Your military service...

[Marc Martyn]

Ah, the unseen heros. Only spotlighted when there is a major hurricane like Katrena. That is a branch I tried to get into in 1970, but had to stand in line for an opening with 2 million other guys.

Thanks for your service. Very honorable service:thumright

[bpm3067]

My military background started shortly after I graduated from high school in northeast Texas in 1993. I joined the Naval ROTC program at Texas A&M University at Galveston and majored in Marine Engineering. After graduation, I was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy and proceeded to my first assignment, Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL. After six months of drinking nuclear propulsion from a fire hose (so to speak) I moved to upstate New York for another six months of nuclear training at the prototype plant in Ballston Spa, near Saratoga Springs. After my immersion in atomic physics for over a year, it was time for a change, and I was off to Groton, CT for submarine school and a nice summer on the northeast coast. So I spent the first 15-16 months in the Navy being trained to do my job and now it was time to go do it.

After sub school I reported to my first command, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, the USS HAMPTON (SSN 767) homeported in Norfolk, VA, and promptly left for a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean in November 98, about a month after I showed up. It was a great deployment though, as we did some very interesting stuff underway and made some great port calls in places like Gibraltar, Spain, Turkey, Crete, Israel, Italy, and Bahrain. In between this deployment and the next in early 2001, we visited a couple spots in Florida, Curacao in the south Caribbean, and made a namesake city visit up to Hampton, New Hampshire. In Jan 01, we deployed again, only this time to the Northern Atlantic, completing two 50+ day missions and calling in Bergen and Tromso, Norway, Portsmouth, England, and Faslane, Scotland. Another great deployment, highlighted by being promoted to Lieutenant and my girlfriend coming to visit while we were in England. We spent several days in London and ended up engaged by the time she left to go home.

I left the HAMPTON about a month after we returned from deployment and transferred to shore duty in Charleston, SC, in September 01 where I taught nuclear power plant operations to junior officers (this is the same school I attended a few years before relocated a little further north). Good duty and lots of time off. This is where I really started fishing again. I had a friend with a center console bay boat that liked to go inshore saltwater fishing for reds and trout. I liked this too, but my love has always been bass fishing. I ended up buying my Bass Tracker and way too many rods and reels in SC.

From SC, it was back to Groton in March 04 for another round of sub school, this time at the advanced level. Had quite a bit of time here for fishing as well and caught a lot of nice bass on small waters. But I was training to go back to sea. And that I did in August 04 when I moved to Kings Bay, GA and reported to the USS LOUISIANA (SSBN 743)(GOLD) as the Strategic Weapons Officer. I enjoyed living in Georgia, despite the gnats and the heat and humidity, because the fishing was great., but it was short-lived. The needs of the Navy dictated that there were too many SSBNs (nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines) in Georgia and thus we changed homeport to Bangor, WA in August 05. I spent almost two more years on the LOUISIANA, making four strategic deterrent patrols and putting on Lieutenant Commander.

In May 07, I transferred once again to shore duty, assuming the role of the Squadron Weapons Officer at Submarine Squadron Nineteen here in Bangor and I’ve been in that job since. Unfortunately, I still spend quite a bit of time at sea monitoring and mentoring the weapons officers on the boats in the squadron, even though it's technically "shore duty." Not sure what the future holds just yet, and not sure how much longer I’ll be staying on active duty. We’re ready for a change. But I’ve enjoyed my service for the most part and would probably do it all over again.

[RB]

washington army national guard... been in since sept 03.. iraq oct 06-sep07 presently working full time at ft lewis training sailors for GTMO

[wabullet]

USMC 1968 1972 One tour in Nam that was enough.I was a grunt 0311 got shot went to hospital in Japan went back finished my tour.

[Marc Martyn]

Thanks for sharing your story. I lost a couple of friends in Nam. We must not forget....

