A friend of mine, an old Army buddy, was posting some pictures today on Facebook. He had a good career in the Army and is now a retired First Sgt. More about him later. But as I was looking through his old photos, it made me start thinking about my time in the Army.
I enlisted in the Army on November 19, 1984, which was three days before Thanksgiving. At that time you could enlist for either 2, 3 or 4 years. I chose to enlist for three. I left for basic training a week later and arrived at Ft. McClellan, AL late on November 26. After a few days at the reception center I was bused out to my basic training unit, E Co., 11th Military Police Bn. That was, without a doubt, the most stressful day I spent in the Army. Beyond that, basic training was not a mentally difficult as I had expected it to be. Sure I got yelled out, sure I did a LOT of push-ups, but it was training...what kind of training? ARMY TRAINING SIR!
One problem I had when I was in basic training was being able to do enough push-ups to pass the PT test. Because of that, I actually got "re-started", which means that I was sent back in to a different basic training company that was about five weeks behind the company I started in. Fortunately that was enough to get me through the PT test.
After finishing up basic training and military police school I went another school. The Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center in Monterey, CA. This was a Dept. of Defense school where all branches of the military sent people to learn foreign languages. I spent about nine months there, eight months of which were spent learning to speak German. The classes were pretty small and had a combination of services, enlisted, officers and civilians in the class. I spent my next Thanksgiving in the Army at this school. Fortunately I had become friends with another MP that was in the school. Norm Babcock and his wife would have me over for dinner on Sundays to watch football and have a good Italian meal. They were kind enough to have me spend my Thanksgiving with them in 1985.
In February of 1986 I left that school and made my way to Germany. There I was stationed in a small town called Hardheim at a remote HAWK anti-aircraft missile site. Hardheim was in the south-central part of, what was then, West Germany. While I was Germany I had the good fortune to make another good friend. At the time he and his family came to Germany, Roger was a Cpl. who worked in Communications. I said then, and I still maintain, that he was one of the luckiest SOB's in the Army. He'd make a heck of a politician and a better salesman. But, I'm indebted to Roger and his family for all they did for me while I was stationed in Germany. They had me over for dinner at times, invited me along when they would go to Wurzburg to go shopping or site-seeing, taxi'd me to softball games and generally helped me get out of the barracks when I wasn't working. Germany, was where I spent Thanksgiving of 1986 also. I spent that Thanksgiving in the northern part of Germany, again with the Babcock family. That was the weekend I watched Top Gun in a Dutch Movie Theater (AKA School gymnasium). In Germany is also where I actually did my first marathon. It was not a run, it was a Volksmarch, but it was marathon distance. I did this with Roger Lush and Bobby Brown. SFC Brown would end up rising to the rank of CSM before he retired. The three of us just decided to try the marathon volksmarch. No training, which didn't seem like a big deal at the time. It lets me know what kind of shape I was in, because even walking 26 miles can be tough on a body if you're not in shape. And Roger and Bobby must have been in even better shape, because they did the 26 miles on very little sleep and, I suspect, more than their share of adult beverages the night before. Yet, after all that, it was not them who almost passed out at the end of walk, but me.
Although I only mentioned a couple of people in this entry, I made a lot of friends during my three years in the Army. Thanks to Facebook I have been able to connect with some of them, others I have not been able to keep in touch with. I do keep in fairly close touch with the Lush family. I visit them whenever I get through North Carolina, which is usually a couple of times a year, and again I can take this forum to thank them for hospitality they showed me when I was stationed with them in Germany, and even afterwards when I would visit them in Ft. Knox or their current home. I also want to take time to thank the Babcocks for the hospitality they showed me during my time stationed with them.
I enlisted in the Army on November 19, 1984, which was three days before Thanksgiving. At that time you could enlist for either 2, 3 or 4 years. I chose to enlist for three. I left for basic training a week later and arrived at Ft. McClellan, AL late on November 26. After a few days at the reception center I was bused out to my basic training unit, E Co., 11th Military Police Bn. That was, without a doubt, the most stressful day I spent in the Army. Beyond that, basic training was not a mentally difficult as I had expected it to be. Sure I got yelled out, sure I did a LOT of push-ups, but it was training...what kind of training? ARMY TRAINING SIR!
One problem I had when I was in basic training was being able to do enough push-ups to pass the PT test. Because of that, I actually got "re-started", which means that I was sent back in to a different basic training company that was about five weeks behind the company I started in. Fortunately that was enough to get me through the PT test.
After finishing up basic training and military police school I went another school. The Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center in Monterey, CA. This was a Dept. of Defense school where all branches of the military sent people to learn foreign languages. I spent about nine months there, eight months of which were spent learning to speak German. The classes were pretty small and had a combination of services, enlisted, officers and civilians in the class. I spent my next Thanksgiving in the Army at this school. Fortunately I had become friends with another MP that was in the school. Norm Babcock and his wife would have me over for dinner on Sundays to watch football and have a good Italian meal. They were kind enough to have me spend my Thanksgiving with them in 1985.
In February of 1986 I left that school and made my way to Germany. There I was stationed in a small town called Hardheim at a remote HAWK anti-aircraft missile site. Hardheim was in the south-central part of, what was then, West Germany. While I was Germany I had the good fortune to make another good friend. At the time he and his family came to Germany, Roger was a Cpl. who worked in Communications. I said then, and I still maintain, that he was one of the luckiest SOB's in the Army. He'd make a heck of a politician and a better salesman. But, I'm indebted to Roger and his family for all they did for me while I was stationed in Germany. They had me over for dinner at times, invited me along when they would go to Wurzburg to go shopping or site-seeing, taxi'd me to softball games and generally helped me get out of the barracks when I wasn't working. Germany, was where I spent Thanksgiving of 1986 also. I spent that Thanksgiving in the northern part of Germany, again with the Babcock family. That was the weekend I watched Top Gun in a Dutch Movie Theater (AKA School gymnasium). In Germany is also where I actually did my first marathon. It was not a run, it was a Volksmarch, but it was marathon distance. I did this with Roger Lush and Bobby Brown. SFC Brown would end up rising to the rank of CSM before he retired. The three of us just decided to try the marathon volksmarch. No training, which didn't seem like a big deal at the time. It lets me know what kind of shape I was in, because even walking 26 miles can be tough on a body if you're not in shape. And Roger and Bobby must have been in even better shape, because they did the 26 miles on very little sleep and, I suspect, more than their share of adult beverages the night before. Yet, after all that, it was not them who almost passed out at the end of walk, but me.
Although I only mentioned a couple of people in this entry, I made a lot of friends during my three years in the Army. Thanks to Facebook I have been able to connect with some of them, others I have not been able to keep in touch with. I do keep in fairly close touch with the Lush family. I visit them whenever I get through North Carolina, which is usually a couple of times a year, and again I can take this forum to thank them for hospitality they showed me when I was stationed with them in Germany, and even afterwards when I would visit them in Ft. Knox or their current home. I also want to take time to thank the Babcocks for the hospitality they showed me during my time stationed with them.
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