Happy Veterans day to all former and current ATS brothers in green!

I've worn green and various shades of blue in my service. I am what us Brits call a Cap Badge Slut. I am proud to be associated with an international family of those who wrote the check. I also realise how fortunate I am that it has not yet been cashed. Today I think of those who swiped their card when asked to do so.

a reply to: Cancerwarrior

Sad to say the Last and Largest Tank Division left in the modern world is gone. The 49th and so many others are just pages in some dusty books and imprints on some old hard hearts.

We did get the good stuff. I was attached to the 4th I D at Ft. Hood when we were getting the Singards(so?) Radios so we could move into the A-2. That was the only experience I had with that Beautiful Monster. The Commanders Hatch is such a great place to be in any Tank but that one is very special.

M-60s were a great platform in a defensive position but otherwise useless. Well, except the fun you could have watching Privates trying to replace the escape hatch door that would somehow always seem to drop off. Back then tankers even still carried those old 45cal grease guns and had to wear tanker boots because the main gun ejected a whole smoking hot 105mm shell casing that would burn through regular boot laces. Leather straps on your boots, and some asbestos mittens were the Army's solution. That and 800mg Motrin for the Mesotheliomia Cancer.

a reply to: wastedown

Haha. Water and motrin, the cure to all that ails you according to the army.

originally posted by: tinymind
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

I suppose so. This life is so baffling and paradoxical that the best way to stay on the positive side of happiness is focus on an immediate goal and not let it get to you that once we're dead all of our high morals and loves and goals and ambitions and patriotism don't mean anything.

Science is great, but it also helped us determine very clearly where we stand in the universe as individuals (or an entire species). We're so small and fleeting and inconsequential that nothing we do -- good or evil -- matters at all in the long run. So focusing on something else short-term is definitely your best bet for feeling like your have purpose and meaning in life.

A huge thank you and a big warm hug! Happy Veterans Day!!!!!!

I make it a point to shop for needed things from stores who give us Vets' a discount...

... all them there free lunches on Veteran's Day are nice but... it puts the Vet. on-the-road to get to one of those establishments

a gal friend wanted to take me to a diner today but I declined as that would involve breaking out a new/clean outfit to wear...
another beer free holiday goes by....

Our Best Wishes to all youse other Veterans out there

a reply to: wastedown

I still have my tanker boots. I still wear them sometimes when I wanna take the bike out for a ride just cuz I still think they look badass. I had always heard that about the 60's shell casing burning through bootlaces. Gotta love the army in its infinite wisdom. Instead of just making a shell catcher under the breech like the abrams had, they just make everybody buy new boots LOL

They seemed kinda tall almost like the Shermans too. The guys that I knew that lived on them talked about them kinda like an old girlfriend that you loved and hated at the same time. Thanks for serving and posting brother.

a reply to: Blue Shift

We're so small and fleeting and inconsequential that nothing we do -- good or evil -- matters at all in the long run.

I don't know. I respectfully must disagree with you. If I can do anything, anything at all to make the lives of my family and friends better, in even the smallest of ways then that is a pretty darn big accomplishment in my book.

I'm not perfect, I'm still working on being as selfless as I can but the way I see it, as long as I keep striving for it then its never in vain.

One day I'll be standing in front of that big motorpool Sergeant in the sky. And when he asks me what I've done with my life I want to proudly say that I did my best for those around me. Ultimately, you are going to leave this world just like you came into it. With nothing. Nothing except the love that you have given others.

a reply to: Night Star

A huge thank you and a big warm hug! Happy Veterans Day!!!!!!

Thank you NS! It is so good to see you around. I hope all is well with your life. God bless you for always being a voice of positivity.

a reply to: St Udio

Thank you sir.

Love your avatar, whats weird is I just stopped by the store and picked up a veterans day sixer of Busch myself.

Well, I guess its not that weird, probably lots of fellas are doing that today.

a reply to: wastedown

Fort Hood was massive, I was with 2nd BDE, 1st CAV DIV, "BLACK JACKS"
CBRN, 74D all the way from Fort Leonardwood, Schofield Barracks and finally, Fort Hood.
Left 2bde and went air cav, 2-6 out by the apaches airfields. That was a chill unit, officers ran the place.

a reply to: Arnie123

Hell yeah Ft. Hood was and still is a pretty big place. Some of the terrain in the training areas could be pretty treacherous too.

I never hung around any of the Apache pilots, but I have seen those bad boys pop up over a ridge and light up an area like the 4th of July just to disappear back below the ridgeline outta sight like some flying monster ninjas. I remember thinking how glad I was not to be on the receiving end of that amount of firepower.

I have hung out with some Blackhawk pilots before. Those warrant officers cracked me up because they went out for training with coolers and cots and everything like they were going on vacation. I always got along with most of the officers. Except for the West pointers. They always had an air of superiority about them that I did'nt like being around. The best officers to serve under were the ones that had joined as enlisted first IMO.

a reply to: Cancerwarrior

Green to gold produces the best officers you can ask for in my opinion. They have the experience needed to be effective leaders unlike the west pointers.

a reply to: Cancerwarrior

Lol, you got that right! Coolers and air mattresses, my god.
Some would even sneak off and get take out during the evening chow runs from the defac.
Field chow was awesome,
CHILI MAC?! YES PLEASE!!!

a reply to: Thoren

I torally agree. Get the experience first, see what its like at the bottom and work your way to the top.

a reply to: Thoren

Yes they do absolutely. They always told us that you gotta follow before you can lead, so it never made much sense to me that they can take some West pointer fresh from the academy and put him in the TC spot and the guy has never even seen a tank before.

One week before we left the desert and we were transitioning over to our relief. We had a little butterbar from West point start giving us a patrol mission briefing through an area where IED's were pretty prevalent. We were all looking at each other like, "is he serious"? Command Sergeant Major came in the TOC and made that butterbar feel about two inches tall. He pulled him out back and I don't know what he said but we did not go out in sector that day.

Looking back, there were actually a few times he saved our asses from some stupid officers glory gameplan. God bless you CSM.

a reply to: Cancerwarrior

I always said that butterbars should be put on LOS since they seem to be the most suicidal people in the army.

originally posted by: Thoren
a reply to: wastedown

Haha. Water and motrin, the cure to all that ails you according to the army.

Had a friend shortly after we reached our first duty station, he broke his ankle on a friday evening... we called it in like good airmen, they actually told him to take some motrin and go to the clinic on monday... needless to say we took him to the emergency room.

a reply to: Irishhaf

LOL I guess the British army and the US army love their motrin.

Oh you got a broken leg? Heres some motrin.

Oh they pulled your wisdom teeth? Heres some more motrin.

It burns when you pee? Here have some motrin.

They must have warehouses of the stuff

Thank you Veterans for your service and sacrifice, God bless.