 09, 2012, 08:33:24 PM

Thaks for the info, I'll be sure to speak with my nephew. I don't know when cause he said for the next 6 months(?) they are cutting off all communication(phone) due to training.
Did he mean 6 months or is it 6 weeks? Did I hear him correctly?

It's been some time, but Ranger school used to consist of Jungle Phase, Mountain Phase, and Desert Phase. IIRC, it was closer to 3 months.

Quote from: Ford289HiPo on May 10, 2012, 10:58:17 AM
Hmmmm................ I must not be as old as I thought

To rid yourself of the long lasting effects of that 'little blue pill'........just think of Hildabeast Clintoon........that should take care of the 4 hour time limit. I have just saved you a visit to the emergency room....so pay up. 

Thinkin' about it never got anything done.

Quote from: hokiewoodchuck on May 10, 2012, 11:53:30 AM
To rid yourself of the long lasting effects of that 'little blue pill'........just think of Hildabeast Clintoon........that should take care of the 4 hour time limit. I have just saved you a visit to the emergency room....so pay up. 

Thinkin' about it never got anything done.

Arrrrrgh! The mental images!