Bluesman Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 In nine days, I will have been signed on with the USAF for twenty years. (I signed papers 17 October '85, but didn't report to Basic until 18 February '86.) In my time, I've been an airborne Vietnamese linguist (perhaps the worst one the Air Force ever made; ears of stone) on RC-135s; a triple nickel, aka Production Control Specialist - what UP, Columbus? ); a flight planner/dispatcher; an industrial engineer; and finally, I'm an intelligence analyst, currently serving as NCOIC of the Intelligence Watch here at Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Florida. Which is purty much my dream job. But I may go for the record number of specialty codes held, and apply for First Sergeant duty. Combat experience was 81 days in the AoR during Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, Prince Sultan Air Base, Al Kharj, aka, Al's Garage. Although I got hazardous duty pay, the only risk we were under was the ice cream machine being busted, or gittin' a wicked sunburn at the base pool. Family separations SUCK, but if you gotta be away from home, the AF sure knows how to do it right. However, if I can FINALLY get somebody to send me to war, I'll be in Baghdad in February. Two years' trying, and nothin' yet. My wife is an Air Force nurse, just promoted to 1Lt (prior enlisted as an Arabic linguist - with a sixteen year break-in-service before getting commissioned, which may be a record!). She'll prolly deploy before I get back, in which case she'll re-enlist me while we're both Over There. As a production control specialist at Wurtsmith AFB, in Michigan, I was a fireteam leader on the Prime BEEF (Base Engineering Emergency Force) airbase ground defense unit, and that has to be the most fun I've ever had in the Air Force. Hard, dirty, exhausting, and GREAT. I miss that grunt stuff, and although I get as much range time as I can request now, it was more fun shooting guns back then. SOCOM is cool and I'm having a blast ruining and ending terrorist's lives, but I want to get off the bench and into the game where it really COUNTS. If God loves me, I'll be in Big-daddy in a few months. Wish me luck. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrold Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Holy Cow...long time no see Bluesman! BDH 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapebiker Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 24 years of service in the US army as a MP 81-83 and an M60A3/M1A1/ M1A2 tanker stationed all over the world including Grenada, DS/DS, Kosovo, and OIF1 and now 4 Plus I served with 76mm in Erlangen FRG in 1/35 ARMOR Delta Company 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Originally posted by grapebiker: 24 years of service in the US army as a MP 81-83 and an M60A3/M1A1/ M1A2 tanker stationed all over the world including Grenada, DS/DS, Kosovo, and OIF1 and now 4 Plus I served with 76mm in Erlangen FRG in 1/35 ARMOR Delta Company Welcome to the forums. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogface Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Ya Bluesman long time no see. Every time we ship a computer to SOCOM at MacDill I wonder how you have been doing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurtzDonut Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Four years 78-82,in the U.S. Army. 19E10 Gunner/Loader M60A1 MBT. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Twenty years as a 13A, specialized in Fire Support and targeting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easy-v Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 8 years as a 11b1P (Airborne Infantryman) in the 194th Infantry Detachment (Long Range Surveilance), 34th ID (Iowa National Guard). Spent most of the time working as a 31C though, even though I never got the 31C MOS. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike8g Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Hi Bluesman, nice to see that you're still around here. I wish you luck !! Marcus 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesman Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Hey, boys. I'll fill in the details later; hafta run a daughter to a b-day party. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hortlund Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 1 year in the army, squad leader in a recon platoon. It was cold. Been in the National Guards since then (coming up on 10 years now). Squadleader there too. Im Swedish...so the above doesnt really count. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesman Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Originally posted by Barrold: Holy Cow...long time no see Bluesman! BDH What doin', ole soul? Staying healthy, happy, smart and good-lookin'? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesman Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Originally posted by Dogface: Ya Bluesman long time no see. Every time we ship a computer to SOCOM at MacDill I wonder how you have been doing. Healthy in body, mind and spirit, Doggie, but if I don't get some buy-in from my chain-of-command SOON on my request to quit ridin' the pine and go get my boots dusty, I'll switch sides and go to work for Team Zarqawi. :mad: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesman Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Originally posted by mike8g: Hi Bluesman, nice to see that you're still around here. I wish you luck !! Marcus Hey, Marcus! Dropped in to the BoB a few days back for ole times' sake, and saw lots of familiar handles. (Some that I'm not too fond of, but mostly good memories of a fine, kind and refined set of fellows. And speaking of one of the best: how's Gary doing? My phone number for him doesn't work anymore. Is he...okay?) