# Back when I was in the Army



## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

Didnt know were this should go but,in the 70's we had three branches Infantry, Armor, and Artillery we were the dogs of war. Anything else, well you aint a REAL soldier. Now at the V.A. or anywhere i meet people, every kid I meet was a Ranger or a SEAL or some super soldier named agent orange. shoot when i was in if you were a paratrooper we'd raz ya. Too dumb to stay on the plane till it lands? To spastic to drive a apc? Were have all the doggies gone? Did meet one kid though who said" no murph really i was" and brought in his photo album of somalia and dd 214 the next night. I told him kid (he's in his early 40's) i'm proud of ya. is it just me or does everyone run Into "Agent Orange" thes days?


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## PrepConsultant (Aug 28, 2012)

LOL, Who are you bullshitting? You were in with Audie Murphy!! I know what ya mean. I hear guys say they were a Seal or Force Recon all the time. When you ask them what type of air they were using they look at you and then say either "I don't remember" or "It's classified"..LMAO...


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

And Audie told me you wuz a good guy. lol


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## PrepConsultant (Aug 28, 2012)

He was pretty cool, we would have a beer from time to time.. Oh, that was in my dreams..lol


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

All branches of the Military have changed. We have moved to what is called the purple force concept. You see a lot of blending of units. Navy ,Army mix.
Army Marine corps.
You also see Support type units doing more infantry mission as their work is farmed out to contractors.
You see Infantry companies being spit up and functioning as low as PLT level detached from the rest of the company. Light combat eng. being attached directly to an infantry company.
Line companies in gunships instead of walking, with the same missions and weapons as a CAV units .
The line have been blurred. Airborne is not the big deal it once was The big thing now is Air Assault . Focus on small, light fast reaction teams. Before I retired big push was to get every infantry soldier to Air Assault .

Told a group they were all going to AA, CPL shouted out not again Top. I quit drinking I swear.
Combat has changed so has the soldiers Mission and how they make it happen.


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

The purple force concept? Top your makin me feel even older. just kiddin.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Well, I know I wasn't a real soldier. In the Air Force, we send the officers out to get shot at.


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## Mish (Nov 5, 2013)

I was in the girl scouts...just sayin


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Both sons are SFC infantry they keep me updated on things. Some of the current changes are scary. Not sure how much longer they will stick around one has 4 years the other 3 to have 20 years in.
Support MOS . We had cooks resigned to convoy escort. Headquarters personal that were not needed in the FOB. Found new jobs. Convoy escort and check point security. There were a lot of them that had a real fast learning curve.
CSM walked into head quarters pointed out 5 female soldiers. "you just joined the infantry" report to C company 0500 tomorrow. They needed females on check points for searches and he was tired of waiting. The plastic bags and tape came off their M4's and they went to work in full battle rattle from that day on. All 5 earned their combat patch.
What started out as a hot boring deployment got real interesting for them.


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

When I was in the Navy I was a flight deck crewman. Launching and recovering aircraft around the clock. Nobody was as badass as we were. I wanted to be a SEAL but I was married so I was exempted. We did deck landing qualifications with Air Force Para Rescue, Marine recon, Army Delta, Task force 160, SEAL team 2 and 6 and another elite team of individuals I won't mention. 

Looking back, we were all on the same team. I did my little part and others did a much bigger part. I am proud of my honorable service and just wish I could have done more. We were all very important and did our very best. I was not as important as I thought I was, but I kept the machine moving. 

Anyone who served did an important job. Thank you!


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Takes everyone to make the system work. We land in the slot we land in. Some find different paths some stay in one Mos or branch for life.
Don't madder in the end they cover the box with the same flag.
The Navy transported us a few times long slow ride, we ate good.
And the crews they sent to run the viper boats knew their stuff . 
The Airforce gave us a lot of rides in C130's. cold and noisy but we got there.
The CAS sure was comforting at times.
Army Transport company dropped us off in some ugly areas but always came back for us.
Light combat eng. you are some creative soldiers IMO.
If I had it to do all over again,don't think I would not change much


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## Titan6 (May 19, 2013)

From the tip of the spear to the end of the staff its mounted on it would not be a deadly weapon with out all the parts.....I always be a grunt at heart!! All those lovely cold mornings shaving in cold weather out in the field out of a canteen cup...or all night movement to daylights breaking in a new LT....Fun Fun Fun!!


