Professional Soldiers ® - What do you remember most about the Q Course/Training Group?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by sandytroop

Dave, didn't "Demo" Greg D, Butch S and John C (18D) all go through about that time? WAY small world...

John - I think Greg, Butch, and John C went through about the same time I did in the '86 to '87 time-frame.

I just remember the guys in 12th talking about "the last easy class", and I was thinking "What? Are we talking about American SF or Saudi SF?" cuz Nothing in that course was easy for me, ever.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ambush Master

What do I remember most ?? That is a very difficult question !!!
I’ll start with our arrival at Bragg from Jump School. On a Bus, get on Post and what do we see, E-8s & 9s wearing Berets on-line policing up PINE CONES !!!! We all look at each other and go “WTF are they going to have us doing” ?!?!?!

We unload at the barracks and are invited into the “day room” for a welcome to Training Group speech and then we are told that the sodas and BEER !!!!! in the tubs with ice were ours and welcome aboard !!

The next few weeks we went through all of the testing, swimming, PT, etc and those of us that Passed drew our gear and were sent on to (the then) Phase I. We were “inserted” into Camp Mackall by way of a full equipment jump. Only one problem, we were on a C-123, the weather was for shit and we were flown around for about 2-3 hours waiting for the weather to break. During the leisurely flight one of my friends got airsick and puked in his piss-pot !! He passed it down the stick for the JM to dump into the pisser in the rear and when it was about halfway back the RED LIGHT ILLUMINATED !!! EVERYBODY, STAND UP!!! :eek: The wayward helmet found itself being passed back to it’s owner, without having been DUMPED !!! As the jump commands proceeded, the helmet and owner were reunited and he donned it, puke and all. There was puke running and dripping off of his nose, ears, and chin. He was covered in it, and we were going to find ourselves without bathing facilities for the duration of Phase I. (He ended up having to wear those clothes for close to a week!!) When we finally left the airplane, all that broke the silence was his continued barfing all the way to the ground !!!

Well, that about sums up the first few weeks that commenced around September-October, 1969. We spent Thanksgiving out at Mackall and graduated just in time to go home on X-Mas leave with a Beret/SF Crest (without flash). The SAGA will continue !

I forgot about that AM.

I remember seeing Senior NCO's policing Pine Cones when we pulled in from Benning. Did make a youngin wonder.

We also were inserted into Mackall (Phase 1) late afternoon. The instructors were allllllllllllllll over that DZ ummm (motivating) us to get our "stuff" ;) together and ran us into camp. Lined us up on some old concrete foundation and did .. well... a combination inspection/f**k with you thing, at which they were ohhhhh so proficient.

Well, turns out, one guy's weapon carrier had seperated during the jump. (M-14) then. THIS... was not a good thing!! lol Shortly after assembling, a thunderstorm moved in. So, they ran us all back to the DZ to search for that weapon. Took an hour, was dark, raining like hell. We found it, so we got to run back to that damn foundation. Where they went back through everyone of us with questions.... tons 'O pushups and at attention in between the pushups for hours.
Thing was this storm came with aaalot of lightning. As a result, every few mins lightening would hit and we were standing in puddles.... haha so we'd sorta jump when it hit close enough. Moving in anyway at the position of "Attention" is a nono. The cadre loved it.... just meant more pushups :) Thing was, one gets a bit thirsty doing that stuff. Doing all those 5 million pushups gave you a chance to drink out of a puddle. Was a tad startling however if the lightening hit close with your lips in the puddle however :p

AM have talked to you a bit. Looks like you were the class just after mine. I graduated 11/28/69

The reason tghat y'all saw NCO's on police call was that that was all there was.

I remember in 69 the 7th SFG went on an exercise to Puerto Rico. We went by ship "USNS Upshore" I believe. The Navy demanded strict rank protocol and wouldn't allow co-mingling of the ranks in the messes. As a result we deluged the Chief's Mess and they had to relent or starve. :D

Sorry to hijack this but. . . .

on the same trip we were getting a briefing from the CCO. One of our NCO's asked if he could open the door as it was hot. We got a ten minute lecture on Navy terminology, hatches not doors, ports not windows, ladders not steps, bulkheads not walls, etc. ect. When he finished the same NCO asked if it was alright if we openrd the door and windows now. :(

[QUOTE=QRQ 30]The reason tghat y'all saw NCO's on police call was that that was all there was.

Yup, learned that QrQ, was just comming in young and having never seen E-8's and E-9"s policing up pine cones or anything else, as AM stated. Only had been through Basic, AIT and Jump School... never witnessed that kind of thing to that point. As an E-5 in Tolz, every morning ( when we were around) we policed the football field. All of us :)
BTW.... checked out your website, especially the Tolz pics. Great site and great pics of Flint. Interesting thing...... The Quad was never flooded for ice skating when I was there. Too bad that was abandoned somewhere along the line.

