What Was Your Rank?
- Thread starter lukem
- Start date
NavJAG06
New member
Entered the Navy as a Seaman Recruit, then to OCS, law school and the Navy JAG Corps. Retired CAPT (0-6). My best wishes, congrats and deepest appreciation for all who have served our nation, regardless of service branch or rank. Wishing you all fair winds and following seas.
vettefreak
Your Airborne Daddy
current E-5(P) in the Army, waiting on my Warrant Officer packet to get picked up.
Lunytoon95
New member
US Navy Petty Officer Third Class
90-94
Aviation Structural Safety Egress Mech
VA-95 CVW-11 CVN-72
Desert Storm/Shield
Somalia
Philippines Evac with Mt Pinatubo volcano
One helluva ride I will never forget.
90-94
Aviation Structural Safety Egress Mech
VA-95 CVW-11 CVN-72
Desert Storm/Shield
Somalia
Philippines Evac with Mt Pinatubo volcano
One helluva ride I will never forget.
GunShizzel
Semper Fi
E-4 Corporal.
MCRD San Diego
CSC, Quantico Va
H&S Bn MCB, Camp Pendleton
DPP-10 1st Marine Brigade, Kaneohe, HI
1972-1976
MCRD San Diego
CSC, Quantico Va
H&S Bn MCB, Camp Pendleton
DPP-10 1st Marine Brigade, Kaneohe, HI
1972-1976
Oldslabsides
New member
1st post with friends!
E-5, bm2 uscg 1976-1982
E-5, bm2 uscg 1976-1982
FormerJarhead
New member
Got out of the Corps as a Corporal in 1989
Currently a Master Sergeant in the Texas Air National Guard
Currently a Master Sergeant in the Texas Air National Guard
DocV52 The new guy on the block.....
Hey All,
I was lookin' for the "Introductions forum" the computer message told me about and it steered me here. Hope y'all don't mind me nose'n in. Still I can't help notice how sour some of ya seem t'wards us . . . . Lifers.
I spent 20 years in. I miss it. I miss bein' around the soldiers. I am very proud of those young men and women, then and now. And I am still proud of what I achieved. Oddly, I don't find myself "barking" orders at anyone in the V.A. system. (Since I am a 100% disabled . . . thank you Vietnam and a "couple" other choice assignments.) But even though I DO draw SOME of my retirement pay that I worked my butt off for 20 friggin' years for, and because our Congress, oh sometime around the end of WWI said, "Hey! These stupid jerks we send off to fight, get maimed and get blown to bits for us (and our silver spooned brats) don't deserve both their military retirement and any disability payments from us. So, let's make it so they have to give one up after a certain level. Like, let's start at 10% and suppress their retirement pay by the same amount as any disability payments they get. Then tell the dummies we're doing it so they don't get taxed on that amount." As if they were doing us a favor.
HA, freakin' HA! We knew better! Those same idiots who knew they were screwin' us, and did, proved they were lyin jerks and not worthy to lead this country when they really thought we were fools. That same bunch of fools, politicians, made laws protecting disabilities from taxes. So their lie about, "protective suppression" was just that, a useless, obvious lie.
Oh, another thing . . . all the retirement pay any retiree gets? With that and CHAMPUS, now called TRICARE, insurance for retirees, after our deductible is met, and the 80% of allowed charges are calculated, we can get exactly the same regular treatment at the V.A. hospitals, as any other veteran. Which is why ALL PRIOR ENLISTED MEN AND WOMEN will be seen arguing with the, "We're doing you a favor," attitudes of MOST federal government workers in the V.A. system. And yes fellas, I'm qualified to comment there too. Before my injuries finally took me out, I worked for 8+ years after I retired from the army and served as a medical missionary in the V.A. system as a Spinal Cord Injury Nurse, Psych Nurse, Med-Surg Nurse and Transitional Care Nurse. It was the fact male nurses are "work-horses" in the V.A. system that aggravated my combat injury(s) and finally knocked me out of the work force.