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

mish your other pic was better. this ones cool too though & when i was young i liked girl scouts


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

Didnt mean to cut down the real deal in any way, just sayin we were proud to be plain ol 11b&c. We were convinced we were some badass's, a ma duece on your apc will do that. Nowadays i guess if you aint elite, you aint shit. glad you guys are with me on this, this is the best site in town.


Old SF Guy said:


> The funny thing about being around Ft. Bragg is there isn't any male soldier down town in the Bars who isn't Special Forces or Special Operations. It wasn't until after I retired that I ever spoke about what unit I was in because I figured I would sound like all those Self named Special Operations dudes down town. However I will say with the way Iraq and Afghanistan have been fought it has made traditionally non direct combat MOS's more prone to get into direct combat. Maybe this also happened in previous wars and conflicts, but I have heard of folks claiming PTSD from "hearing about" someone who got shot or blown up. Not to be too critical about things I don't understand, but those folks shouldn't be able to watch violent movies or play violent video games as a condition to their PTSD pay out.


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

paraquack said:


> Well, I know I wasn't a real soldier. In the Air Force, we send the officers out to get shot at.


 I think thats a real good policy.


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## sepp (Feb 7, 2014)

I was in the army in the early 2000's and still run into fakers which really piss me off.


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## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

But, but they told me the reason I got to ride in the short MRAP was because I was Special!


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

sepp said:


> I was in the army in the early 2000's and still run into fakers which really piss me off.


I've been out almost 44 years and fakers STILL piss me off.
I just can't punch 'em out anymore. Too damn old.
According to some statistics I've seen there were right around 2.5 million service members in-country during the Vietnam War. There are over 9 million who claim to have been.


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## Mike45 (Dec 29, 2013)

oldmurph58 said:


> Didnt know were this should go but,in the 70's we had three branches Infantry, Armor, and Artillery the dogs of war. Anything else, well you aint a REAL soldier. Now at the V.A. or anywhere i meet people, every kid I meet was a Ranger or a SEAL or some super soldier named agent orange. shoot when i was in if you were a paratrooper we'd raz ya. Too dumb to stay on the plane till it lands? To spastic to drive a apc? Were have all the doggies gone? Did meet one kid though who said" no murph really i was" and brought in his photo album of somalia and dd 214 the next night. I told him kid (he's in his early 40's) i'm proud of ya. is it just me or does everyone run Into "Agent Orange" thes days?


Even "real soldiers" get hungry and need support guys to bring them food and tell them where to go kill things


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Mike45 said:


> Even "real soldiers" get hungry and need support guys to bring them food and tell them where to go kill things


Without support troops to bring ammo and fix damaged weapons they would have to assault the enemy with sharpened sticks.
And no artillery support or air strikes. Or armor backup.
And if wounded they would have to hope the platoon medic could patch 'em up, because there would be no medevac or field hospitals either.
And they would be doing it for free without payroll clerks.
And doing it hungry, too.
And when their tour was up, if they survived, they'd have to walk or swim home.

No, the support guys can get along without the infantry, 'cause they are all trained to some degree as riflemen (or used to be), but the infantry can't get very far without support.


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## specknowsbest (Jan 5, 2014)

I'm just an intel guy with no aspirations to be a "Badass Super Secret Squirrel Operator", because you sound like a total tool if you act or talk like you're one. Only reason you'll hear anything remotely "Tactical" out of my mouth is if it's the absolute best way I can think off the top of my head to describe it. That said, I've met plenty of asshats who walk around acting like they're high speed, and I hate every last one of them. I never understood the need for it, if you signed up and did your job then that's honorable enough, even more so if you actually deployed.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Because of you all and plenty more I get to live in the GREATEST COUNTRY EVER! A huge THANK YOU from me to all of you.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Slippy said:


> Because of you all and plenty more I get to live in the GREATEST COUNTRY EVER! A huge THANK YOU from me to all of you.


