You may be surprised at this or you may not, but my eldest seemed way happier in uniform than he was pretending to be a civilian for the last month. Seriously. Hey, just as well, because the kid had to report to Fort Hood today.
We drove out down the Highway to Hell that is I35 and emerged miraculously unscathed in Killeen, a short hop from there to "The Great Place," home of III Corps Phantom Warriors and lots more besides, not least expeditionary signals.
After waiting for an hour to get a pass to enter the fort, we drove on through to the vastness of the thing, and it is huge. The 1st Cavalry motorpool(s) alone probably mustered more armor than the UK's combined equivalent. Quite a thing.
Then we had a late lunch at a dysfunctional Burger King on base and I dropped the Specialist off at the "Welcome Center." Well done, boy, respect. He's got 2 weeks of in-processing and then joins his unit, 57 Expeditionary Signals Battalion, who've been blessed with lighter kit, demanding 4 man teams and a leadership program to boot.
Well, let's see how that goes. In the meanwhile, maybe I should go in as a volunteer chaplain, it'd add another level of accountability, as t'were. Just a thought.
Whatever, good luck son, you've done well so far. Now let's see "green to gold," not that there's any pressure, heh.
God bless,
LSP
24 comments:
Sharp lookin' young trooper there. Is his uniform in the old woodland camo pattern?
Job well done.
I remember visiting my daughter when she was stationed there.
Sounds like a great assignment/location/etc.
I'm sure the man is officer material.
Nice to have him near home again.
Good looking son! Hope he finds his posting interesting and rewarding.
Sidebar: The old soldier in me can't like the current uniforms. Blouses not tucked in and those brown roughout boots! Old curmudgeon says, "In my day we broke starch every morning and you could shave using your shined boots for a mirror".
I would no longer encourage pursuit of a commission. The politicized Officer Corps is
no longer a worthy military goal. Better to get all the technical training and real world experience he can, to perfect his craft.
It may be that this regime is a temporary aberration, but it's more probable that this madness is harbinger of an even more mad future. The enemy moves incrementally - five steps forward, three back. Sooner or later, absent an intelligent and dedicated populace he wins.
🙌🏻
Different look, and I wish him the best. The military has (and will continue to) change. Hope he is good with that. Us old farts don't need to give him any ideas... :-)
p.s. The stuff 'we' did would get him put UNDER the brig...
I don't know about the famous Old NFO but for dang sure the stuff "I" got away with would still have me PCS at Fort Leavenworth!
Old joke, most of you have heard it too many times: The first guy to sign up in 1775 probably turned to the guy in line behind him and said "It wasn't like this in the OLD army. You new recruits have it TOO EASY!"
He'll have to give up the acting sergeant mantle, which may be challenging, but I'm sure that he'll do well at Ft. Hood (is it true that there is a move to change the name to Fort Bill Clinton?).
You'll see more of him now that he's home and I think that's good for both of you.
Such a handsome young man (just like his daddy.) I think he will go far...
Thanks, RHT. It's the new pattern, which is immensely better than the weird pixel camo, and it's well put together too. Someone actually made a better combat uniform. Far out.
The camo I was issued in Her Majesty's finest (late '80s) was... rubbish. Flimsy, cheap, tear if you look at it rubbish. They have better kit now, same as us, I think.
Great big base, Kid. I was impressed.
Ah, WSF, if it exists... starch it, iron it, then bull it up to a mirror sheen. They made us do something like that to our gas masks in Basic. Breaks the gas mask, apparently, but they shone like MIRRORS.
Anon, I fear you have a point. Not least "absent an intelligent and dedicated populace..."
You'll have noticed our school system's destroyed.
Dr. Swankenstein, this is a very good result.
Imagine, for example, being a waiter. Heh.
Dear NFO, please don't launch any, ahem, ideas into the fella's mind. As it is, LL's been a mentor.
WWW, they surely said it back in the days of the mighty legions. But what I will say is this, I was impressed by the caliber of the enlisted soldiers I saw at the base. Mind you, they seemed very young!
Yes, LL, word on the street is that a name change is coming. Fort Bill Clinton is in the running and so is Fort Hillary. I support the latter because she needs a compensation prize for never becoming President. The GOP favors "Fort Jeb!", which is typical if low energy.
And for sure, it's good that we're close.
His call, Adrienne! He certainly has the potential.
Congrats and a hearty "Well Done" to you both.
His MOS could lead him to a lucrative career in civilian life. Don't know what his specialty is, but it's a huge field.
Thanks, drjim, he's "tactical signals" which = battlefield networking. So, essentially a network engineer. Great skills. Wish I had 'em, all very Cisco.
Very good, Parson. My son has a friend who did that for the USMC.
Thanks, drjim. I think it's a good MOS, plenty of tech skill + travel, so.
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