Originally posted by Sikboy
If you want to take up the con here, explain what you didn't like about the service. There's really no need for you to go after those of us who don't see eye to eye with you.
-Sikboy
Since you asked-
OK, fair enough, Sikboy. Let's start with Basic Training. (making buzzer sound) Hated it! They wake you up in the middle of the night to go out and guard a damn clothes line, for Christ's sakes. The food sucked, the DI's had the intelligence of a turnip and the sense of humor of an Ayatollah, the clothes made me look frumpy, there were no chicks, and I had to put up with wanna-be war heros who just couldn't WAIT to get to Viet Nam. Why, they would do toejam like wake us up at 4 AM just so we could go stand at attention for an hour before we entered the mess hall.
We spit shined our boots till they looked like freshly chipped Obsidian, our hair was shaved so short we looked like the Hare Krisnas who used to frequent the airports back in the 60s and 70s, and no matter what we did it was never good enough to please our DIs. I realized 5 minutes into my military career that it was going to suck. Oh...and did I mention the two or three homosexuals who lied about their ages just so they could enlist and sleep in a barracks with 65 young boys? Luckily they were discovered early and tossed out.
I hated boot camp but I understood its purpose, which was to make you think properly, which according to the military means not thinking at all. Personally I feel either someone will stand tall when the time comes or they won't.
My buttons were polished, my shoes were shined and my dress uniform was immaculate, and STILL I was a virgin who couldn't get laid in spite of being so squared away.
Now Viet Nam was quite another story. Most of the times it was a blast, and the majority of action I saw was in the bars and potato houses on Plantation Road in Saigon. What WAS bizarre, however, was how they shipped us over there. We flew on commercial jetliners complete with stewardesses and everything.
There were NO rules about haircuts, I didn't shine my boots the whole time I was there, I rarely shaved, and even the Non Coms were bright enough not to mess with armed American Psychos on drugs. The beer was free, the pot was cheap (a pack of Salems would swap for a pack of Gold Leaf pre-rolled joints, complete with filters) and we made more money than the President of South Vietnam even.
Now if I wanted to get political here I could comment on who actually fought that war, why school deferments weren't granted to community college students, and how some of those from my generation used their Daddy's money and political clout to avoid service by joining National Guard units, which were virtually impossible for those of us among the "Masses" to get into.
Viet Nam was much like the Titanic when it sunk, and those of us poor or lower middle class kids who weren't in the lifeboats with the Clintions and the Bushes and the Quayles were sucked right down a vacuum.
Oh, sorry, I forgot- no politics. Far be it from me to say anything controversial, and anyway I don't want to read a zillion posts from retired peace time NCOs who disagree with my (admitted) slant on Viet Nam and feel that Quayle, Clinton and Bush were treated no differently than the rest of us.
After my year's tour I shipped back Stateside although I tried to sign for one more tour. To this day I have no idea why I wanted to stay there, I think it was because I felt I could do the job better than some newbie could. Unfortunately by January of 1972 we were starting our "phased withdrawal" or "Vietnamization" of the War, so my request was denied and I shipped back Stateside.
And guess what? The NCOs all turned into DICKS again. They made me shine my shoes (three times before they were satisified) cut my hair (twice) and took it upon themselves to make my remaining 1 year, 178 days and a wake-up a living hell. I pulled duty every holiday, I never caught a break and I was the biggest toejam bird ever. In hindsight, however, my attitude was a bit much and I tended to run my mouth quite a bit...plus I was dealing with really STUPID people, and I've always been intolorant of idiots.
I finished my hitch without ever getting Masted or into any serious trouble, got out in 1974, scammed the GI Bill people out of 220.00 a month while I corrupted the morals of several young ladies I met at the local Junior College and went on with my life, but I felt like I had missed out on part of my youth.
In hindsight I would never do it again, although I was just kidding about buying a Saturday Night Special and going on a cross country crime spree instead. And I've collected a whole bunch of benefits, too, from free medical care for life due to injuries I recieved to a no-down VA house loan, so in many ways it paid off.
Although I wouldn't want to repeat the experience I wouldn't trade it for the world. The friendships I developed were the deepest ever, and I still communicate with a couple of old buddies from 30+ years ago. Today a lot of my friends are vets, and some of them were Lifers, and the common bond- and love- we feel for each other ranks right up there with the love I feel for my family. In many ways I was blessed by the experience, and I apologize if I sound bitter because I don't feel bitter at all.
If Cody (God, is EVERY young man in Texas named Cody??) decides to join the service then I wish him luck, but the military, like anything else, won't magically change you...That's up to Cody to do. And if he goes in I hope he formulates a plan, writes down his goals, sticks with them and SAVES HIS MONEY rather than spending every dime he gets.
Basically I hate seeing kids have to grow up so fast because they're only young once. There's time for responsibilities down the road.
Now as far as "going after" anybody goes, reread my post and you'll see I said HALF the Lifers can't even make a sandwich, not ALL of them. If anything I'm being kind. And if any career guys take exception to my comment about how ugly they are? Hey, you post your picture and I'll post mine. I'm really pretty good looking, if I do say so myself.
Elfenwolf