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Bluseman, welcome back. As far as Team Zarqawi I hear the pay is good, but the work conditions aren't all that great. Something about being hunted down and killed On the other hand, there are all those virgins waiting for you in the afterlife. Hey, every job has its perks! Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceebee Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Royal Navy - Submariner 1989-95, Currently Combat Medic Reserves. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrold Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 What doin', ole soul? Staying healthy, happy, smart and good-lookin'? I'll go as far as reasonably healthy and reasonably smart. BDH 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesman Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Originally posted by Barrold: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />What doin', ole soul? Staying healthy, happy, smart and good-lookin'? I'll go as far as reasonably healthy and reasonably smart. BDH </font> 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesman Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Originally posted by Battlefront.com: Bluseman, welcome back. As far as Team Zarqawi I hear the pay is good, but the work conditions aren't all that great. Something about being hunted down and killed On the other hand, there are all those virgins waiting for you in the afterlife. Hey, every job has its perks! Steve Yeah, their retirement plan is a little light on the specifics. Maybe I'll just stay on the same side as the snake-eaters and keep goldbrickin' in sunny Tampa, until one of these days Rummy will get tired of screwin' around, send ME over, and I'll wrap up the whole unpleasant bidness in a couple o' weeks. :cool: And YEAH, we're making life tough for 'em (and impossible for many). Last week was GREAT, and if you're a known name in Iraq, it's a matter of time until you're martyred or Gitmo'd. (Did you see that we zapped Abu Azzam? That was as good a 'get' as we've gotten all year, and it barely gets mentioned in the media. ) ANYhoo, I dragged the thread WAY off topic, so I'll get it back on the rails with this: I may get to go to Jump Skool next year, if I'm still in Tampa, haven't retired, and Lt. Bluesman gives me permission. I qualified 'Expert' on my M-4, and I'm going out on the small arms range so much they're calling me 'Punch' (as in Primer Puncher). The three-star we work for has requested that I remain on the Joint Task Force roster as the NSA rep, so if all that comes together like I hope it will, I'll be going out on the road to REALLY do my thang. THEN I'll have combat experience to write about in here. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Churchmoor Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Hmm, just my 11-month conscript duty in Finnish Defence Forces some 10 years ago. Sergeant and trained to shoot holes on sides of russ..op-for tanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Originally posted by Mike Churchmoor: Hmm, just my 11-month conscript duty in Finnish Defence Forces some 10 years ago. Sergeant and trained to shoot holes on sides of russ..op-for tanks. I had the honour of using the finest piece of military hitech on the planet, 95S58 Musti and the French yuppie toy Apilas. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Churchmoor Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Originally posted by Sergei: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Mike Churchmoor: Hmm, just my 11-month conscript duty in Finnish Defence Forces some 10 years ago. Sergeant and trained to shoot holes on sides of russ..op-for tanks. I had the honour of using the finest piece of military hitech on the planet, 95S58 Musti and the French yuppie toy Apilas. </font> 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnersman Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 US Navy 98'- 02'. Enlisted. I thought I wanted to be a SEAL. No regrets. I tried. Ended up on the USS Mt Whitney (LCC/JCC-20) or as my aunt calls it the "The Mt Whimpey". Played with lots of guns, I got quite a bit of 25mm trigger time and even got to shoot the Phalanx. Made E5 before getting out. Kind of wished I stayed longer to enjoy that. But damn glad Im out. By the way...congratulations CaptWacky. Good luck to you. I dig the sig by the way. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Leopard Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Originally posted by Mike Churchmoor: Did not have the change to fire Apilas though. But firing the Musti is an Experience it self. The blast and the pressure! Hello Mike, I think you mean "chance" intead of "change". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TufenHuden Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 USMC-Infantry-1st Gulf war Desert Shield/ Storm-4 active-3 reserve.... Bluesman good to see your alive and well hope to see you at BOB again.... [ October 09, 2005, 03:19 AM: Message edited by: TufenHuden ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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