Brief Military Veteran Inputs.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I am a veteran of the Marine Corps - some twenty years later. Since my time in the Marine Corps, I have met several other veterans of all of the services. Needless to say, some of the stories get quite long-winded.

What I’m looking for are simple 25-words-or-less differences or realizations that veterans noticed during their tour of duties, versus civilian life.

I’ll go first.

In the entire four years that I was in the service, with the exception of two minor incidents of food poisoning and bronchitis, I never got a cold or the flu - despite being in contact with hundreds of other people a day.

I am positive that the military uses different medications than the civilian world.

The pancakes were awesome. They added cinnamon to them - which I do to this day.

The chow hall made hundreds of omelets a day. I saw the huge containers of beaten eggs. Who cracked all of those eggs? I’ll never know.

I did not realize how fit I was at the time. I see pictures of myself from that time, and hear people talk about how I looked at that time, and never appreciated it at the time.

Running three miles was nothing.

The M16 is the finest piece of machinery ever made, and ever will be made. Simplicity, engineering, and accuracy.

The long stretches of boredom, broken by the brief interruptions of terror, puts your mind in a different zen-like status.

I saw things, and experienced things, in foreign lands that you cannot pay money to see or experience.

It was really cool being able to walk to work.

Being too cold or too hot was simply a hazard of the job.

There is competition between the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. But if I had to do it all over again, I would consider the Coast Guard. They do some pretty cool stuff.

Even knowing then what I know now, I would still enlist, but perhaps I would have chosen to be in a tank division. The air-wing was just a bit too sedentary.

2

20 year Navy spouse.

Yes, they do actually pass out some different meds - that is where I learned my one-two punch for rhinovirus survival; the very instant you get the first sign [in me it is a tickle on the left side of my throat] do a dose of guaifenesin and a dose of nasonex. Follow the dose and schedule exactly to the minute for 7 days. You will still have the damned cold, however your sinus cavity will not fill up with cement. If you are even 30 minutes late for dosing either med, you are fucked.

Sick call also hands out a different decongestant, submariners really do need to be able to breath in case of emergency. They also handed out 800 mg ibuprofin like M&Ms.

[Back in the day, WW2, Korea and Vietnam they also handed out amphetamines like candy. My dad actually had a couple of the little envelopes that they came in stuck down in the bottom of a haversack he brought back from WW2. We found them when we were sorting his stuff after he died a few years back. I also have his cricket, an entrenching tool, one of his issue M1943 field jackets, and a booklet of handy German phrases which he didnt need because he already spoke German.]

Humor is different. Almost Addams Family gruesome. Stuff like bomb or kill t-shirts were very common back in the 80s and 90s. Much less PC. mrAru and I will still make fairly non-PC jokes and we block the window on the door to the barn with a human silhouette target with one of my better shooting day results.

Slang can be fairly incomprehensible and branch dependent. Sub fleet vs Targets [surface ships] or even internal deck ape [bosun’s mate], a-gang [auxilliaryman machinist mate] and sonar girl. The compartment for a chief petty officer is called a goat locker.

Even people get nicknames. One previous captain of the USS Spadefish was nicknamed Wingnut. He was not particularly popular with his crew. Fast Flood Flloyd got his name for deciding to see what would happen if he fast flooded one of the ballast tanks. Another guy was called Bugs not for his love of cartoon rabbits, but because they had to restrain him in his rack and haul him out in a strait jacket. Developing claustrophobia on a submarine underway is not a good hting.

3

Marine Corps Grunt;

I didn’t realize what physical shape I was in, much like you.

MRE main meal + tobasco = anything is edible.

Freeze dried fruit pack + instant choco + water = heaven in the boonies

M249 SAW > M16. Light machinegun with no recoil = 200 rounds on target

Helo’s (and more importantly their crews) are almost godly.

Corpsman stand at the right of Chesty.

I’ve known the best and worst of people, often in the same person.

Quote ‘If you don’t mind it don’t matter’ means more to grunts.

Chow hall SOS is the best thing friggen ever (with spices).

Army Dogs have the best toys.

On a float Squids talk shit to Jarheads, but treat us good.

The IRON psychological lines I held at 22 do not hold now.

4

ANY warm chow if the field is awesome, and bless those who bring warm chow unto me.

5

Twenty-three year Seabee.

Air Force chow is better than Navy chow, which is in turn better than Marine chow, which was uniformly bad IME.

Navy Corpsmen are the true heroes of the battlefield.

Knowing and being able to effectively use your chain of command is what makes military life bearable and is the one huge advantage over most civilian jobs.

Making decisions is considered a good thing. Dithering will get you killed. I never got used to the dithering and bad decisions in private business.

The Seabees truly can do almost anything with very little, and can work miracles with the right material and equipment. There is no such thing as a Seabee with only one skill set.