So, because I'm retired Army, a disabled vet now and, well, basically disagree with the assessment of lifers, does that mean I ain't welcome?
Respectfully, good naturedly, lookin' forward to bein' a part,
Doc V
Hey All,
I was lookin' for the "Introductions forum" the computer message told me about and it steered me here. Hope y'all don't mind me nose'n in. Still I can't help notice how sour some of ya seem t'wards us . . . . Lifers.
I spent 20 years in. I miss it. I miss bein' around the soldiers. I am very proud of those young men and women, then and now. And I am still proud of what I achieved. Oddly, I don't find myself "barking" orders at anyone in the V.A. system. (Since I am a 100% disabled . . . thank you Vietnam and a "couple" other choice assignments.) But even though I DO draw SOME of my retirement pay that I worked my butt off for 20 friggin' years for, and because our Congress, oh sometime around the end of WWI said, "Hey! These stupid jerks we send off to fight, get maimed and get blown to bits for us (and our silver spooned brats) don't deserve both their military retirement and any disability payments from us. So, let's make it so they have to give one up after a certain level. Like, let's start at 10% and suppress their retirement pay by the same amount as any disability payments they get. Then tell the dummies we're doing it so they don't get taxed on that amount." As if they were doing us a favor.
HA, freakin' HA! We knew better! Those same idiots who knew they were screwin' us, and did, proved they were lyin jerks and not worthy to lead this country when they really thought we were fools. That same bunch of fools, politicians, made laws protecting disabilities from taxes. So their lie about, "protective suppression" was just that, a useless, obvious lie.
Oh, another thing . . . all the retirement pay any retiree gets? With that and CHAMPUS, now called TRICARE, insurance for retirees, after our deductible is met, and the 80% of allowed charges are calculated, we can get exactly the same regular treatment at the V.A. hospitals, as any other veteran. Which is why ALL PRIOR ENLISTED MEN AND WOMEN will be seen arguing with the, "We're doing you a favor," attitudes of MOST federal government workers in the V.A. system. And yes fellas, I'm qualified to comment there too. Before my injuries finally took me out, I worked for 8+ years after I retired from the army and served as a medical missionary in the V.A. system as a Spinal Cord Injury Nurse, Psych Nurse, Med-Surg Nurse and Transitional Care Nurse. It was the fact male nurses are "work-horses" in the V.A. system that aggravated my combat injury(s) and finally knocked me out of the work force.
So, because I'm retired Army, a disabled vet now and, well, basically disagree with the assessment of lifers, does that mean I ain't welcome?
Respectfully, good naturedly, lookin' forward to bein' a part,
Doc V
You know, to "acheney42," I just knew there'd have to be some career soldier hating putz like you out there. I don't know what really happens to men like you in the military, but at some point boys y'all need to grow the heck up, put GI Joe, Rambo, the movie sergeants and officers and the little green army men away. Especially gentlemen if you sign the volunteer enlistment forms for any branch of service! And since there's been no draft since oh around '76 or so, and I was one of those who ushered in this "all volunteer force." Then basically, ain't a dog-gone one of y'all got one single griping leg to stand on. Neither do you have the ANY RIGHT TO CALL THE GREATEST A-HOLE in the military period - bar-none, anything at all! Gentlemen, whatever you got, you volunteered for. Finally, if you were (a) treated like crap due to bad leadership, you were taught all the way back in basic frigging training the "legal recourses" available to every service member to take for LEGITIMATE complaints and (b) did any of you agreeing with Mr. Cheney ever think to look in a mirror and ask, "What was MY responsibility in the way I was treated as a member of the military?" I venture to say the answer would be and still is a resounding, "No." Why?
It's much, much easier to call someone you don't know who has obviously stepped on your, "poor witto toesies," an, ". . . a**hole." And/or blame "them" and the military for the "misery," suffered after VOLUNTEERING to serve.
Roger? Out.
