Which of you are in the military services?

[ahw676]

A few months ago I went to a medical conference which was sponsored by GSACEP, intended for ER docs in the military. They assured me that civilians were welcome, but it turned out that I was one of about two civilians in a very large room of soldiers. It was the first time I'd ever spent any time with military personnel, and it was pretty eye-opening. On the last day of the conference, there were a number of speakers giving a bunch of stats, which frankly, I didn't listen to because everything was named by abbreviated names and I had no idea what they were talking about. But I did tune in when they were talking about where people could be deploying to and when and for how long. Apparently there are more desirable places to go than others, and they talked about how one should conduct oneself, even if they were somewhere they didn't want to be.

And it struck me that soldiers do more than risk their lives for us. That even in the very best of circumstances, they make sacrifices with their time and talents that the rest of us can only theorize about but not fully appreciate. These weren't a bunch of kids who got sent to the Army because they'd been juvenile delinquents. These were people who intelligent, dedicated, and educated just in the same way as I was, but had chosen to use their training solely to the protection of our country.

It was enlightening and humbling, and I was grateful to get a glimpse into this different world.

So I would like to invite any of our members who are, or who have served, in the military to introduce themselves and to be recognized for all they've given to us. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who would like to express gratitude for what you've done.

 

[markharris]

i havent myself but my brother was in the RAF sadly he has lost a number of his freinds in iraq and afganistan the ultimate sacrifice

 

[Cloudhopper]

It was enlightening and humbling, and I was grateful to get a glimpse into this different world.

I had the similiar experience in my years in the civil defense.

I therefore like to add, that politicians should carefully consider when and why they ask people to risk their lives and not to make that decision lightly.

 

[hooligan]

I was in the National Guard for 8+ years. Never deployed, but my old unit has, twice.

Oh, and I'm working with a bunch of Air Force guys currently. A good bunch of guys and a lot of fun to work with.

 

[Fiddo]

I have never served in the military. However, I attribute many of the freedoms I enjoy today to those who have and the countless sacrifices they made/make.

 

[watchman1]

I went into the airforce right out of highschool during the first gulf war in 1991. I was deployed overseas but I did not have a job that put me in a combat support position. At first I was scared (I was 18). But after a while my respect and confidence in our military grew and I realized what I was a part of and how powerful we were. I did not make the military a career, I stayed in the military long enough to get a degree and I moved on with my life.

Serving in the military was the best thing I could have done to jump start my life. I still use aspects of my military training every day. I would like to think that I passed that positive experience on to other members of my family as I am proud to say that I have a nephew in the AF (just like me he joined right out of highschool) and a brother who is a Lieutenant in the navy.

Thanks AHW for this post.

 

[watchbuff]

Former NAVY.
Bone driver
Gulf war part 1.
Left the NAVY for more lucrative ventures.

 

[d4m.test]

Former USMC
Infantryman (0311, 0331, 0369)
Instructor (0913, 0917, 0931)
MP (5811)
Intel (0231)

"The Few, The Proud, The Mentally Disturbed"

Semper Fi

 

[CRK]

I would also like to take the time to thank all of those who have severed...


THANK YOU!

 

[ahw676]

I would also like to take the time to thank all of those who have severed...

Severed? Like cut off heads?

 

[parryl]

hey ,

i just completed 19 year of service with Singapore Armed forces

Communication and System Specialist .

cheers

 

[trailboss99]

No military time as such but three years flying in war zones doing ass and trash for, shall we say, "unspecified intrests".
Maybe AH has discovered an intrest in men in uniform and is checking how big the field is here

Col.

 

[pcsam]

i spent 16 years in the British army :mrgreen:
i got a bit busted up in the the first GW and had to leave a few years later (once they fixed me up a bit )
I trained as ammunition technician and cut my teeth in NI /OMAN /UK / and a few other places. :wink:
after a few years i moved into the EOD side of things [smilie=angel1.gif]
i got recognised for my services and soon moved up in rank and skill level and enjoyed my time travelling all over the world trying not to get my ass shot off , then wile out getting a suntan in the sand with a few mates we got a nice job driving all over the place looking for scud launchers . sadly we didn't get an invitation to have a look at them :!: but we did have fun getting rid of them .
well most of them at least :mrgreen:
then lady luck decided she wasn't staying with us no more .
suffice to say a nice friendly Chinook git us out of a tangle we ll a messy tangle
6 men 2 dead 2 injured (me one of them)
my holiday was over , well it looked like i was nearly over a few times (thank god for the US doctors decided to get their hands dirty and stop me from bleeding out on them )
2 years later I was getting better slowly and the bastards gave me my brown envelope.(service over letter )
fast forward to today and im walking again ,thanks to a spinal cord implant and more titanium than a Pam lovers wet dream :mrgreen: a nice daily cocktail of morphine and other interesting prescription substances to keep the pain at bay (sometimes)
a nice healthy tax free pension to pay the bills and to feed the wife and kids :wink:

would i do it all again :?: YES .
IM off to polish my watches now :mrgreen: (and keep my eye on the sales page) :wink:
[smilie=brave.gif] [smilie=brave.gif]

 

[KBH]

I guess I'm the old guy here. Two tours in Vietnam in the Us Navy. Radioman/Communications Technician. Fortunately I spent very little time inland as I was mostly right off the coast. But I did get to see a lot of the Far East. Glad I didn't know about reps back then.

Love those Asian women!!

 

[alvinado]

2 and a half years in Singapore as per all male Singaporean.

I am a reccon commander. The james bond of the forest!

 

[ahw676]

Maybe AH has discovered an interest in men in uniform and is checking how big the field is here
Col.

Oh, yeah. That's it.

All men in uniform, please submit your applications here.

 

[Cloudhopper]

@pcsam
It takes quite some character to see oneself blown to pieces and recovering over such a long period of time, just to say "I'd do that again". Respect.

 

[teamroper24]

USAF 1990-1994 Red Horse got see the the dessert and Somalia and well some other fun places to say the least. Yes I would do it again. Thank God there are others willing to fight for what is right. Thank you each and every one. And thank you to their families, they serve to.