Poll: Military Service

[chico20854]

We had this poll a year or two back in the old forum, but with that gone and some new faces here I thought I'd repeat it. It helps to understand the perspectives we have, given that this is a military RPG.

[copeab]

Originally Posted by chico20854

We had this poll a year or two back in the old forum, but with that gone and some new faces here I thought I'd repeat it. It helps to understand the perspectives we have, given that this is a military RPG.

Yeah, I did that poll

IIRC, the results (with 30-35 people voting) was pretty evenly split betwenn current/ex and never served.

[Mohoender]

Ok nice question . However, depending on countries the answer might well mean very different things . I took the second choice but my experience will be very limited in regard to others: a few long walk and I became quite good with a MAT-49 (FAMAS had not been delivered to all air force units at the time).

For my part, I did 10 month in the regular french military service (air force; as liaison between the "direction general" of the national weather cast agency and the GHQ of the french air force). Lets put it clear (may be), I spent 9 month hopping for some 20 miles walk that never came just to get rid of the director's secretary preparing her continuous walking weekends . I did that two years before France chose to rely on a professional army. Ok, I could have volunteer for a longer time or for the officer corps but I had a sexy girl waiting at home and I rather make love (take it as it should) than war .

On the other hand, I liked the month field training that I did before that, especially as we had a squadron of F-15 on our base (nice birds) and as I could get close to Mirage F-1C and Mirage 2000C.

Nevertheless, that experience was enough to fully understand what my grandfather was saying about armies in general: "Armies are great when you have a war to fight but, otherwise, it is useless, meaningless and expensive. Armies are great for destruction and war is only about that, people saying otherwise are jerks". I fully buy what he was saying (he had a five year long world war to make his point) and as I already said to some, I have great respect for soldiers but hate wars, all wars.

In the meantime I did all my history studies on the military (especially cavalry and cossak under the soviets) but that's another story .

[kato13]

Originally Posted by copeab

Yeah, I did that poll

IIRC, the results (with 30-35 people voting) was pretty evenly split betwenn current/ex and never served.

Woo Hoo!!! 36 votes!!! Doing slightly better than RPGhost did makes me smile

[Adm.Lee]

I very much wanted to serve, away back in the 1980's, when I was a teenager. I read everything I could on military history, played lots of board wargames, and even picked up the Twilight thing. At the end of high school I applied for the US Military Academy-- rejected.
I went to college and tried to get an ROTC scholarship-- rejected.
I stayed in college, and took the first two (no-committal) years of ROTC, and then applied for the 3rd year-- rejected.
US Army Reserve? Rejected.
Ohio National Guard? Rejected.
I transferred to a less expensive school closer to home, took a major in military history with a minor in national security policy studies and Russian. I applied for work with the CIA and DoD-- rejected.


Why the rejections? The first five were because of childhood asthma, which had persisted after my 12th birthday (or was it 14th? I've blotted it out). A professor later told me it was because the tear gas in Basic might well have killed me. The last one was because it was 1990, and there was a big ol' hiring freeze on for those departments, since the Cold War was shutting down.
I gave up on the gummint, and now I raise children.

[jester]

Sheesh Lee,

I Had the same history of asthama when I was a kit and made it into the MC. And served with a ocuple folks who had similiar. What's funny, is the Marines LEGEND Chesty Puller had childhood asthama and look what he became. Isn't it ironic, by todays standards he would have been rejected on the spot!

We all wonder what "would have been" or one of my favorite words "IF" so many possibilities to wonder about. But then we just have to play the cards we are dealt and move on.

[Matt Wiser]

I very much wanted to be in the service, tried the AF right after grad school (trying the OCS route), but was turned down. Tried the Navy later on, passed the written exam, but didn't pass the review board for OCS. No reason given either way. The recruiter in the Navy's case said it may have been any number of things, from an "average" test score to the review board judging me by where I went to school, to simply too many candidates and too few slots, or that I was trying to get into the hardest non-aviation job in the Navy (other than SEALs or Nuclear Power): Naval Intelligence. He didn't tell me until after getting the letter that on average, 10,000 people a year try for Navy OCS and there's only about a thousand slots in an average year. The AF never did tell me why they said no, other than "all aspects of your application were reviewed against the current needs of the service."

