Big Fat Daddy

The Heart is a Lonely Exterminator in Misc JoeUser Forums

When we came back from Germany in 1983, we were fortunate to move into the newest housing area on Fort Ord, Abrams Park. The houses were still duplexes and the yards were still small and all the other things about living in government housing were still true, but for the first time in our family's history, we had a house big enough for our whole family to fit in it comfortably. In fact, it was a pretty nice, two level, house. Never min

Reply to Amateur Crotch-Rocketry in Misc Stardock Forums

Thanks for the comment. Yep, nothing like a good scare to shake out the cobwebs.

Amateur Crotch-Rocketry in Misc JoeUser Forums

Moving a family from Germany back to the States is no simple task, and the Army does very little to make the move any easier. There are so many details that have to be taken care of: arranging the "pack-out"...when they pack up all your household goods into boxes and then the boxes into shipping crates...is traumatic enough. Then you have to clean up all the equipment you have been using for life in the woods, your rifle, and any other items you have had issue

Reply to Don't Ask...Don't Tell...Don't Much Care in Misc Stardock Forums

I am not sure what your point is, Lula...the article more or less supports what I observed from my own career. I purposely did not paint this article with my own beliefs on the morality of homosexuality, any more than I do for drunken behavior or other "immoral" activities. I was just observing that it is an issue with politicians and others in "leadership" roles. The average GI usually never knows who the homosexuals are in his unit...until the bosses start making an

"...And That Man Comes on the Radio..." in Misc JoeUser Forums

It seems that nostalgia is the assignment this week for the Chico crowd...it is usually my topic every week and this week is no exception. On the way home from Church today I was listening to the Sixties on Six on my "rock and roll from outerspace" and the Stones came on with that distinctive opening riff from "Satisfaction". For just a quick moment I had a glimpse of where I was living when I first heard the song. And it dredged up a Sunday morning scene from

Reply to A Little of This..and a ... in Pets & Nature JoeUser Forums

[e digicons]:grin:[/e]

Reply to A 'little' model of PzKpfw VI "Tiger" in Everything Else Stardock Forums

What an accomplishment!! Wow!

Don't Ask...Don't Tell...Don't Much Care in Misc JoeUser Forums

There have always been homosexuals in the military. It seems that Alexander the Great was actually Alexander the Fabulous. So the current hoopla over whether or not there should be gays in the military is not really an issue of "readiness" or "a reflection of societal evolution" so much as it is a political football that crops up every ten years or so. "Don't ask, don't tell" was one of the most ridiculous policies the military ever adopted

Reply to DATS CAN'T COUNT!!! in Misc Stardock Forums

"You've got to prime the pump you must have faith and believe you have to give of yourself before you are worthy to receive..."

DATS CAN'T COUNT!!! in Misc JoeUser Forums

When I arrived in Baumholder to be the new Support Platoon Sergeant for the 2nd Battalion of the 68th Armored Regiment, I inherited an operation that was barely managing to perform its duties. The Support Platoon was made up of two elements: the Fuel Section consisting of ten 2500-gallon fuel tankers, (8X8 trucks called HEMTTS - Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck) and a storage tank and small warehouse full of lubricants and petroleum products; and the Car

Trading a Minor Concession for a Rotten Little PC Manuever in Misc JoeUser Forums

We sat in the NCO Club in Mannheim, Germany having a steak dinner and awaiting the start of the floor show. Our table was on a level about a foot lower than the tables "at the bar". We were separated from the those tables by a one-foot step-up and an open railing. The table behind and slightly above us was occupied by a group of the entertainers that would soon be part of the show. They were discussing another of their group and going on about his "rhyth

The Patch Pumpkin in Misc JoeUser Forums

When I first arrived at Patch Barracks in the fall of 1977, I was a buck sergeant - a "retread", which means I was working my way back up the ranks after a three-year break in service. I had gotten out of the Army as a Staff Sergeant in 1971, and then I came back into the Army as an E-4 in 1974. It took longer to get my rank back than I had anticipated but that is another story...maybe later. In any case, money was tight, and MamaCharlie and the kids had