Because of us, the mega corporations and central bankers have been able to use one heckuva military to force their agenda on the rest of the world. Not once in our lifetimes have we been used to fight for our existence or the existence of the constitution, so let's keep it real. Still, I thank you for being a good tax payer, allowing me the opportunity to spend several years eating tasty German food and drinking good German beer.

Hat is doffed to those who work in the world of global elites, too. Think about it. The Soviet Union was really no match for the American (and former Nazi German scientists) minds. For example, the Soviets didn't have the ability to construct MIRVs (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle). They required something the Soviets couldn't make - extremely precise ball bearings. Thanks to Henry Kissinger, they received the machining and know-how to manufacture them, thereby keeping up with us in the arms race.
See, a _thesis_ requires an _antithesis_ in order to achieve the desired *synthesis*.

This former MP is now an educated former MP. Information and awareness, coupled with the desire not to labor under an illusion, gives one the ability to peek behind the curtain and see the Great Oz for who he really is.


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

yeh top back in the olden days the first shirts & sfc said light infantry is obsolete everything is gonna be mech now stuff has really changed


Smitty901 said:


> Both sons are SFC infantry they keep me updated on things. Some of the current changes are scary. Not sure how much longer they will stick around one has 4 years the other 3 to have 20 years in.
> Support MOS . We had cooks resigned to convoy escort. Headquarters personal that were not needed in the FOB. Found new jobs. Convoy escort and check point security. There were a lot of them that had a real fast learning curve.
> CSM walked into head quarters pointed out 5 female soldiers. "you just joined the infantry" report to C company 0500 tomorrow. They needed females on check points for searches and he was tired of waiting. The plastic bags and tape came off their M4's and they went to work in full battle rattle from that day on. All 5 earned their combat patch.
> What started out as a hot boring deployment got real interesting for them.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Denton said:


> Because of us, the mega corporations and central bankers have been able to use one heckuva military to force their agenda on the rest of the world. Not once in our lifetimes have we been used to fight for our existence or the existence of the constitution, so let's keep it real. Still, I thank you for being a good tax payer, allowing me the opportunity to spend several years eating tasty German food and drinking good German beer.
> 
> Hat is doffed to those who work in the world of global elites, too. Think about it. The Soviet Union was really no match for the American (and former Nazi German scientists) minds. For example, the Soviets didn't have the ability to construct MIRVs (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle). They required something the Soviets couldn't make - extremely precise ball bearings. Thanks to Henry Kissinger, they received the machining and know-how to manufacture them, thereby keeping up with us in the arms race.
> See, a _thesis_ requires an _antithesis_ in order to achieve the desired *synthesis*.
> ...


I see the cold is once again affecting our Loveable Boney Mad Scientist Chopper Fixing Friend from FEMA Region IV. Dr. Slippy says 1 shot of Tequila (the good stuff) for you then off to la la land...(after you arrive home safely from work!) :arrow:


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Slippy said:


> I see the cold is once again affecting our Loveable Boney Mad Scientist Chopper Fixing Friend from FEMA Region IV. Dr. Slippy says 1 shot of Tequila (the good stuff) for you then off to la la land...(after you arrive home safely from work!) :arrow:


It's hard to keep lucidity from creeping into the skull. Oh, I try using tequila and sitcoms, but once you've seen through the smoke, the shapes appear as they really are.

Maybe I should try watching some talking heads on the cable news channels. After all, most of them are good-looking, blonde, brainless sirens, aren't they? That oughta help lull me back into the trance.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Denton said:


> It's hard to keep lucidity from creeping into the skull. Oh, I try using tequila and sitcoms, but once you've seen through the smoke, the shapes appear as they really are.
> 
> Maybe I should try watching some talking heads on the cable news channels. After all, most of them are good-looking, blonde, brainless sirens, aren't they? That oughta help lull me back into the trance.