It's much, much easier to call someone you don't know who has obviously stepped on your, "poor witto toesies," an, ". . . a**hole." And/or blame "them" and the military for the "misery," suffered after VOLUNTEERING to serve.
Roger? Out.
Currently A Chief
Yo Chief!
Congratulations on being able to hang! What was/is your job? My grandfather was on the USS Dixie and Obannon in the South Pacific in WWII. He was moved to the Dixie after the Obannon was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine I believe is how the story went. He was a mechanics mate (?? does that sound right as a WWII rating?). I know he worked to repair the boilers, engines and small engines on board ship, as well as worked damage control. While on the Dixie he color traced using some sort of colored markers they had then, every steam line and fitting on the entire ship on a bulkhead from memory over a two day time period they were at sea, engaged. He said locked down as they were, below decks, they were quite bored, scared, and needed something to consume time. His was the diagram. He supposedly got some sort of recognition from the ships captain for his "ingenuity" at remembering the entire system.
Later, my father who served as a boatswains mate for 2 years between wars, toured the USS Dixie as she was anchored for a refit in Hawaii. He took pictures of the diagram, actually signed by my grandfather by the CO's direction, and sent them home to my mother. My aunt has maintained the pictures since Granddads and my mom's deaths.
My eldest son who is now a local police officer, was a US Navy Corpsman. He served six years at Pennsicola NAS, and with East Coast Fleet Marines on the USS Ponce' "gator freighter." Frank Jr. discharged from the Navy as a Nationally Certified Paramedic where he worked in one of the local hospitals as a dialysis tech until the local ambulance company had a paramedic opening. While at the ambulance company, he worked his way into an (let me call it for argument's sake) associate professor position at the Community College teaching Paramedicine. Now as a policeman, he is one of the marksmanship instructors, shoots competition for the department and teaches Police First Responder Medical Techniques. Frank also participated in Mr. Clinton's little party in Kosavo. He doesn't deal well with that incident. He lost six of his marines on what was supposed to be a peacekeeping mission. Seems they deployed the unit to the Northeastern border area and they began receiving DIRECT 122mm Soviet type artillery fire within 8 hours of taking the mission from another Marine unit. Frank was in a bunker on the line and had just looked to his north at the bunker adjacent in that direction when a round hit it and took the entire bunker out. Four men fight there. Two days later, a "routine peacekeeper's presence patrol," as he said they were called. The marines were supposed to basically meet-and-greet locals, make their presence known, the PR people were to offer assistance, Frank and the other corpsmen were to look for places to set up potential clinics for the UN and Navy medical personnel to come in and provide free medical assistance and the PR folks (and some volunteers) were handing out some of what they called immediate humanitarian aide. (Food packs, clothing bags, toiletries etc.) Just as they were leaving the village (actually a small town of about 6 to 8 thousand up right close to the border, the patrol was ambushed by, now get this, ambushed by MUSLIMS. The very people who they were in essence protecting because the big-bad Christians (as the American/World media was labeling the "bad guys") were in Kosavo killing, raping, beating, robbing and pretty much anything they wanted to do to the Muslims.
Oddly, when the Marines were finally able to respond to the attack, they killed Muslim fighters, NOT so-called Christians. (Frank said their Muslim, Kosavoan escort/interpreter ID'd the bodies for sure. And said these were the people who'd been coming across the border raiding and attacking ALL the villages in the area.) And it was here that the second two of Frank's marines were killed. As I said, he takes it pretty hard still today as they were held in strict secrecy and he is convinced their deaths were not counted as combat related deaths. He tells me how sensitive a subject that is, but as a former Combat Medic in the Army in Vietnam, I'm pretty well aware of that issue.
