frustrated with leaving the army..and brothers b-day

[shoeless_wonder 0]

I never understood why it take 3 days to in-process into the army, but MONTHS to get out! Its so stupid. AND there is virtually no help with the clearing process. Oh how I loath the way certain things are done in the military.. In all my time in the military, I dont think I have been this consistently frustrated as I have been these last few weeks.. BUT, there is light at the end of this tunnel. Friday is my last day.. Than it is on to Texas, just in time for my brothers birthday and Christmas with my family..

Speaking of which, my brother is coming to Texas for his birthday-the 23rd. He is leaving the Saturday after New Years.. I havent seen him in several years so I want to do something special for his birthday this year. I was thinking about buying him a tandem jump, but its probably going to be super cold, and while I still jump in the cold, I want his first time to be as enjoyable as possible. SO, besides skydiving, anybody have suggestions for a gift for him? He will be 25, and pretty much down for anything awesome.. We're going to be in the WACO, TX area, but I am more than willing to travel.. Any ideas?

What is the point of life, if you don't live it?
To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around.

[wmw999 2,116]

An experience is an awesome gift. If you haven't seen him in awhile and you're not sure about a jump, one thing you can do in the general area is to have a weekend camping trip at Enchanted Rock. It's state park land, so beer has to be kept in the tent. It's beautiful there, and camping and hiking can give you stuff to do. It's beautiful, hiking is great, the local town (Fredericksburg) has a wonderful WW2 Navy museum.

Just a thought.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[regulator 0]

I bought my son in law a tandem a few years back at spaceland. He loved it. Is skydive san marcos close enough?

oh yeah...spc kirk 31D/F

Kaiserslautern, DE
Fort Polk, LA

1992-96

[shoeless_wonder 0]

Wendy-That is a fantastic idea! Thank you. He'll love that.

regulator

I bought my son in law a tandem a few years back at spaceland. He loved it. Is skydive san marcos close enough?

oh yeah...spc kirk 31D/F

Kaiserslautern, DE
Fort Polk, LA

1992-96

I would be going to Skydive Temple. He is all about it, and he would do it, but like I said, I'm thinking about temperature. Its probably going to be really cold. Might be a summer adventure if the temperature isnt good.. If it is, we're doing it..

Spc. Mattox, 82nd ABN DIV
Fort Bragg, NC

What is the point of life, if you don't live it?
To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around.

[rushmc 18]

Thank you for your service!

Marc

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[shoeless_wonder 0]

rushmc

Thank you for your service!

Marc

I love your signature by the way.. it is very true..

What is the point of life, if you don't live it?
To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around.

[lawrocket 3]

Ft. Polk? What a shithole. I spent 10 days at that place and figured the Hanoi Hilton would be nicer...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[freethefly 6]

They do move slow when it comes to letting ya go. My last day in the Navy was Feb 12th 1984. We were in Maui. Instead of letting me go while there and fly back to Dago, they made me stay on the ship until it got back. 30 days at sea as a civilian. Wasn't to bad. I had some good bud to make it bearable.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[shoeless_wonder 0]

freethefly

I had some good bud to make it bearable.

That always helps..

What is the point of life, if you don't live it?
To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around.

[freethefly 6]

shoeless_wonder

*** I had some good bud to make it bearable.

That always helps..

That it did although, a few more days in Maui would had been better. The Navy just wouldn't foot the bill for a hotel and to fly me back to San Diego. They had no problem flying me there and giving me first class lodging at RTC when I joined

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[shoeless_wonder 0]

freethefly

That it did although, a few more days in Maui would had been better. The Navy just wouldn't foot the bill for a hotel and to fly me back to San Diego. They had no problem flying me there and giving me first class lodging at RTC when I joined

Well of course not. When I joined, I got the same treatment.. Now I consider myself lucky if my chowhall is open on the weekend..
Oh how the things change..

What is the point of life, if you don't live it?
To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around.

[steve1 5]

lawrocket

Ft. Polk? What a shithole. I spent 10 days at that place and figured the Hanoi Hilton would be nicer...

I spent about five months at Ft. Polk going through basic and infantry training. There's a reason they call it the ass-hole of the United States. That was back in 1969 and 1970. Infantry training was preparation for Nam. They called it Tiger Land. No fun at all!

You'd think that Louisiana would be a warm place. It rained most of the winter. I'm from Montana and thought I was used to cold, but believe me it got cold down there. Those unheated WWII barracks were no fun either.