First detail I ever did in Group was policing the officer's housing area with an E7 (P) just back from El Salvador where he was in it. Just the two of us. He told me stories while we picked up trash for two days. Nice and quiet and a good way to learn.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc

No doubt about it..... NDD

When I was assigned to my Team. Myself and another E5 I'd trained with were of course newbies along with our Team Capt. But, between the other 9 guys, there was a total of somewhere around 40 years of combat experience. Living and working as an A Team does, there was a never ending supply of real world experience to soak up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 12B4S

Myself and another E5 I'd trained with were of course newbies along with our Team Capt. But, between the other 9 guys, there was a total of somewhere around 40 years of combat experience. Living and working as an A Team does, there was a never ending supply of real world experience to soak up.

Imagine what it was like as a 1LT to go to a team as an XO, and the rest of the team had been together at least two years (and some had been together for 10).

Talk about being the newbie.... and the acknowledged expendible man...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenhat

Dayem!! So much rank? 2Lt xo's were common in the 10th in the early sixties and we had some team leaders. By the time ossifers made CPT> they had punched their tickets and were off to their Branch assignments. I remember once we were all sitting around bad mouthing our dumb ass CO when the Team Sergent came along. He said something that has stuck through all of these ages:

"Lt Fuzz may be a dumb, ignorant Lt. but he is the only team leader we have so we had better take care of him!!"

Teeny tiny hijack...

A very dear friend, curreently SGM with a Company at Bragg, had a great line about a Det Commander. This friend was a Team Sergeant with many years of experience; he and I actually met when we were kids in the Berlin Brigade, in 75 (the Cotton and Wool Army...). He went on to great things on active duty. His Team received a new CO, Captain, and this chap questioned my friend's policy of constantly over-riding his decisions. The captain says we're going to do X, Pappy says Y, and everyone does Y. So during a Team meeting of all places, the captain decides to clear the air. He just comes out and asks my pal what gives him the authority to over-ride a captain's decisions. Pappy says "sir, when were you born?" and the Captain gives a date. Pappy ponders this for a second, and smiles at the Captain and says "well sir, I was an E-4 when you WERE 4. That's what gives me the "authority".

Needless to say, everyone laughed, the captain put his hands up and capitulated. He and Pappy ended up getting along fameously, and remain good friends to this day as far as I know. That's how you build a Team, eh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenhat

Ohhhhhh I think I can Greenhat, not exactly in your boots however. Our Capt. was one of us newbies
;)
Our XO (a 1 LT) had spent 6 to 8 years as an enlisted man before getting his commission.
Relating to sandytroop's post, our Capt listened to our Team Daddy and the others that had the experience, yet knew the final decisions and responsibilities were his. Good CO.......

The day of infil to Cp Makall for PH I, we drew weapons, M-14s. This was July 69. When they got to the T's, the four of us (Tillman, Todd, Trask, CRS the other poor soT) got M-60s.

Went to Green Ramp, chuted up, flew in C-123, jumped into CM. 'Cuz the weather was CAT4, we dint road march, but trucked in. We ate c's for the evening meal, and I took the chiclets gum from the lil pack and stuck it in my mouth.

We formed up in Platoon formation; I was the 2nd squad leader. Chaos was all around, folks were dropped for push-ups, 1 guy was in the front leaning rest and talking to his buddy, who was in the dying cockroach-"Please lilcockroach, please don't die!"

But so far I'm relatively unscathed. Then Ranger Donald Melvin stood in front of me and said, real softly,"Son what're you doing chewing gum in my formation??" I started to swallow, and he reached up and grabbed me by the throat, still talking softly,"Son, donchu dare swallow that gum. Now I'm gonna let go of your throat, jes don't swallow that gum, unnerstand??" I nodded, and he let go of my throat.

"Ok, son', sez he"I wanchu to take that piece of gum outta yer mouth and put it on your nose. Then I wanchu ta pick up your 'chine gun, lift it over your head, and run around this formation, yelling as loud as you can'I love to chew chewing gum in formation', unnerstan??"

So I ran and ran yelling at the top of my lungs. Every so often, 'n=uther GB NCO would stop me to axt what I was doin, I'd tell em, and get dropped for pushups, the continue running.

At some point, those of us that hadn't quit were reformed and herded intoa class room, and thus began my Special Forces Odessey. Donald Melvin became on of my dearest freinds in CCC.

Thats my story,and I'm stickin tuit!!!!!!! ;)

Please lill cockroach...?

I think I'll be chuckling about that comment for the rest of the week. Brilliant!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandytroop

I think I'll be chuckling about that comment for the rest of the week. Brilliant!

Every oncet inawhile, we could see the Berets walk off in small groups, have a great belly laugh over the chaos they had wrought, then returen to the fray.

'Course, we dint say anything about it!!! ;)

most memorable part of the Q course? little johnnie jokes as told by Bucky Burress...that, and Charlie Beckwith's intro to Phase I...