Lunch time, back at the chow hall, only now they have the lunch menu in place - I was hoping the omelet guy would still be here. I asked the mess NCOIC (an E-8 (Master Sergeant)! In our day the mess NCOIC was an E-7 who had screwed up at his job as a line Platoon Sergeant and been assigned to the mess hall as punishment. Of course our food was prepared at a giant kitchen behind the Commissary at Fort Ord, and trucked out to unit mess facilities in Mermite cans, which were then slapped into the wooden rack behind which stood three E-4's (Corporals) with ladles they used to drop a portion of whatever you pointed at onto your plate) how he was able to lay out such a variety of items on the buffet, He smiled and said "We do our cooking right here in this building, and I supervise the entire process. Breakfast menu is the same every day, but lunch is different every day, and on Fridays, lunch is a giant sushi bar, and dinner is steak with all of the fixings." This mess NCOIC went to culinary school before enlisting, and got a degree in restaurant management on his own time (nights and weekends) after enlisting, he said it took him six years to complete a 4-year degree, but his plan is to spend 30 years in the Army, retire with 80% of his base pay coming in twice a month, and use the money he's been saving for 23 years to open a restaurant in his native home of Birmingham, Alabama. Now that's a man with a plan!
By now we've collected everyone from my old Platoon at 5-21 IN and all of the members of Division LRSD who were able to make it this year, good to see so many old friends, the war stories are going to be flying fast and thick, especially at the dining in tonight, when the Artillery punch starts flowing. Mine and my peers war was "a fine little war", as the British call it, 7 months in Panama preparing under the cover of a UN peacekeeping mission, then three weeks of shock and awe as the 7th Special Forces Group, the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the 3rd Ranger Battalion, the 82nd Airborne Division, a Company of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and three full Battalions of the 7th Infantry Division assaulted Omar Torrijos Airport and military command centers all over the country. US forces suffered 23 KIA (killed in action) and 325 WIA (wounded in action) - As Santa Anna said after taking the Alamo, "In the end, it was but a small affair". But we have veterans here who served during the Korean war and the war in Vietnam as well, and they have collected themselves into their own groups, although I'm sure we'll be mingling with them often this evening.
The CAPEX was an awesome affair, the equipment, weaponry, and fire support (self-propelled, provided by Division Artillery (DIVARTY), and US Air Force and Navy close-in air support) demonstrated was jaw-dropping...This is only one Army Infantry Division, and there are 18 others, along with 11 Separate Brigades and 11 Independent Regiments - Imagine the force we are capable of bringing to bear in a full-on conflict.
Anyway, back to my scheduled activities, it is proving a fine day, there's even a marksmanship contest out at one of the known distance ranges where competitors (I've signed up, naturally, wouldn't miss it for the world) will fire a full magazine from every rifle the Division has ever standardized on, from the M-1 Garand, to the M-14, to the M-16A2's of my generation, to the new M4 that most of the Army carries today (each weapon will be fired at a separate target at 300 meters, then the targets will be graded to determine first, second, and third place winners).
I doubt I'll post again until after tonight's festivities, and I have a sneaking suspicion that my writing then will be nowhere near the standard you've become accustomed to
By now we've collected everyone from my old Platoon at 5-21 IN and all of the members of Division LRSD who were able to make it this year, good to see so many old friends, the war stories are going to be flying fast and thick, especially at the dining in tonight, when the Artillery punch starts flowing. Mine and my peers war was "a fine little war", as the British call it, 7 months in Panama preparing under the cover of a UN peacekeeping mission, then three weeks of shock and awe as the 7th Special Forces Group, the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the 3rd Ranger Battalion, the 82nd Airborne Division, a Company of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and three full Battalions of the 7th Infantry Division assaulted Omar Torrijos Airport and military command centers all over the country. US forces suffered 23 KIA (killed in action) and 325 WIA (wounded in action) - As Santa Anna said after taking the Alamo, "In the end, it was but a small affair". But we have veterans here who served during the Korean war and the war in Vietnam as well, and they have collected themselves into their own groups, although I'm sure we'll be mingling with them often this evening.
The CAPEX was an awesome affair, the equipment, weaponry, and fire support (self-propelled, provided by Division Artillery (DIVARTY), and US Air Force and Navy close-in air support) demonstrated was jaw-dropping...This is only one Army Infantry Division, and there are 18 others, along with 11 Separate Brigades and 11 Independent Regiments - Imagine the force we are capable of bringing to bear in a full-on conflict.
Anyway, back to my scheduled activities, it is proving a fine day, there's even a marksmanship contest out at one of the known distance ranges where competitors (I've signed up, naturally, wouldn't miss it for the world) will fire a full magazine from every rifle the Division has ever standardized on, from the M-1 Garand, to the M-14, to the M-16A2's of my generation, to the new M4 that most of the Army carries today (each weapon will be fired at a separate target at 300 meters, then the targets will be graded to determine first, second, and third place winners).
I doubt I'll post again until after tonight's festivities, and I have a sneaking suspicion that my writing then will be nowhere near the standard you've become accustomed to