Most all of our drill sargents and many trainees were black. There were race riots going on during that time. It wasn't much fun to be in training then.

And then you think you are out.....but no. You are still on call. There were Vietnam Vets who were told they had to go to National Guard drills and summer camps for a year after. Back then you were on call up until you were about 50 years old. In a National emergency they could call you back up.

[shoeless_wonder 0]

steve1

I spent about five months at Ft. Polk going through basic and infantry training. There's a reason they call it the ass-hole of the United States. That was back in 1969 and 1970. Infantry training was preparation for Nam. They called it Tiger Land. No fun at all!

Tiger Land.. My god, I havent heard it called that in a long time! And the army is certainly a different place these days than it used to be..
As for Ft. Polk... I have lots of memories of that place.. And yeah, I never want to go back..

What is the point of life, if you don't live it?
To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around.

[regulator 0]

ironically there is a movie called tigerland about fort polk. It has got to be the first movie I have ever seen collin ferrell in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LABt1rwmIgg

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

Hi Iago,

Quote

He said he hand walked his paperwork everywhere it needed to go and sat there in the office until it was signed.

When I was getting out of the Air Force I took the paperwork back to my room and started signing things.

Didn't take long at all.



JerryBaumchen

PS) Do you really think somebody actually checks on that stuff?

[steve1 5]

I remember classes where you had to sign your name. They didn't want anyone ghosting out. I'd sometimes sign in as General Westmooreland. You did things like that to keep your sanity.

One time we were supposed to go wash the generals car. They sent three of us to get the job done. This car had the officers rank on the side of it. We were all lowly E-4's at the time. We thought we'd have some fun. So while one guy drove, the other two rode in the back. Whenever anyone saw that car they'd snap to attention and salute us. With a stuck up look on our face we'd salute back. We drove all over doing that. It was the most fun that I'd had all year......

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

When I was getting out of the Air Force I took the paperwork back to my room and started signing things. Didn't take long at all.

No shit. Bet I could find a JAG guy who'd say you're still in and have been UA for the past 40 years.
Off to Canada, boy.

[Rick 67]

Iago

I remember Blue talking about his time getting got of the Army. He said he hand walked his paperwork everywhere it needed to go and sat there in the office until it was signed.

He never just turned it in and waited.

yeah hand walking my paperwork through, needed a signature from a certain Senior Chief "I'm not signing this till you get a haircut".

" Chief I am being separated today"


" Not if I don't sign this"

I got the haircut

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[shoeless_wonder 0]

Rick

***I remember Blue talking about his time getting got of the Army. He said he hand walked his paperwork everywhere it needed to go and sat there in the office until it was signed.

He never just turned it in and waited.

yeah hand walking my paperwork through, needed a signature from a certain Senior Chief "I'm not signing this till you get a haircut".

" Chief I am being separated today"


" Not if I don't sign this"

I got the haircut

Thankfully they have been more understanding with me than that. Lol. It has been one heck of a pain in my butt. But Im done tomorrow. I just got to do a few things than get my DD214.

What is the point of life, if you don't live it?
To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around.

[steve1 5]

Don't ever lose that DD214. You'll need it later. I even got an extra year of retirement by keeping mine. The VA might need to see it for benefits. I even used mine to get a concealed carry permit. It might be next to impossible to get another if you lose it.

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

Hi Andy,

Quote

have been UA for the past 40 years.

What the H*** is UA? So I'm thinking you have never been in. It was called AWOL.

And it has been 50 yrs, just a month ago. YEE-HAW



JerryBaumchen

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

What the H*** is UA?

Sorry, USMC, USN & USCG usually call it UA, while US Army & USAF generally call it AWOL.

http://www.militarylawyers.com/Unauthorized-Absence.html

Quote

Unauthorized Absence

Unauthorized Absence (UA) or Absence Without Leave (AWOL) is one of the most common offenses under the UCMJ. Military prosecutors charge this misconduct under UCMJ Article 86.

Article 86 provides:

Any member of the armed forces who, without authority:


(1) fails to go to his appointed place of duty at the time prescribed;

(2) goes from that place; or

(3) absents himself or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty at which he is required to be at the time prescribed; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

[freethefly 6]

JerryBaumchen

Hi Andy,

Quote

have been UA for the past 40 years.

What the H*** is UA? So I'm thinking you have never been in. It was called AWOL.

And it has been 50 yrs, just a month ago. YEE-HAW



JerryBaumchen

AWOL for 50 years? Probably get a month of restricted to base, latrine duty and, forfeiture of one month of pay.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young