[linxx77]

Hey all! Well, I joined the Army in 03 as an E2. Chemical Operations Specialist... I thought, hey! I'm going to be a chemist for the Army that's swell! ..... After the shock went away I realized that NBC (now CBRN) was actually really interesting. Did my first assignment in Korea, and then it was off to Ft. Hood. Realizing that the enlisted side just wasn't cutting it pay wise, I decided to look for a way to milk the Army for all the education/money I could get my hands on. I was awarded the Green to Gold Scholarship and spent 3 years in Alabama getting my Bachelors. Upon completion I also became a Commissioned Officer in the Medical Service Corp. So here I am a second Lieutenant stationed at Fort Lewis ready to start over with my military career. I hope to switch to the Public affairs branch when I make captain, and if that doesn't work out I know I can cross over to the Navy or Coast Guard's Public affairs so only time will tell! Thanks for reading.

Ramon.

[mav186]

Great Topic Lea...Thank-you all for your service!

Mav

[surenough]

I joined our US Army in OCT 2002, I was 24 when I joined I had a great Carrer at Car Toys as an installer making a good living. I decided to join because some one has to and I felt an obligation to do what I could.

I enlisted as an E-2, 19 Kilo M1A1 Abrams tanker, Basic was at Ft. Knox as well as AIT. I had to abruptly leave the military due to an asthma attack and almost died.......asthma, I have never had asthma before...I didnt think. Im glad it happened before I was deployed because in the sand there is no telling. I feel as though I should have been there, I have heared stories of some of my buddies that passed away out there and wonder if I was there was there something I could have done? It's almost like guilt. Make sense?

I got home went back to work at Car Toys, decided that I wanted to be the Boss. I started a small mobile business and the purchased a store front, all of this being Marine and Car audio, video, alarms, gps, custom fiberglass boxes, etc. 14 years now. Anyways the reason why I brought this up one of my buddies, John Ellis was a Ranger and lived through a lot. On May 11th 2007 my self and John were driving to a job in one of my vans south bound on I-5 by the Duwamish close to Seatac when I saw something flying towards us I turned left at 65-70 mph and boom. It was 2 semi-truck tires and the brake drum as one piece the came off an axle of a semi going north bound at 70 mph. It killed my good friend John instantly.....live through the military and be killed by negligence. R.I.P and God Bless

I wish he was here to tell his stories, he had some great ones. Left behind a wife and his baby.

I have since tried to join once more but was rejected due to my back from the wreck, I think John would have been proud of trying. I respect every single person that had the courage to join and take care of us, I appreciate all the stories and history each common man/woman has. I thank you and wish all the best!!

Thanks starting the thread!:cheers:

Adam Milzarek

[Maury]

Greetings all,
After graduating from Shorecrest HS, I joined as an Infantryman in ’79. Not a popular thing to do then. My first assignment was to Germany. I was assigned to A 2/4 INF in Stuttgart, Germany from 79-85 (and got married). Next stop was Ft Carson, CO in the 1/12 INF from 85-87. We then got a chance to live in Montana for almost 3 years as a Recruiter in Bozeman, MT from 87-90. Then we went to Hawaii for 3 years and I was in the 1/14 INF from 90-93. Finally after 14 years I got stationed here in WA. I was in 1/9 INF from 93-95. After breaking my ankle and not healing right I had to leave the Infantry and go back to Recruiting to finish my career. I was a Recruiter in Spanaway from 95-97 and a Counselor at the Seattle MEPS from 97-99 when I retired as a SFC after 20 years service.
I then went back to the MEPS as a civilian counselor from 02-07. I still work with soldiers as a Reserve counselor on Ft Lewis.

I had a great career with a lot of variety and don’t regret it a bit.

My Daughter is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan as a Medic and is currently a Reserve Recruiter and my son is in the Reserves and is at Basic training at Ft Jackson, SC. He will be a 31E Corrections Specialist.

AND I'M PROUD OF BOTH OF THEM!