Which leads to me. I was a medic in the Army for my first few years. After Vietnam the Army was QUITE short of combat arms people. Recruiters were all but forcing enlistments into infantry, armor, cavalry, artillery and combat engineer job skills. By the time I was ready to re-enlist, I was no longer a Combat Medic. By natural career progression back then, by the time you'd been promoted to E-4 your MOS was automatically changed from 91A, Combat Field Medical Corpsman to 91B, Hospital - Field Medical Corpsman. With that job title I could now "officially" be assigned to a hospital, an independent troop medical clinic, again as a field medic to a line (operational) unit, hospital clinics, special medical assignments etc. The problem was promotions. The Army works on a promotion point system for E-4 to E-5 and E-5 to E-6. The max points being (depending on MOS) 1,000 to 1,200 for promotion. Points are awarded for awards and decorations, (including types of awards/decorations carry their own point value) variety of tours of duty, combat tours, military and civilian education, time in service and time in current grade. Then the soldier "sits" before a promotion board and is questioned on current events and leadership, general military knowledge (all of these go to leader/soldier skills) and the soldier's job skills including the job of the next pay-grade (i.e. sergeant or staff sergeant).
My points on the promotion list as a medic were 758 points. A really good score for that time. A medic's "cuttoff score" or what you had to have to get promoted was 989 with the max for medics set at 1100. Basically without another war, medics weren't getting promoted. Combat arms on the other hand ranged from 440 for an infantry sergeant to 501 for a combat engineer staff sergeant. AND, all those positions in every combat job needed filled. So the Army came up with C.A.R.P. or Combat Arms Reclassification Program. Well, by that time I had decided to stay 20, so I volunteered for infantry. I got my promotion, retraining in Bad To'lz, Germany and sent to Baumholder to 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry as my first assignment. I have to say Chief, I should have gone grunt from jump street! I spent my last 14 years in as an infantryman, and I LOVED IT!
Sorry to ramble on, but I asked a couple sort of prying questions right from the 'git here. So I wanted to be open and transparent with you . . .
Many blessings,
DocV52
Yo Chief!
Congratulations on being able to hang! What was/is your job? My grandfather was on the USS Dixie and Obannon in the South Pacific in WWII. He was moved to the Dixie after the Obannon was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine I believe is how the story went. He was a mechanics mate (?? does that sound right as a WWII rating?). I know he worked to repair the boilers, engines and small engines on board ship, as well as worked damage control. While on the Dixie he color traced using some sort of colored markers they had then, every steam line and fitting on the entire ship on a bulkhead from memory over a two day time period they were at sea, engaged. He said locked down as they were, below decks, they were quite bored, scared, and needed something to consume time. His was the diagram. He supposedly got some sort of recognition from the ships captain for his "ingenuity" at remembering the entire system.
Later, my father who served as a boatswains mate for 2 years between wars, toured the USS Dixie as she was anchored for a refit in Hawaii. He took pictures of the diagram, actually signed by my grandfather by the CO's direction, and sent them home to my mother. My aunt has maintained the pictures since Granddads and my mom's deaths.
My eldest son who is now a local police officer, was a US Navy Corpsman. He served six years at Pennsicola NAS, and with East Coast Fleet Marines on the USS Ponce' "gator freighter." Frank Jr. discharged from the Navy as a Nationally Certified Paramedic where he worked in one of the local hospitals as a dialysis tech until the local ambulance company had a paramedic opening. While at the ambulance company, he worked his way into an (let me call it for argument's sake) associate professor position at the Community College teaching Paramedicine. Now as a policeman, he is one of the marksmanship instructors, shoots competition for the department and teaches Police First Responder Medical Techniques. Frank also participated in Mr. Clinton's little party in Kosavo. He doesn't deal well with that incident. He lost six of his marines on what was supposed to be a peacekeeping mission. Seems they deployed the unit to the Northeastern border area and they began receiving DIRECT 122mm Soviet type artillery fire within 8 hours of taking the mission from another Marine unit. Frank was in a bunker on the line and had just looked to his north at the bunker adjacent in that direction when a round hit it and took the entire bunker out. Four men fight there. Two days later, a "routine peacekeeper's presence patrol," as he said they were called. The marines were supposed to basically meet-and-greet locals, make their presence known, the PR people were to offer assistance, Frank and the other corpsmen were to look for places to set up potential clinics for the UN and Navy medical personnel to come in and provide free medical assistance and the PR folks (and some volunteers) were handing out some of what they called immediate humanitarian aide. (Food packs, clothing bags, toiletries etc.) Just as they were leaving the village (actually a small town of about 6 to 8 thousand up right close to the border, the patrol was ambushed by, now get this, ambushed by MUSLIMS. The very people who they were in essence protecting because the big-bad Christians (as the American/World media was labeling the "bad guys") were in Kosavo killing, raping, beating, robbing and pretty much anything they wanted to do to the Muslims.
