The tragic bridge collapse will no doubt generate a jillion discussions on funding, inspections, work slowdowns, etc, etc...and it will turn out ot be George Bush's fault. I don't want to make light of a real bad evening for a lot of folks. Listening to the local talk radio this afternoon, I heard lots of comments about the agony of waiting for news...who is and who isn't...when will we know??? Flashbacks to every major catastrophe in the last generation or so...whenever there is a huge me...
Lieutenant Hartney was a true southern gentleman. He spoke with a soft, long vowel, aristocratic, old south voice. He graduated from VMI and came to us from a basic training company, where as a commander he apparently had a hard time with his NCOs. He was distrustful of anything we told him at first, it took some work to gain his confidence. After extensive searching, however, we found his sense of humor. He became one of my very favorite platoon leaders. I was a squad leader in the t...
EUCOM is a unified command, meaning that it all the major military organizations are represented there, located at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. It is a top heavy command...in the area of about 10 acres there are about 15 general officers or civilian equivalents. Majors and Lieutenant Colonels are a dime a dozen. This takes some adjusting to, since most of the field grade officers come there from battalion, squadron, or ship commands and wind up in an office cramped up with four ...
One of the benefits of military life, for my family, was the opportunity to travel and spend some time in Europe. We used to load up the wagon with all the littlies and the dog and go find something neat. A lot of the time we just headed out without a real destination, just looking for something. One Saturday we traveled to Trier, one of the oldest towns in Germany. There are the ruins of a Roman aquaduct, Roman Baths, and roads built by Romans...or actually slaves of the Romans. It is a...
In my travels (or wanderings, if you will), I have managed to drive in many different countries, in many different climates, weather conditions, road conditions, no-road conditions, with a variety of different tempermented drivers, some who wanted to kill me... some who just drove like they wanted to kill me... or themselves...or anyone else on the road. But last week I had a totally new experience that was so eerie I just have to share it with you. We were carrying hot asphalt from the S...
Fields was as sharp a soldier as you could ever envision. Razor creases in his pants, shirts sharply pressed with the ever impressive military creases in the back, shoes like glass, hair always high and tight... courteous, professional, knowledgable, always helpful...the perfect VIP driver. His car was always spotless inside and out and carefully inspected and maintained daily. He was also one of the cleverest E4s I ever met. On a late night mission, a pick up at Frankfurt Internation...
General Wayne A. Downing died of some kind of cancer yesterday. I don't think you will read about him in any history books. You may not ever know about what battles he participated in, planned, or won or lost. I knew him as a Lieutenant Colonel on the fast track to higher elevations. He came to EUCOM and sat in the Secretary of the Joint Staff chair...usually filled by a senior full colonel, he was a LTC (P)...meaning he had been selected to be promoted but his turn hadn't come up yet. ...
The USS California was a battleship of the old school, deck force didn't have "racks" (bunks), they were issued hammocks which they strung at night (or when they weren't on shift). The other facilities were primitive, too. Most notably, the bathroom arrangement (called the "head", for some nautical reason). There were no toilets or even seats. There was a steel plate that ran the length of the room, tear drop shaped holes (toilet-esque) every three feet or so were partioned by two foot...
Southbound on Highway 67 just before you get to the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Company entrance, you cross a bridge between two ridgelines. Not a very long bridge, but a very high one. I have crossed it a dozen times in the last week or two, but today as I looked over the railing it reminded of a similar bridge in Germany. Southwest of Wurzburg on the Frankfurt/Nurnberg autobahn, there is a bridge spanning a deep valley very near the town of Kist. The German bridge is longer, wi...
I had the opportunity to see the Chief dive on several occasions. It was all serious business...always two other guys standing by to double check all the equipment...with the helmet in place the full outfit weighed more than he did. They helped him step over the side...hard hat divers usually went down on a platform that was lowered into the water with a winch, but did sometimes do a "free dive" using weights and air in the suit to achieve the bouyancy to stay at a particular depth. When ...
In 1969 the Army decided to change it's promotion management. Control had been held at Brigade and sometimes at Battalion level for promotions up to E6. The change meant that promotions to E5 and E6 would be managed at Department of the Army level...you would now be competing Armywide for your stripes. Failing to come up with an equitable method for converting standing lists from battalions to DA, the decision was made to clear all existing promotion lists before the new method came into ...
It was the Christmas season of 1964. I had been in Bad Kissingen just about 6 weeks. I was amazed to find that the Army went on a half day schedule for the holidays. More time to sit around in the barracks! I was starting to catch on to the mentality of most of my platoon mates. The Army fed us three meals a day...provided a room with a bunk and clean sheets every Thursday...even gave us the winter clothing we needed...and gave us $65.00 a month to buy beer...or whiskey...and cigarettes...
After the RAF attempted to assinate Gen Kroeson and his wife in Heidelberg, there was an immediate influx of money to train VIP drivers all over Europe. I got caught up in that surge and attended two or three really cool courses on counter terrorist driving techniques and a slew of lesser but still fun training sessions. It was kind of like the EUCOM version of the Dukes of Hazard driving school. And I got paid to do it. I hate to admit it, but the best course was put on by the Air Force....
I have read several articles lately where you have expressed that you are liberal or conservative and you love your country and this is what you believe. I like 'em. I also enjoy all the pieces that make my thinker work overtime. I don't like to get political. I started off in this community with the express goal of writing some of the things that I wanted my kids and grand kids to remember about me and my dad and things that HBW requested I write about. But lately I have read some troub...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, USA, AND A HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO YOU ALL.