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by Adm.Lee

I very much wanted to serve, away back in the 1980's, when I was a teenager. I read everything I could on military history, played lots of board wargames, and even picked up the Twilight thing. At the end of high school I applied for the US Military Academy-- rejected.
I went to college and tried to get an ROTC scholarship-- rejected.
I stayed in college, and took the first two (no-committal) years of ROTC, and then applied for the 3rd year-- rejected.
US Army Reserve? Rejected.
Ohio National Guard? Rejected.
I transferred to a less expensive school closer to home, took a major in military history with a minor in national security policy studies and Russian. I applied for work with the CIA and DoD-- rejected.


Why the rejections? The first five were because of childhood asthma, which had persisted after my 12th birthday (or was it 14th? I've blotted it out). A professor later told me it was because the tear gas in Basic might well have killed me. The last one was because it was 1990, and there was a big ol' hiring freeze on for those departments, since the Cold War was shutting down.
I gave up on the gummint, and now I raise children.

I remember the year classes that I processed through - and how we had to sent some guys home that really wanted to serve ,and keep some on that you see a mile off were going to be bothersome,negative louts.

I remember a friend of me telling me about this one guy they managed to keep although he should have been rejected .He really wanted to serve despite a former head injury .Makes me smile to think that regulations were broken

Lots of the legends and heroes of various military organizations have been people that would be rejected today as too old,not meeting health requirements,to near sighted or whatever.

I raise children myself these days -let me tell you -teenage girls are like a protracted stint under fire .The strain on your temper and nerves ...

[Mohoender]

So true that the British had two fighter pilots flying with no legs during WWII. One of them was taken down by Adolf Galand squadron over France. As I recall, the German offered him champaign, and sent him back home. He got right back in a plane and continued the fight.

[jester]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

So true that the British had two fighter pilots flying with no legs during WWII. One of them was taken down by Adolf Galand squadron over France. As I recall, the German offered him champaign, and sent him back home. He got right back in a plane and continued the fight.

No you have it wrong. They did give him champagne, but after some heroes treatment since he was a founder of modern aviation, they sent him to a POW camp, and then after several semi successuful escape attempts they took his legs away,

Just imagine that, you have no legs and you have still managed to get out of your POW camp several times.

And that makes me wonder about real life.

Today they have a Marine sniper with one eye, a kid in the 25th Division with one leg, an armor captain with one leg, and several others who are on active duty who have injuries who would precluide them from initial entry, however, they do have exemptions that so allow folks who have serious injuries to continue to serve and they have relaxed them more so these days which is a good thing, I just hope it continues rather than it being used as a political tool.

Thanks for listening to my rant,

Semper Fi

[Graebarde]

Originally Posted by jester

No you have it wrong. They did give him champagne, but after some heroes treatment since he was a founder of modern aviation, they sent him to a POW camp, and then after several semi successuful escape attempts they took his legs away,

Just imagine that, you have no legs and you have still managed to get out of your POW camp several times.

And that makes me wonder about real life.

Today they have a Marine sniper with one eye, a kid in the 25th Division with one leg, an armor captain with one leg, and several others who are on active duty who have injuries who would precluide them from initial entry, however, they do have exemptions that so allow folks who have serious injuries to continue to serve and they have relaxed them more so these days which is a good thing, I just hope it continues rather than it being used as a political tool.

Thanks for listening to my rant,

Semper Fi

LTG Franks, commander VII Corps, the left hook of ODS, was an amputee from Nam that rose above his leg, and fought to stay on active duty as a major, rose to command a corps. There was a Sgt Maj in the Ranger training camps that was and amputee as well.