Marching sucks.

Naval Air kicks ass.

Your comrades always have your back.

The M-16 is indeed a fine weapon. I prefer the M-14 for anything over 300 yards, though. The .45 is an underrated weapon, especially in close combat.

I saw a lot of the world in those years: most of Europe and Japan. My immediate post-military life was in Europe and Africa. It means that I have no overwhelming desire to spend my retirement dollars traveling outside the US.

Although I knew hundreds of people over those years, they were temporary friends for the most part. Only one man remained a close friend after I retired. He died last year. A few have made a point of tracking me down many years later to thank me for what they felt was needed mentoring in their careers. It’s gratifying.

6

Navy brat here.

‘It all counts on 30.’

‘Them’s the breaks of Naval warfare.’

‘There’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way. By God, you’d better do it the Navy way.’

7

:smiley:

If it doesn’t move, paint it; if it moves, salute it.

8

I learned to sleep anywhere.

9

You’d be surprised at what you can get used to.

10

Six years regular Army:

Happiness is a fully stocked/fueled tank.

A brand spanking new M1A1 was the best Christmas present I ever got.

I can be cocky, because Div Arty is on speed-dial.

After eight months in Saudi Arabia, freshly mowed green grass is one of the most beautiful things to see, and smell, and feel beneath your bare feet.

A-10 are actually quite beautiful and graceful. From a distance. When they decide to practice their strafing runs on your tanks (not shooting, of course!), then they’re loud and annoying.

You can change two road wheels on the compensating idler arm in one hour or less, with the proper motivation; said motivation being 100 cliks into Iraq in the middle of a shooting war, and the rest of your unit saying, “Good luck, catch up when you can.”

Mr. Scorpion is no match for Mr. .45. But emptying the entire magazine is overkill. And screaming like a little girl while you do it is considered unmanly.

But Mr. Scorpion was one of these guys, and displaying some 'tude, so 'nuf said.

Being a Sergeant in charge of shit-burning detail is much, much preferable to being a Private on shit burning detail.

Armor Branch, for some reason, considers an M-16 a “crew served” weapon. We never quite worked out the, ah, “logistics,” on that, but Milton Bradley may be involved. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, right?

11

Even though Regiment (Garry Owen!) says they’ll let you pick the name for your firebase because it’s good for morale, they won’t let you name it FB Little Big Horn. Or FB Dien Bien Phu II. Or FB Kassarine. FB Balaclava lasted for a week. FB Masada works if you just tell them “It’s the Hebrew word for fortress.” and then change the subject.

One of the jobs they give a Seaman Apprentice right out of basic is Helmsman. Because someone has to steer the cutter 24/7, there’s nothing to hit in the middle of the ocean, and there’s always someone around to relieve him if there’s any tricky stuff that needs to be done.

If you’re a private or a seaman, and an NCO/PO asks if anyone likes food, try to disappear. Unless you like scrubbing pots.

Canned pineapple chunks are the greatest thing in the world.

In rough seas, go really easy on the pork chops they’ll serve in the galley.

Never ask if you can see the sea bat.

12

Yes, and I also learned to sleep any time, too. Sometimes you don’t know when your next downtime will be.

13

Many thanks to you all for your service to this great republic.

Love it!

14

Why did being stuck in the California desert for 30 days at a time feel like the blink of an eye when I was twenty but now sitting through something I don’t want to do for 30 minutes is unbearable?

15

Wearing a nice shirt and tie to work everyday now that I’ve retired from the AF makes me appreciate the fact that I never had to decide what to wear while enlisted.

16

Civilian foodies don’t understand how incredibly awesome bad food can be at times.

Diesel exhaust can be one of the sweetest smells in the world.

Some of the worst experiences make for some of the best stories afterwards.

Sleep can come anywhere with any amount of noise in the background if you’re tired enough.

Simple things can be incredibly hard.

In my experience at least military “bosses” tend to be far more open to hearing dissent than civilian bosses.

It doesn’t fit in my shoulder holster… must not be an individual weapon.

17

My version: the shit I carped about, avoided, and despised every second of while I had to do it has become the glorious old days in retrospective.

18

I like MREs! :slight_smile:

(As a civilian, I never had to like them. :wink: )

I have to share this story:

My SO, who was very petite during the Gulf War, was one of the first female helicopter pilots to fly in a combat zone. Being female in a male-dominated world, everyone ‘knew’ she was sleeping with the other pilot. The other pilot said to her one day, ‘They all want to know if I’ve seen your tits.’ She said, ‘Well, have you? Because I’d like to find them!’ :smiley:

(Then there was the time she almost pissed on a sleeping soldier’s head…)

19

MREs are to C-rats as filet mignon is to pigs’ feet.

20

Except for those John Wayne bars that were still intact long after you shoe polish melted in your pack.