Maury Roper

[scott080379]

Alright, guees time to start typing:



I first started to look into the miltary in high school. I was all set to join the amy upon grad. The nI just said f-it and stayed working and partied for a couple of years. then in late 2001 I decied after being laid off again for the thrid winter in a row I would go talk the the Navy recuriter. Not sure why i choose the Navy but here I am. Went to boot in June of 2002 then to Kings bay, GA for my formal training as a Master-at-Arms. From there I got stationed back in the great state i was born in, WA. Got put on shore duty in Everett, doing base securtiy. After about 1 and a half years there i went IA (individual Agumuntee) to Rota, Spain to be apart of operation vigilant mariner. I got to see a lot of Europe and even got to shoot a couple wooden dows out of the water in the gulf while on our way to Kuiat. Came back from that then in 2005 I got staioned in San Diego, CA at HS-4. Went on Westpac in JAN of 2006 on the USS Ronald Reagan. Stayed TAD on there until I took another set of TAD orders in DEC 2007. I went to SEAL TEAM 3 and spent a three month spin up with them before deploying to Ramadi, Iraq for a little over three months. Came back to HS-4 for two months and then transfered up here to Maraine Corps Securtiy Force Battalion, Bangor, WA. So been in for a little over 7 years and love every minute of it. Got 18 months left on my contract and looking to get on with the DEA. If that doesn't work out then I am staying in the Military and plan on going on to one fo the officer programs.

tight lines:cheers:

[Amx]

4 years in the Navy. Joined before I graduated high school on the 'cash program', then went to boot camp in Oct '67. Went to 'machinist' school right out of boot camp. Then worked as a machinist for 30 years at a local company. Retired 4 1/2 years ago.

[fishtremble]

It was the Navy for me, 1983 to 2004, (DP) Data Processing Tech, that changed to (IT) Information Technology by the time I retired.

1983 - 1984 - Basic Training, Data Processing School, San Diego, CA

1984 - 1986 - I was on the USS Proteus, AS-19, subtender in Guam.

1986 - 1988 - shore duty, Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center, Monterey, CA. Command did weather forecasting for the Navy.

1988 - 1989 - Out of the service for a while

1989 - 1993 - shore duty, Pacific Operations Support Facillity, Pearl Harbor, HI. WWMCCS site

1993 - 1998 - shore duty, White House Communications Agency, Washington, DC. Presidential support duty, kind of like being a roadie for the President. Best command.

1998 - 2002 - USS Spruance, DD-963, destroyer out of Mayport, FL

2002 - 2004 - shore duty, back to the White House Communications Agency, Washington, DC.

I go back in and start over if they would let me.

[AJ's Dad]

Hi all,
No military sevrice here by me. My dad retired from the Air Force after 20 years of service and was in the Korean war. I just stumbled on this thread and thought I would take the opportunity to do as I was taught by my father. He always said, when you meet a man or woman that had served their country in the military, shake their hand and thank them for everything they have done for you. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE SERVED THIS COUNTRY AND THOSE OF YOU WHO CONTINUE TO DO SO. I can't shake all of your hands, but if I could, I surely would. "Happy Fishing"

[dave g]

in 1972 i had the option of going into the military or joining the merchant marines. weighing the options, i chose the merchant marine. i've been doing that for darn near 40 years now. in that time i've help deliver military cargo to our troops in every action from the viet nam war to our present conflict, as well as suppy aid and material to numerous war-torn countries. i've been in more war zones and seen more 'civil conflicts' throughout the world than anyone i've ever met in the service. while i know this is not officially part of our armed services, i just wanted to put this out there and say there are many ways one can serve his country. thanks to ALL who do what you do to support our country.

[Marc Martyn]

The Merchant Marines have always played an very important part in supporting a military campaign. Supplies are everything in a war. Without them, success would not be possible.

It was "Rosie The Riveter" that made it possible for our country to win WWII.

[bionic_one]

In May 1998 I joined the Army to get away from home and college. I found college boring and my grandmother and aunt treated me like a 14 year old.

