My other son

Red Leg

My youngest son graduated basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia on 9 August. He is in a program called "delayed entry", where those who are 17 years old can complete basic training and then go on to advanced training after they graduate high school. He wants to be a tanker but has transferred to Bradley AFVs because the tank slots are filled right now. Maybe he can transfer to M1s later. He will graduate high school next summer.

We drove to Fort Benning (about 825 miles/1328km from our house) . The first day he could leave the base with us, so we went to where he wanted to go (mainly for non-Army food and just driving around). The second day was graduation day and it was great. It opened with Rangers coming out of the forest in front of us, setting off explosives and attacking the parade field and then displaying their weapons. Then the two graduating companies marched passed us with the Fort Benning band playing. All of the soldiers looked great. We have a graduation DVD made by the base that features the three of us three times.

We had a tour inside a new Striker AFV and we saw our position at the base on a computer/TV screen via satellite link. The vehicle is in constant satellite visual contact with all other US combat vehicles on the battle field so they can coordinate battles together. Aircraft can also see the same thing that the men on the ground are seeing. The gun on top (.50 cal) can be remote controlled or fired outside by the commander. It has a large lens television camera mounted below the gun and can switch to infrared for night fighting. They have RPG protection on the outside. The infantry version carries a squad of men plus the crew. The squad leader has his own TV screen to see what is happening in the battle before his men exit the Striker. Every allied and enemy unit and vehicle is shown, either on a map, or in real-time TV. Every US vehicle and ground unit knows what all of the others are doing, including, what the enemy is doing. There are also versions with a 105mm gun, (2) 120mm mortars, a command vehicle and a medical vehicle. All are rigged for NBC enviroments. It is the ultimate SUV.

My son got to shoot everything the infantry has, including, the old M-79 grenade launcher. They shot Glock .45 pistols. He said the Army is going back to the .45. He fired AT-4 anti-tank rockets, M-4 & M-16 rifles, .50 cal Browning, M-240 & M-249 machineguns, claymore mines, tossed grenades, and survived one of the hotest places on earth during summer. By 06:30 it was 85F/29C when we were there. It got to 105F/41C in the afternoon, with 85% humidity and no wind. You could smell the water in the air and our clothes were soaked in a few minutes after leaving a building. Fort Benning is where "The Green Berets" was filmed, and probably other movies. Still, it is very beautiful with tall pine trees and hanging moss on 200 year old oak trees. There was lots of fighting in that area during our Civil War and being there was a step back in time when away from any structures. I would love to take a Jeep all over that place. It is much bigger than the city of Columbia next to it.

The Infantry Museum is really nice. It has things from the American Revolution to Iraq. There are uniform items of Omar Bradley and well known commanders and heroes of the 1st Infantry Division from WWI to now; fancy guns of Saddam Hussein and famous Nazis; WWII American, German and Russian combat displays; D-Day items; a very rare Jeep (one of only two proto-type Ford Jeeps made in January 1942; WWII Japanese; WWI British, American, French & German; American Civil War; Spanish-American War; cannons, tanks and captured enemy small and heavy weapons........everything. It was a good trip and my son has changed for the better.

A new thing has happened with the Army. They will only have one dress uniform: Dress Blues by 2009. It was decided that it is too expensive for soldiers to have two or three types of dress uniforms. (Now that was a stroke of genius.) Blue was first mandated in 1779. They will look good and they won't be wearing those shitty berets with Class-As. The traditional service hat with the US emblem will be worn again. If you look back to the US military before the 20th Century, they looked great! It has embarrassed me seeing American soldiers standing with those of other countries and our's have those stupid berets while the others have proper hats with their national emblems on them. General Shinseki thought that one up and gave the Ranger beret to everyone except the Rangers. That was while Clinton was running things.

But, my favorite is the "Pinks & Greens" worn by officers during WWII. That was a sharp uniform.

Red Leg

My boy is now in South Korea about 14 miles from North Korea. He went to Fort Knox for armor training and was here for Thanks Giving. For those of you who do not know what Thanks Giving is, it is for the first dinner between the Indians and colonists because the colonists were starving and the Indians brought them food. He really likes the Army because they let him shoot guns and drive heavy vehicles. Me to. It is very wet and cold there and he does not like cold. But, he asked for Korea, so there he is. He said he wants to get a college degree and become an officer and then transfer to artillery.

Gość

Wow, Korea...that's so far away. It's good your son likes being in the Army and cold is something he'll probably get used to Smile

Wish him good luck with a degree.
Actually, I was reading about the Thanks Giving yesterday because I prepare myself for a kind of competition...Seems that I know more about the history of the USA than my own country...hmm.. Smile

Thanks for sharing !

Emi.