Grae

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

So true that the British had two fighter pilots flying with no legs during WWII. One of them was taken down by Adolf Galand squadron over France. As I recall, the German offered him champaign, and sent him back home. He got right back in a plane and continued the fight.

the formal requirements are toned down a bit I guess .See the list of amputees,wounded,one eye shot out and otherwise maimed people that served actively in the Japanese and German forces during WWII.

I wonder how hard the health requirements are to get into a contractor job or even som eparts of the national guard or regular army they send to Iraq-I know some instances that the requiremenst are stiff-but then again other seem less hard..

[jester]

Originally Posted by headquarters

the formal requirements are toned down a bit I guess .See the list of amputees,wounded,one eye shot out and otherwise maimed people that served actively in the Japanese and German forces during WWII.

I wonder how hard the health requirements are to get into a contractor job or even som eparts of the national guard or regular army they send to Iraq-I know some instances that the requiremenst are stiff-but then again other seem less hard..

There are two things I have run into.

1.) If you are prior service then they apply a different set of rules as far as joining. IF you are a first time enlistee then the rules in some ways are more stringent. An example, for prior service you can be up to 30% disabled per the Military or Department of Veterans Affairs and still get into the National Guard or Reserves. <This is my experience> However, if you have never been in before, the same conditions will disqualify you right off the bat.

And then there are waivers. Waviers are required for damn near everything. And it is up to the aproving authority to pass or fail the waiver request.

Also, the unit and recruiter. Do they want you? Do they have the numbers or do they need them? How dilligent is the recruiter? I have had several say to my face, "eh you aren't worth it, you take to many waivers, it'd take to long." In my day that would border on deriliction of duty. They don't want to do their job because it takes to much work! LOL I would loved to have seen that tried in my old unit. "Sorry gunny, that is just to much work, I don't think I'll do it." Ridiculous.

As for contractor, you had better have some talent and have all your ducks in a row, with a little luck to go with it. And I am not just talking the companies who employ trigger pullers either.

[rabbakahn]

I tried and was rejected also. Back in 1980 after Reagan was elected, I went down to volunteer my services. I couldn't pass the hearing tests. Tried again some years later when the Marine Corps contacted me. Same thing again only this time worse. The doctors couldn't believe that I communicate with people as well as I do. Tried again in the mid-90s when the push for qualified civi's happened. Everything was a go, even a posting to E-5 right off, but again I failed the hearing so bad they wondered why I tried.

As old and tired and ornery as I am now, I'd still go if they wanted me. Yea, I always wanted to do my part I guess you could say.

[jester]

Its cool people! I was bounced out for being "broken" a compound fracture that I ended up having to swim about 100m with. Ruined a brand new pair of boots too. The 1st Sgt interviewed me right after the Docs told me "We don't think we'll be able to save your leg." Then the first shirt comes in trying to gather evidence to courtsmartial me for becoming hurt and abaonding my gear.

And here we are after a dozen or so surgeries, bone grafts and the removal of the metal holding my leg together, I feel better than I have in over a dozen years....at least pain free! And I am dealing with reserve recruiters from the Navy and Marines to get me home

[jturfitt]

I was in the U.S. Air Force form 1974-1978, A90250 Aeromedical Evacuation Technician when I got out. Last station was Clark AFB, Phillipines. Before this I was stationed at various hospitals in texas. Also did my survival training in Texas as well as Basic and Advanced.

[weswood]

Apparently I voted in the poll but never added my experience in the thread.

USMC '85-89, USMCR 90-92. Logistics and Embarkation. Served all my active duty time with the Air Wings, picked up Corporal, did my reserve time with an Infantry Battalion (1/23), picked up Sgt.

[Packrat 172d LIB]

Well, let me say hello. I am the latest FNG. I enjoy T2k, but don't have a group to play it around where I live. In answer to the poll, I was in in the 80s and was attached to the 172d Light Infantry Brigade(Separate). And it is exactly right that Light Infantry AIN'T! We were the Arctic Speedbump. I was there when they stood up the 6th, but I didn't stick around long after that.

