What Was Your Rank?

[billcreapaux]

Master Sergeant , USAF (Ret.)

23 years service. Special Operations.

 

[Old Zebra]

Chief Master Sergeant, USAF (Retired)

Served on active duty for 30 years and 29 days. And I'd do it all over again.

 

[dswickard]

Retired SMSgt

USMC - Cpl (E-4) - RVN Class of '70
ARNG - 2nd Lt (O-1)
ANG - SMSgt (E-8) retired (service for basic pay - 41 years, 1 month, 12 days)

USMC & ARNG was infantry

ANG was Fire Protection

 

[Dinky Dau Don]

SFC (E7) - US Army '56-'65, 101st Airborne

Happiness is being an Ex-Airborne Ranger and still being alive to brag about it!

 

[stevebonning]

Currenlty O-5, LtCol in De Air National Guard; retiring 2011 with 33 yrs.

 

[Gallstones]

SGT E5 US Army Signal Corps.

Link Removed

 

[Jarheadcool]

Sgt. in the Corps

 

[Chap]

Still Active Duty

US Coast Guard, W4

I hit 30 years 28SEP11
Mandatory 30 year retirement date is no later than 30NOV11. leasantry:leasantry:

 

[brasscasing]

E-6 Retired AF

I retired as a TSgt or E-6 from the USAF after 24 years. Whole career as an aircraft mechanic. Missed E-7 the last 2 years of my career by a combined .55 of a point.

 

[wjh2657]

Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9) 30 years active duty USMC.

 

[HDB]

Well Said

I was a Sargent E5, US Army when I got out, after three years active duty in the sixties. Veteran's Day last year, a young man at the range turned and ask me if I was a veteran. I said yes. He shook my hand and said, "Thank you sir for serving our country."
I was so taken aback I was speechless, muttered a thank you for asking. In more than 40 years, he is the first person to say thank you. No medal, recognition at some event, nothing could be as good as a kind and plain thanks from a man I never met.
I couldn't stop thinking about that, every day for at least a week. He may never know how good he made me feel with a simple thank you.
I hope I see him again sometime so I can tell him how he "made my day."

We all leave our rank behind us when our time is done in the military, it really only counts for more retirement pay if U hit 20-30 years and even that is not cash that lets U live very well off. But with (almost) every trip to the V.A. I find some jack-off who is barking out orders at patients and staff like he or she is still the Sergeant-Major or a 2-star Division Commander they used to be when they were active. I treat all Vets as equals (Comrades in Arms) as they served when SO many others ducked or chose the easy paths of life and have no concept what we gave up so they could safely live out their years in normal lives doing the things few of us ever managed, like staying put for a decade/or 2 and making good neighborly friends or buying a home, not renting one every 3 years, climb as high as they wanted/could manage and did what they wanted with their lives, not what others decided to do with the only shot at life or death or the wounds or bugs we got that they seldom woried about. For them an alert was a broken washer, for us a call in the night to "pack-it-up and roll" to go meet some very real hostiles who wanted us dead. 3 years or 30 in gave most Vets more life experiences than any civilian stuck in an boring office-job would get in 10 lifetimes! Keep the medals they mean nothng now, a genuine 'Thanks' is worth a Medal of Honor from those who have an idea of what we went thru as a cook or as a Airborne Ranger! I salute you all!

Canis-Lupus :smile:

 

[jmeineck]

SGT E5 US Army INF

1974 FT Lewis PFC 9th Inf 2nd/66th
1975 Camp Rice Korea SPC4 2nd Inf 4th/7th cav, I drove an M113A1 APC
1977 FT ORD SGT E5 6th/31st INF straight leg When I got my stripes they took my track away :-(

I got out in 1978

 

[Glide446]

Usn 78-82 mr2

 

[pappason]

Retired Army CW4 153BC UH-1H Helo Instructor Pilot. I wish I could have stayed longer but me eye sight was getting bad and and my reflexes just wasn't what it needed to be. God bless or troops

 

[Mule659]

I wan an E-5 when I got out of the Marines.

 

[Beau]

USN E-4
1999-2004
Norfolk Naval Air Terminal
USS Ross (DDG-71)
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)

 

[marquisg]

Major Beau

1956 MO NG 135th Tank Battalion, Pvt
1956-1962 US Navy EN3 (E-4)
1962 US Army SGT (E5) QM Supply
1967-1979 U S Army, Major (O4), Retired

 

[Chaplain Ed]

rank

Navy Salvage Diver E-8
Diving officer/ Boilers Officer CWO-3
DO/Chief Engineer/ Ship Rep Off. Lt (O3)
retired on 22 years 1 Oct,'82

My wife Bonnie was an E-4 4years service. Both our sons were Army. Daughter-in-law a Coast Guard 0-3.

I also agree that rank dosen't matter. I salute all my brothers/sisters that served honorably. We can all stand tall together.

God bless the USA!!!

 

[Tin Can Sailor]

Every once in awhile someone will comment on my ball cap(USS Voge FF1047) when I am out and about with a "Thanks for serving". Each time it feels good to know that someone cares enough to say something. I got out in '83 as an FTG2.

 

[ptco911]

I retired from the US Army after 24 years as a Sergeant Major.