I figured it had to do with lucidity, I just worry that at times your skull appears to be dark and forebodding. Anyway, just want you to keep all the marrow in your bones! As far as the brainless sirens...for another thread.


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

We got put in our place more than a few times. We were teasein our medic one drunken night. 
he said you stupid 11 b's aint gonna find no jobs when you get out. He was right i had to go back to school


csi-tech said:


> When I was in the Navy I was a flight deck crewman. Launching and recovering aircraft around the clock. Nobody was as badass as we were. I wanted to be a SEAL but I was married so I was exempted. We did deck landing qualifications with Air Force Para Rescue, Marine recon, Army Delta, Task force 160, SEAL team 2 and 6 and another elite team of individuals I won't mention.
> 
> Looking back, we were all on the same team. I did my little part and others did a much bigger part. I am proud of my honorable service and just wish I could have done more. We were all very important and did our very best. I was not as important as I thought I was, but I kept the machine moving.
> 
> Anyone who served did an important job. Thank you!


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

oldmurph58 said:


> yeh top back in the olden days the first shirts & sfc said light infantry is obsolete everything is gonna be mech now stuff has really changed


 They will never be without light Infantry, They may change the name to CAV and give them a gun ship but If the young soldier with their NCO's are not standing on it you don't own it.
The life of an Infantry soldier is much different than most others in the Army or Marine Corp. 
What has always made the US Militarily, more effective and better is the service members ability to make due with what they had, to adapt and over come when the plan did not go as expected.
I could spend a lot of time listing things soldier did to over come, to work around problems.


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## ApexPredator (Aug 17, 2013)

rice paddy daddy said:


> Without support troops to bring ammo and fix damaged weapons they would have to assault the enemy with sharpened sticks.
> And no artillery support or air strikes. Or armor backup.
> And if wounded they would have to hope the platoon medic could patch 'em up, because there would be no medevac or field hospitals either.
> And they would be doing it for free without payroll clerks.
> ...


seems things have changed now, we kicked our cook out, fought our supply for supply then bought it behind thier backs on the market, and air blocked our indirect weapons while they fired smoke at the taliban for 30 mins, the docs second guessed our treatments even though they were miles away, give me a fighter any day in any position.


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## sepp (Feb 7, 2014)

I was 13b (cannon crew member) otherwise known as artillery or cannon cockers. I believe at one point or another throughout history infantry on both sides both praised and wished death on us.


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

sepp said:


> I was 13b (cannon crew member) otherwise known as artillery or cannon cockers. I believe at one point or another throughout history infantry on both sides both praised and wished death on us.


 biggest killers on the battlefeild. ever. indiect fire, cant live without gun bunnies, god bless you


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

If I haven't, I want to be sure I have; thank you to all who have served, in any capacity, in any branch. I have a great deal of respect for y'all that chose to do it on your own terms.

I had a brief window where my wife was okay with me signing up, and I got turned away due to my GED. I should have signed up a long time ago, but then I may not have met my wife and while I wish I could look back on a service record, I wouldn't exchange that for the world. I know it's easy to say, but I truly mean this; if I was ever asked, by either country I call home, and it was to serve the people, I wouldn't hesitate.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Here are some Redlegs providing their brand of support during Vietnam. Steel on target, SIR!!
Ya just gotta love support troops.

M107 self-propelled gun in vietnam - Armchair General and HistoryNet >> The Best Forums in History

And yes, sometimes size does matter.:-D


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## oldmurph58 (Feb 8, 2014)

rice paddy daddy said:


> Here are some Redlegs providing their brand of support during Vietnam. Steel on target, SIR!!
> Ya just gotta love support troops.
> 
> M107 self-propelled gun in vietnam - Armchair General and HistoryNet >> The Best Forums in History
> ...


 bro when we are in shit deep, who you gonna cal?l not the dam ghost busters, feild artillery the best stuff on gods green earth.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Navy Guns do a job. Todays world it is the aircraft in and out in a flash
Carpet booming and fighters


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

+1 on the Navy guns. We had fire support from the USS New Jersey. WOWSER!!!
And after she left there were Destroyers stationed just off shore who did a fine job with their 5" guns.


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