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pro5 · 10-08-2004, 09:03 PM

<-- USAR (Army Reserves)

Served during March 1995 - May 2003 (ETS finally!)

MOS: 63J (Quartermaster and Chemical Equipment Repair, AKA "the maytag man"...since our specialty was the ROWPU and the laundry unit)

came in as E-nothing, got my SPEC-4 within two years...ETS with SPEC-4...yep, a six-year specialist.

Unit: 950th Maintenance CO, 63rd RSC

MEPS: Los Angeles MEPS, March 1995, Cypress MEPS, 1996
Basic: Summer 1995 - Ft. Sill, OK (2PLT, B CO, 1/33 FA)
AIT: Summer 1996 - APG, MD (B CO...forgot exactly, but we were the "dogpound" and my drill sergeants were involved in the army sex scandal)

Annual Training at: Ft. Dodge, IA (1998/9), Ft. Irwin (all the time), Kaiserslautern, Germany (2000).

most memorable moment: in Germany during our AT, we were in a shop rebuilding Humvee transmissions...after a few 'test' trannies, they let us loose and let us rebuild and test them on our own.

I'm usually a pretty meticulous guy, but after a few days of repetitive motion, I started getting sloppy and after fixing one tranny, I accidentally left the 'puller' in the tranny after I put it together.

ironically, they chose my tranny to test on the humvee...and once they started it, the LOUD BANG from the tranny and the driveline falling off the humvee was pretty bad. needless to say, I ended up cleaning up the whole shop.

next most memorable moment: we had to qualify with our M-16's at Ft. Irwin during one AT, and we managed to pick up some IRR personnel to train with us. the guy in the foxhole next to me was cool, but was pretty cross-eyed. I'm a pretty bad shot (I usually barely qualify), but this time, I managed to shoot 30 instead of my usual 24-25.

so, we brought our target cards up, and the guy from IRR in the foxhole next to me had NO holes at all on his card...and he kept insisting that he shot at the target.

I guess we were both pretty bad shots...two soldiers with forty rounds each...only got 30 rounds on one target.

I'm now an engineer working for a major defense contractor with battlefield digitization. is it sad to say that I've been exposed to more of the real military AFTER I finished drilling with my unit? My job has taken me to Ft. Hood, Ft. Polk, Ft. Drum, Ft. Lewis, Ft. Hauchuca...and I sure am glad the systems we're working on are saving lives out in Iraq and Afghanistan.

so, here's a HOOAH (or WHOOSHAH for you artillery folks) for everyone here...for their service...for their camaraderie...

10-08-2004, 09:03 PM	#11 (permalink)
pro5 Upright	<-- USAR (Army Reserves) Served during March 1995 - May 2003 (ETS finally!) MOS: 63J (Quartermaster and Chemical Equipment Repair, AKA "the maytag man"...since our specialty was the ROWPU and the laundry unit) came in as E-nothing, got my SPEC-4 within two years...ETS with SPEC-4...yep, a six-year specialist. Unit: 950th Maintenance CO, 63rd RSC MEPS: Los Angeles MEPS, March 1995, Cypress MEPS, 1996 Basic: Summer 1995 - Ft. Sill, OK (2PLT, B CO, 1/33 FA) AIT: Summer 1996 - APG, MD (B CO...forgot exactly, but we were the "dogpound" and my drill sergeants were involved in the army sex scandal) Annual Training at: Ft. Dodge, IA (1998/9), Ft. Irwin (all the time), Kaiserslautern, Germany (2000). most memorable moment: in Germany during our AT, we were in a shop rebuilding Humvee transmissions...after a few 'test' trannies, they let us loose and let us rebuild and test them on our own. I'm usually a pretty meticulous guy, but after a few days of repetitive motion, I started getting sloppy and after fixing one tranny, I accidentally left the 'puller' in the tranny after I put it together. ironically, they chose my tranny to test on the humvee...and once they started it, the LOUD BANG from the tranny and the driveline falling off the humvee was pretty bad. needless to say, I ended up cleaning up the whole shop. next most memorable moment: we had to qualify with our M-16's at Ft. Irwin during one AT, and we managed to pick up some IRR personnel to train with us. the guy in the foxhole next to me was cool, but was pretty cross-eyed. I'm a pretty bad shot (I usually barely qualify), but this time, I managed to shoot 30 instead of my usual 24-25. so, we brought our target cards up, and the guy from IRR in the foxhole next to me had NO holes at all on his card...and he kept insisting that he shot at the target. I guess we were both pretty bad shots...two soldiers with forty rounds each...only got 30 rounds on one target. I'm now an engineer working for a major defense contractor with battlefield digitization. is it sad to say that I've been exposed to more of the real military AFTER I finished drilling with my unit? My job has taken me to Ft. Hood, Ft. Polk, Ft. Drum, Ft. Lewis, Ft. Hauchuca...and I sure am glad the systems we're working on are saving lives out in Iraq and Afghanistan. so, here's a HOOAH (or WHOOSHAH for you artillery folks) for everyone here...for their service...for their camaraderie...