[Abbott Shaull]

Originally Posted by Packrat 172d LIB

Well, let me say hello. I am the latest FNG. I enjoy T2k, but don't have a group to play it around where I live. In answer to the poll, I was in in the 80s and was attached to the 172d Light Infantry Brigade(Separate). And it is exactly right that Light Infantry AIN'T! We were the Arctic Speedbump. I was there when they stood up the 6th, but I didn't stick around long after that.

LOL. Yeah, it amazing that Light, Mountain, Airborne, and Air Assault the gear they carry with them, it boggles the mind. Nothing like carrying your own body weight in gear.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Abbott Shaull

LOL. Yeah, it amazing that Light, Mountain, Airborne, and Air Assault the gear they carry with them, it boggles the mind. Nothing like carrying your own body weight in gear.

Well, I'm guessing that the most I ever humped was in 120-130-pound range (vs. my 145-pound body weight at the time), but I once had to do a 100-yard dash, with a 230-pound guy in a fireman's carry on my shoulders. All that work, and I only came in 4th out of ten...

[bobcat]

Originally Posted by Abbott Shaull

LOL. Yeah, it amazing that Light, Mountain, Airborne, and Air Assault the gear they carry with them, it boggles the mind. Nothing like carrying your own body weight in gear.

roger that. i remember in iraq carrying 40 lbs of armour, 60 lbs of ammo/grenades, 25 lbs of mission equipment(radio, Batteries, E-tool, etc), in addition to food and water for three days. my ruck alone weighed more than i did. oh then they also had me carry out everything we captured.
i was a veritable walking weapons cache.

[Schone23666]

Guess I'll add my bit here. I was U.S. Air Force from 1996 to 2000. My AFSC was Avionics for the F-15 bird, I mainly worked on the C and D models. Definitely a bird that's been aging along, but still a good bird nonetheless. Not as flashy as the fly by wire F-16 or the newer generation of aircraft like the F-22, but it's served pretty well in nearly every theatre of the world and it's got a pretty impressive kill ratio, so there.

I did most of my tour in Europe in Germany at Spangdahlem AFB, did a quick tour over in the sandbox at Prince Sultan AFB in Saudi Arabia, and finished my last leg at Langley AFB in Virginia. They've taken all the F-15's out of Langley (AFAIK) now, pretty much all F-22's.

Funny thing was, I joined the Air Force yet was morbidly afraid of heights. Good thing they stuck my arse behind a workstation bench I suppose. Plus, you can't beat working indoors in a very nicely lit, air-conditioned environment.

[Medic]

I served as a conscript a while before the millenium in the Finnish Rapid Deployment Forces (most of my basic training mates went to Kosovo after their conscript service) until my knee got busted in the service by a fellow serviceman, got transferred out for a bit over a year and ended up in the Guard Jäger Regiment, where I did the rest of my service.

I originally served as a FO in a Jäger (=Infantry) Coy and upon the re-entry evaluation I was called in front of the board, led by the then-brigadier general, who was in charge of the military district I lived in. He suggested arty for me, at which point I stated 'I've been trained as a Jäger and there's no way one can turn me in to an artillerist'. The senior lieutanant who was serving the board as a scribe looked like he'd be shitting bricks the very moment but the BG just laughed and I got assigned to the Guard, where I ended up serving overtime due to a clerical error.

After my service, I've been training other reservists in infantry weapons (from the pistols to anti-tank rockets) and even more in combat medicine, due to my civilian education in the field - the guys did laugh at me, when I had the medic patch on my sleeve and a sniper rifle on my back (then again, the Geneva Convention does not actually state, what kind of a weapon a medic is allowed to carry for self defence, I think). As a civvie, I've worked as a primary nurse, emergy medical technician (or rather, the Finnish equivalent), a paramedic, a surgical technician and a scrub nurse. I'm about to finish my Registered Nurse degree and work as a Recovery Room nurse at the local university hospital.