Oddly, when the Marines were finally able to respond to the attack, they killed Muslim fighters, NOT so-called Christians. (Frank said their Muslim, Kosavoan escort/interpreter ID'd the bodies for sure. And said these were the people who'd been coming across the border raiding and attacking ALL the villages in the area.) And it was here that the second two of Frank's marines were killed. As I said, he takes it pretty hard still today as they were held in strict secrecy and he is convinced their deaths were not counted as combat related deaths. He tells me how sensitive a subject that is, but as a former Combat Medic in the Army in Vietnam, I'm pretty well aware of that issue.
Which leads to me. I was a medic in the Army for my first few years. After Vietnam the Army was QUITE short of combat arms people. Recruiters were all but forcing enlistments into infantry, armor, cavalry, artillery and combat engineer job skills. By the time I was ready to re-enlist, I was no longer a Combat Medic. By natural career progression back then, by the time you'd been promoted to E-4 your MOS was automatically changed from 91A, Combat Field Medical Corpsman to 91B, Hospital - Field Medical Corpsman. With that job title I could now "officially" be assigned to a hospital, an independent troop medical clinic, again as a field medic to a line (operational) unit, hospital clinics, special medical assignments etc. The problem was promotions. The Army works on a promotion point system for E-4 to E-5 and E-5 to E-6. The max points being (depending on MOS) 1,000 to 1,200 for promotion. Points are awarded for awards and decorations, (including types of awards/decorations carry their own point value) variety of tours of duty, combat tours, military and civilian education, time in service and time in current grade. Then the soldier "sits" before a promotion board and is questioned on current events and leadership, general military knowledge (all of these go to leader/soldier skills) and the soldier's job skills including the job of the next pay-grade (i.e. sergeant or staff sergeant).
My points on the promotion list as a medic were 758 points. A really good score for that time. A medic's "cuttoff score" or what you had to have to get promoted was 989 with the max for medics set at 1100. Basically without another war, medics weren't getting promoted. Combat arms on the other hand ranged from 440 for an infantry sergeant to 501 for a combat engineer staff sergeant. AND, all those positions in every combat job needed filled. So the Army came up with C.A.R.P. or Combat Arms Reclassification Program. Well, by that time I had decided to stay 20, so I volunteered for infantry. I got my promotion, retraining in Bad To'lz, Germany and sent to Baumholder to 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry as my first assignment. I have to say Chief, I should have gone grunt from jump street! I spent my last 14 years in as an infantryman, and I LOVED IT!
Sorry to ramble on, but I asked a couple sort of prying questions right from the 'git here. So I wanted to be open and transparent with you . . .
Many blessings,
DocV52
wjh2657
New member
I came from a little town in Ohio (pop.486) and the Corps was my way out. my first four years were better than most because I went to Southeast Asia after two years of schools and ended up in a small team environment. That meant less hassles from senior NCOs and Officers. By the time I got back after three years "in country" I was a Sergeant and life was good. I know not everybody had a wonderful stay, but my thirty years in the Corps was exciting (6 years in Nam and 4 combat MAUs) and at the same time rewarding, with many friendships formed and decent treatment by my Officers and fellow NCOs. I think a lot of a military career is your attitude and your willingness to accept challenges. The Corps formed me and I find that just about everybody around me is happy with the product.