My first duty station was Korea - interesting, but I hate that place. The people hate us for the most part (protests from college kids every weekend in front of the bases).
I ended up at Fort Lewis after that, met a girl (she was in the Army too) and we had a daughter. She got out a few months after our daughter was born.
We went to Europe next, that was around September 2002. My next few years were spent mostly TDY at schools or deployed to Afghanistan.
My unit sent me to 2 months of BNCOC with only a weeks notice - I graduated distinguished honor graduate, flew home, had Christmas, then got told I had 5 days to get ready for Afghanistan. At that point my wife was pregnant with our 2nd daughter and the Army was trying to recall her as well.

Pretty much kept getting the shaft all around, and I had had enough. I got out in 2005, just short of 7 years.


Sometimes I regret not finishing College, but I've never regretted leaving home, my aunt and grandma still treat me like a 14 year old. Even after leading men in combat they think they know best. Yet my aunt is like 60 and still lives with her mother, and my grandma, well, she's old so I just let her be.

[dave g]

yeah marc, i totally agree with you. here's some info and a few stats about USMM service in wwII that i googled. the last two paragraphs are the sad part...there are still many stories to this day that have not seen the light of day for various reasons.


U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II

One way to understand the Second World War is to appreciate the critical role of merchant shipping... the availability or non-availability of merchant shipping determined what the Allies could or could not do militarily.... when sinkings of Allied merchant vessels exceeded production, when slow turnarounds, convoy delays, roundabout routing, and long voyages taxed transport severely, or when the cross-Channel invasion planned for 1942 had to be postponed for many months for reasons which included insufficient shipping....

Had these ships not been produced, the war would have been in all likelihood prolonged many months, if not years. Some argue the Allies would have lost as there would not have existed the means to carry the personnel, supplies, and equipment needed by the combined Allies to defeat the Axis powers. [It took 7 to 15 tons of supplies to support one soldier for one year.] The U.S. wartime merchant fleet. . . constituted one of the most significant contributions made by any nation to the eventual winning of the Second World War....

In the final assessment, the huge US merchant fleet... provided critical logistical support to the war effort... The Oxford Companion to WORLD WAR II



Casualties

The United States Merchant Marine provided the greatest sealift in history between the production army at home and the fighting forces scattered around the globe in World War II. The prewar total of 55,000 experienced mariners was increased to over 215,000 through U.S. Maritime Service training programs.

Merchant ships faced danger from submarines, mines, armed raiders and destroyers, aircraft, "kamikaze," and the elements. About 8,300 mariners were killed at sea, 12,000 wounded of whom at least 1,100 died from their wounds, and 663 men and women were taken prisoner. (Total killed estimated 9,300.) Some were blown to death, some incinerated, some drowned, some froze, and some starved. 66 died in prison camps or aboard Japanese ships while being transported to other camps. 31 ships vanished without a trace to a watery grave.

[Illustration shows SS Byron D. Benson torpedoed on 4/4/42 off North Carolina: 10 members of the crew of 37 lost their lives.]

1 in 26 mariners serving aboard merchant ships in World WW II died in the line of duty, suffering a greater percentage of war-related deaths than all other U.S. services. Casualties were kept secret during the War to keep information about their success from the enemy and to attract and keep mariners at sea.

Newspapers carried essentially the same story each week: "Two medium-sized Allied ships sunk in the Atlantic." In reality, the average for 1942 was 33 Allied ships sunk each week.

[fishelk]

1 oh 1
patch on my shoulder
pick up your POLES and Follow Me
Were the 101st Infantry
101st Airborne, Ft, campbell, KY
1995-1999

[Marc Martyn]

This is an excellent thread and is worthy of a good bump

Any more active, discharged or retired military members out there?

[pipedream]

I enlisted in the Army in Sept 1972 separated Sept 1975. After basic at Ft Ord I spent thre remainder of my hitch at Fort Gordon in Augusta Georgia.
My MOS was 26T20 television equipment operation and repair. I actually wanted to go to Nam but with a Bastard MOS like that it didn't happen.
The service taught me several life lessons, don't ever quit, do what you say you are going to do and don't ever volunteer for anything.
Actually the best thing I got from the Army was a beautiful wife (36 yrs) and two beautiful step daughters.
To all of my brothers out there who have or are serving THANK YOU! and GOD BLESS YOU
Bill Krels