I'll just say, my current allotment in the reserves is with the territorial company, which means I get more active days in the service than the average reservists, though even my active days are pretty much effected by the budget cuts.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Schone23666

Funny thing was, I joined the Air Force yet was morbidly afraid of heights. Good thing they stuck my arse behind a workstation bench I suppose. Plus, you can't beat working indoors in a very nicely lit, air-conditioned environment.

You know, one of the minor reasons I went Airborne was to conquer my fear of heights (which I still think is genetic -- my mother, my sister, my brother, and one of my cousins has the same phobia). And I was terrified right through Ground and Tower week -- and right until I got up to the C-130's door before my first jump -- but once I got out, I was fine. I guess that's taking aversion therapy to the max.

[Owen E Oulton]

I spent a few years in the Canadian Armed Forces Primary Land Reserves (a.k.a. Militia), West Nova Scotia, D Company, 2 Platoon way back in the late 1970's, and reached the lofty rank of Corporal. I ran into the Morrow Project game back in 1981 when I was working at Odyssey 2000 book store in Halifax, and ran it as-is for a couple of years. I'm currently running a campaign using the Twilight:2000 v2.2 rules, set in the Annapolis Valley in 2150. My "end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it" (EOTWAWKI) is centred around Y2K and an alien incident (not an invasion). The players are the surviving 4 members of the 6-man Recce Team R-42. They've just woken up and made contact with the local Mi'kmac indians. I'm running it on-line by eMail, and the site is http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/game/morrow/morrow.htm . I've established that the "crash" of the Morrow Project has something to do with someone or something called "Krell" and that the main villians are Nazis in Halifax. I've been working a fair bit on the Nova Scotialist Democratic Action Party (NSDAP) but have't posted any of it on the site yet, as the PCs are freshly out of the tubes and have only heard vague rumours so far. To date, I have 4 players, 3 in the Ottawa area, and 1 in Costa Rica, with 1 more potential here in Ottawa. I'm not recruiting any more. I've been a member and a moderator at the Trek-RPG Forums - http://forum.trek-rpg.net - for several years and have been running a Trek game since 1983.

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by Owen E Oulton

I spent a few years in the Canadian Armed Forces Primary Land Reserves (a.k.a. Militia), West Nova Scotia, D Company, 2 Platoon way back in the late 1970's, and reached the lofty rank of Corporal. I ran into the Morrow Project game back in 1981 when I was working at Odyssey 2000 book store in Halifax

Halifax eh? That's where I'm from. I also spent some of my service time down in Aldershot when I was in the PLF.

Most of my hard copy Twilight books came from Odyssey 2000 too.

[perardua]

Been a member of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment for five years, deployed to Afghanistan with a regular field squadron last year as part of my gap year from university, where I was a member of the mortar Flight. I'm now finishing my degree, and whilst I was originally planning a career in the police on graduation, the current lack of police recruiting in the UK has nudged me towards volunteering for a second tour after graduating, which at least will give me something to do for a year, after which hopefully there will be a chance of getting into the police.

[qwerty1971]

I just joined this forum, mostly for the T2K stuff. 19 years currently in the Army. 3 tours in Iraq. Service time split between infantry and MI. Been to most boy scout schools so if anyone needs clarification on T2k stuff I might be able to assist.

[Griff]

25 years and counting. 15 active, 10 Guard. All Infantry and Cav (Scout, not real/line Cav). Now I'm on ING and trying out the Contractor line. So far so good. Not much out there jobs wise and damn sure less that I have any skills for. Attack it, defend it, observe and report on it, track it, teach others to do all of the above.

"Wind holding at 5 knots....." God that brings back some very, very painful memories.

And now thinking back on those bad ol'days.....any you other older guys (doesn't matter what service or nation, stupidity seems universal) trained to ween yourselves off water? We would constantly do these 12 milers and be expected to have full canteens at the end. Oi!

Now I tell the "Joes" drink, drink, drink...Ahh the times, they sure are a changing.

Sua Sponte

[Eddie]

Sorry for the late comings, but...

Sua Sponte, Griff?

Are you a Batt Boy? Or former Batt Boy as the case may be.