How many veterans are on here? What is your most memorable experience good or bad?

Question

I am really curious. I personally am a veteran. I am a Army veteran. Served active and reserves. I ETS as a E-5(P). My most memorable experience was getting orders to go to Iraq. My favorite memories is night fire and getting issued my M-16. I remember having to name it. I named mine Claude and the Drill Sergent asked me why did I name it Claude and I went blank. I remember getting dropped for it. Boy, I did not like my drill sergent!!

Almost had forgotten about BIVOUC, the green eggs. Digging your own foxholes. Then the shower that you had to wear your boots in. Oh my! Oh an the wonderful port-o-potties. Fire guard and CQ which I hated 24 hours of sheer boredom.

Answer 1

I was in the air force:

Best experience: i was an instructor that taught preventative medicine and other field medical skills to military health practitioners. I had no idea that they would be putting into practice what we taught them four years later during desert shield and then storm. It completely vindicated all those hours in the cold, the wet, and the outdoors.

The worst experience: finding out that even in a peaceful country, death could be right outside waiting for you when you least expected it. This occurred during a 30 second moment of road rage along a highway from brindisi to Naples Italy, with a man pointing a small sub machine gun at me only two feet away from my car window.

yes it does have its ups and downs.

Answer 2

I am a vet, I served in the Army 1966 - 1969 as a radio
repairman, my most memorable experience was when
of my platoon members committed suicide while in basic
training, he was drafted, and just could not handle the
thought of going to Vietnam. My happiest moment came
when I was discharged, I only made E-4 (P) and really
felt that I was passed over, I did learn that if you F/U you
get noticed by you Sargent's and C.O, they watch you
and when they see you are doing good, you get a promotion.

As an E-1 Recruit, I made a whopping $78 per month, E-4
over 2 years, $268, guess times were different but we
were all willing to die for that money.

Answer 3

My most memorable experience (other than boot camp) was being assigned a special assignment and being overseas for three years.

The worst thing was while on the way to my special assignment our aircraft lost an engine just before we were to land at the Azores,

It was a great life while it lasted and I would not trade those four years for anything. My son feels the same way about his time in the Marine Corps. Sorry.

Where we suppose to like our Drill Instructors? We went thru two sets. One morning we woke up and we had all new DIs. Never was to find out what had happened.

Answer 4

When I was in Iraq one day walking down the US embassy hall I saw general Casey, the 4 star at the time, with the most pissed off look I have EVER seen on someone's face, and a 3 star behind him, with a 2 star behind the 3 star, and a 1 star behind the 2 star all looking like they **** themselves.

Needless to say I got the hell out of the way.

Answer 5

The tingling when moving at night, you've no idea whats coming you can barely see, all you senses are at max, and you tingle all over with anticipation/fear/adrenalin (pick any one perm all three).

When i try to tell people what its like i cant get it over, even falling out a plane doesn't leave the same taste.

Getting p...d off on a training exercise when asked what I'd called my arcs of fire for the platoon (strawberry's and cream) troopie got totally sad with me, cost me more than a drop.
I seem to remember rolling the dice forever, lets just say it took me about 6mths of day on day off to get rid of the duties I'd incurred.

AJ

Answer 6

I was in the AF for 4 years. My most memorable moments are not getting to shower for a week while sleeping in DFP's. Yes we used babywipes, but man, we smelled!

I also remember the heat of Bahrain. Nothing like it anywhere else I've been. And their gorgeous sunsets.

Answer 7

I have many memorable occasions from my years in the Marines and Navy. Probably one of the more memorable was while stationed in Hawaii, of my Avionics Division Officer after he had injured his knee and had to go in for surgery. A couple weeks later I was in his office and he was telling the Senior Chief how one of the pins in his leg had become partially dislodged and he had to go back to the hospital to have it taken care of. I looked at him with a serious face and said, "Sir, I thought when the pin popped out the turkey was done." After the initial shocked look on their faces subsided, I've never seen them laugh so hard.

He got me back a year later when he came up to me at work and yelled, "Get in my office! Now!" I couln't think of anything I might have done to deserve that tone of voice, but I marched into his office and found some of the other khakis in there, standing around the room along the wall. He pointed to a paper and said, "I want you to explain this to me." I looked closer and saw my name on a list of personnel who were selected for promotion to First Class Petty Officer. I about collapsed. He'd gotten me back.

Not long after that, I requested that he grant me the honor of being my reenlisting officer aboard the Arizona Memorial. After reciting the Oath of Enlistment that morning, I raised a flag over the memorial as part of the ceremony. I have that flag proudly displayed in the shadowbox I received at my retirement ceremony six years later. Every time I look at it, I think of that Warrant Officer, and the memories of our little jokes come back to put a big grin on my face.

Answer 8

I spent 21 years in the Air Force. Most of it overseas, but I'd say when we paid Quadaffi a visit with our F-111's and Navy jets was a highlight. He was never the same after that.

Answer 9

I was in the Navy E-4 and I remember my chief wanted us to busy work moving rocks from one point to another numerous times

Answer 10

Standing out on Sponson 1 as the sun was rising, watching dolphins race the ship.... a huge pod of them... air so delicious you could taste it. I can't remember where we were. It didn't matter... the sea was freedom...

damn what is wrong with me... there was some reason I got out... why the eff do I miss it so much???