Red Leg

Thanks, Emi. He could have gone to Germany as a foreign station, but wanted Korea because that is where my dad went in 1951. I think the stories about that war got him stirred up. I would have rather faced Germans in 1944 than the communist hordes my dad fought. They were suicidal like Imperial Japanese and the muslims of today. Imagine thousands of fanatics charging into point-blank cannon, tank, and machinegun fire, blowing bugles and screaming. The 105mm artillery was firing canister rounds like shotguns and they kept coming. My dad said it was like a mad ant pile as they swarmed with bayonets fixed, over hills and towards the Americans. Thousands of communists were killed in each attacking wave. At least the Germans knew when to give up during a losing battle. Now my son is in the 2nd Infantry Division which fought the Germans and the communists. Hopefully, he won't have to repeat my dad's ordeal, or that of my dad's uncle who was in the 82nd Airborne and dropped into a French town called St. Mere Eglise early in the morning of June 6, 1944.

past

Great Story. And Korea the South part is exotic but "normal" world . the North it's ....

Gość

Hmm yeh....going to war to the place where his ancestors fought sounds like a good reason to choose Korea. You're right about the Germans....if I had to choose I'd rather fight with them than the Russians or Japanese...or later the Vietnamese. Japanese brutality was horrifying. Germans wouldn't even do the stuff that Japanese did for example in Kokoda or Flags of Our Fathers. I feel so bad for anyone who has to go through was Iggy did (by the way he was of Polish descent I think..). Though they don't say in the movie it's in the book and I've read that part. Well, Japan also didn't sign the Geneva Convention but even if they had I don't think it would have made a difference. They still would have commited war crimes (these medical experiments and tortures I've read about were horrible). And Germany was the first country to sign the Geneva Convention in 1929 and it didn't make a difference to them...I mean the Holocaust for example. But the only good thing about them is that they knew when to give up, as you said. And the Japenese fought till the end for their emperor...it was stupid:/

Red Leg

Fortunately there is no official war in Korea. I volunteered for Vietnam but was told by the recruiter there were no more troops being sent. That was the first time I knew of the American part of that war coming to an end. I wanted to be in Vietnam. I wanted to fight the communists because they wanted to take over the world and make us their slaves. Now we will have a communist who will become president. WTF?! It's a crazy planet.

PiotrekLt

That's right Rick ,that's right ...

Gość

PiotrekLt

Obama is first so liberal-"leftwinger" president in history of USA ! Problem is that peoples are afried of changing cours from traditional american conservative politic to more "European" democratinc-socialism.In this way Obama can look as a comunist -red .

Gość

Yeah that`s true and I understand that people with republican or libertarian beliefs can feel concerned about it, but calling him communist seems like a little semantic misuse to me

Unfortunately for some people the main problem with Obama being president is not only a matter of his liberalism (Wasn`t F.D. Roosevelt far more liberal/socialistic?)......
And that`s sad conclusion.

But let`s drop it. The topic was about far more interesting things than politics

PiotrekLt

Yes F.D Roosevelt reforms was more socialistic then any other. But another danger (meaby it is not a good word) with Obama is that he was growing in enviroment far mor libaral or even anarchist then mr Roosevelt! But new gabinet sims to be not so provocative and let's hope tht USA will not change their politic's so rapidly.
What we was writing about? Oh yes Your son, Rick Smile

Red Leg

So anyway, I'm planning an invasion of Russia on June 22. Who want's to come along? No, wait, that didn't work the last time it was tried.

Ok, we're going to Mars. We'll show the Red rovers a thing or six!

My son said he got a digital camcorder, so hopefully he will burn some DVDs and send them to me.

About that uncle who was in the 82nd, he kept his camouflaged parachute from Operation Market Garden. Years later, he cut it into little squares and stapled them to cards that told about the battle and gave them to school kids when he would visit for WWII history. I have one. His name was Bob Stallbories and he made every 82nd Airborne jump of WWII. He said that in the movie 'The Longest Day' he saw the real guy who floated into the burning church and blew up when his grenades exploded. He also said that Red Button's charactor was hanging from a roof but that he wasn't shot in the foot and survived the battle. Bob was one of the guys who landed in the dark in St. Mere Eglise and then fought their way to the center of town and then held the road for the advancing American forces. It's amazing he wasn't wounded or killed with all he went through.

Sgt.L

Hi
You wrought that “He made every 82nd Airborne jump of WWII.”
Did he landed at Sicily?
Maybe mention something about that?

Red Leg

He jumped into the four major landing areas for the 82nd: Sicily, Salerno, Normandy, and Holland. As for the other stories, my dad knew them but he's not around anymore and he only told me in detail about the Normandy jump into St. Mere Eglise and the battle they fought. I suppose Bob's children would know. Maybe I can find out. I would love to have some pictures of him back then. He probably had pictures during his time in North Africa, England, and Europe.