You Don't See One of Those Everyday in Misc JoeUser Forums

Last night, after the editing wrangle and finally getting the last article posted, MC and I were doing a little reminiscing about Patch Barracks and the atmosphere there. She remembered the looks on the senior officers faces when they were out in public, a kind of deer-in-the-headlights combined with a what-the-hell-is-going-on look. I mentioned how many generals were there, but there were literally dozens of Major/Lt Commander, Lt Colonel/Commander, and Colon

You Never Know in Misc JoeUser Forums

Stuttgart, Germany used to be an unusual environment, militarily. There were six or seven major Kasernes in the immediate area and as many in Ludwigsburg, just a few miles north of the city. This in itself was not so unusual; Frankfurt am Main for example was a bigger city with many more Army and Air Force bases around it, but Stuttgart was unique in that it was home to two major commands: the U S Army VII Corps housed at Kelley Barracks..(.commanded by

What Goes Around... in Misc JoeUser Forums

Jim was a "roach coach" driver. Dozens of those trucks roamed around Fort Leonard Wood training areas, selling sodas and candy and hot dogs and burritos and a large variety of snacks to the trainees while they were on their breaks. Jim was a regular at the training area designated TA-190 where we spent a lot of time teaching new Army drivers how to steer in rough terrain and shift gears and other things they needed to know about the Army's different vehicles.&nb

Reply to Enjoying the Moment in Everything Else Stardock Forums

When they grow up and move out it seems like the time of their childhood just flew by. I know that MC and I spent as much time as we could with our kids, with all the games and activities and recitals and plays and all that, but it still went by too fast. We are fortunate to have all but two of the grandkids here in the Swirl, and we love that, but we both miss the days of our own littlies being around.

REFORGER 88 in Misc JoeUser Forums

REFORGER was the code name for a program begun in 1967 and implemented throughout 196

Reply to Old Remedies in Misc JoeUser Forums

[e digicons]:grin:[/e]

Reply to Hazo, Boogie, and Doolittle in Misc Stardock Forums

Thanks, Doc...back atcha.

Reply to Old Remedies in Misc Stardock Forums

???? Yikes. And maggots are a cure for gangrene...and leeches are being used again...next thing ya know we'll be smearing chicken blood on our foreheads and taping spanish moss on our hemroids!

Reply to Hazo, Boogie, and Doolittle in Misc Stardock Forums

Can't get through a Christmas season without thinking about Germany...Happy New Year, Doc.

Hazo, Boogie, and Doolittle in Misc JoeUser Forums

Christmas is over (finally) but the memories linger; the trees and decorations linger as well, but I'll get around to taking them down before long... before Valentine's Day, anyway. I watched all the littlies cruising around the house soaking up Gra

Teresa in Misc JoeUser Forums

The first people we met when our bus from Frankfurt pulled into Baumholder were two E5s from my new platoon. A buck sergeant, whose name escapes me, and a Specialist named Greg. They took me and my family to the StadtKrug Hotel and got us settled in and then took me on post to sign in and begin the "processing" process. Over the next couple of months, I learned more about my new stewardship: twenty-five vehicles, twenty-some drive

Reply to Deported in Blogging Stardock Forums

I wanted to PM ya but I can't figure it out any more! Sabrina was on Blogster.com under a few different names, you know how the kid is, she developed a few disputes with some of the charter members and got banned. Then she came back under a different name and got into another flame war and finally got banned again. One of the monitors has allowed her to post a few things under anonymous. The last year or so has been consumed with

Another Happy New Year in Misc JoeUser Forums

I was sitting in a foxhole about thirty meters in front of a ditch that had a small stream and lots of bulrushes or reeds or something like that. It was hard to tell because it was dark. Across the ditch and about forty-five degrees to my right there were lights; I couldn't tell what they were, but there seemed to be a town or village or something th