Army here, regular once, then PA Army National Guard twice, then reserves once.

 

Were you at the Gap, Dave?

 

Army here. 6 1/2 yrs then NC guard for another 4. Should have stayed cause I would have retired 3 yrs ago.

 

Wished I could've voted twice -- Active Duty Army, then Air Force National Guard. Communications guy all the way, and yep, a dorm life it was. Even in the Army, I was stationed in Italy where I worked at a long-haul tropo site. We tied southern Europe & Turkey into Germany, England, etc. But the beach in the summer was phenomenal, and so was the Alpine skiing in the winter...... Yeah, I had a "rough" career. However, I have also been to Bosnia & Iraq. Both were hot -- I got shot at for the first time in my life in Bosnia, and we dodged rockets & mortars on the base in Iraq. Not cool.

About to finish up in the Guard. Like you Darrell, I would've retired with 20 years back in June had I stayed in. I had a little time off, so I'm just about to go over 20 in "Guard Time".

 

Actually big navy has been reducing their fleet since 2006. One of the driving foce behind the relaxation in physical standards was, does a guy or girl really have to be in perfect shape to run a radar? or computer? I guess they were getting rid of really good people and it's challenging, time consuming and takes a lot of money to make re-placements. Do I agree, don't know, Honestly I don't care either as long as the job gets done.

 

So is it a Marine thing to start it in a diesel forum rather than a general forum?
(Air Force personnel tend to have a better grasp for things technology wise, and drive V10's).
Ever been sittin on the ground waiting for a couple of A10's to roll in? Air Force looks pretty good then, no? Or perhaps a couple of B2's or F117's doing their thing to soften things up for you?

Inter-service rivalry aside, a Big Thanks to all who serve.....whatever the uniform.

 

You make an excellent point there about running a radar and computer. The only part of the Navy that still has their standards set quite high is the SEALS. I know a guys that is going trough whats called the BUDS training for the SEALS, and he said it has been the worst couple of weeks of his life.

 

Sixteen years active USAF, four more years, four more years!! I farted around and didn't join until I was 24 otherwise I coulda retired in '07. I'm 1C6 Space Opertions.

 

Oddly enough, they've been TIGHTENING the physical standards in the Guard! We used to have to run a mile & a half in like 14 mins, weigh in, and that was it. I've been over the "standard" weight pretty much since day one, so I've had to be taped. Always made it, no problem, but as the years pile on, it's harder to meet the standard. Now, we have a much tighter run time, have push-ups & sit-ups, and a mandatory waste measurement. I say as long as you don't look like a slob, and can do your job well, then there should be no problems. Some jobs require a lot more physical stamina than others, obviously. I'm a 2E171/2E173, Master Sergeant...

 

As a matter of fact I have. Not just A10s either. I've had the Navy on a few air strikes too. Among some of my fonder memories. It was inter-service ribbing. It is also a fact that the Air Force lives much better than the Army. I was always jealous of that. We always lived better when the Air Force was the base provider no matter where in crapville we found ourselves.

 

My great experience with the AF was when we were on one of their bases in Cali getting ready to deploy to Somalia. The AF "let" us eat in one of their Chow Halls (more like restaurant). THEY BUILT A DIVIDING WALL OUT OF CHAIRS AND TABLES TO KEEP US FROM MIXING WITH THEIR AIRMEN! Like we wanted to sit with them. Then we all looked stupid trying to find where we were supposed to put our plates and trays...THEY HAD CIVILIANS TO PICK UP THEIR MESS.

USMC 1990-1996

 

 

That freaked me out too. Was at an AF base in Austin, TX whatever the name was. I was thinking "these guys are too lazy to put up there own trays". Little did I know how good they had it.

However, watching a flight of B-52's fly over and see them all return an hour later = priceless. Just had to smile. Hell, I woulda put their tray up for them!

 

Best dining facility I've ever been in is the "Riverside Dining Facility" on Patrick AFB. Right on the water, and you can sit out on the terrace and eat when it's nice. Don't worry, I kept trying to take my tray up when I first started in the Air Guard there on Patrick. Everyone does it. I gotta say though, the dining facility in Iraq wasn't too bad! Their cheesecake was to die for!! Okay, maybe that isn't a great choice of words. But you get my point...

 

My most memorable Army meal was Thanksgiving while in the "dust bowl" at FT Irwin, CA while on desert training. Dust storm blew up that morning so diner was a little crunchy, and if the wind shifted you could get a wiff of the crappers. OHHHHHH what memories. And the 22 straight days of MRE's when we arrived in country Saudia Arabia cause no facilities had been set up.