a vivid image.

I worked with a man close to your age I think he was in the 82nd. Still lives here in NC.

I wish i was more like you Duncanpup. I wake up in the middle of the night but am never doing anything productive, just looking at videos, reading DU, and playing games on the iPad.

there was a rat in my apartment when my kids were young it nearly drove me out of my mind. the management didn't believe it. when my son and i actually saw it with our eyes I called them nearly hysterical and they finally got someone out to take care of it. ended up dying in the wall, smelled gawdawful and then came the flies.

my house was never as clean as it was during that time. my knees will not allow me to do all the down on the floor scrubbing I did through the nights when we had a rat. I think I'd get PTSD if i was bitten by one. i hate rats

2nd Lt. L was the character I remember most vividly. Great guy who cared about us enlisted men. Fresh outta College ROTC. No particular story I wish to share at this time as they all would take too long to tell. But even with his obvious newness I would have followed him into hell because I KNEW he had our backs. I hope he kept it that way too. Great guy. Had some senior NCO's I felt the same way about and some I wouldn't follow to the landfill.

I was a field artillery 2LT at the time and we were burning unused powder increments in the burn pit, which was unusual since we normally turned in the unused powder. Anyway, the chaplain wanted to take a look so he drove up in his jeep (we had humvees at the time but not all elements of the battalion had them) and parked about 50 meters from the burnpit. The safety officer told him he should move the jeep farther away but the flames and heat were too intense and the so plastic windows of the jeep melted down.

The moral of the story for us was to post more guards at checkpoints around the burn pit. I'm glad I wasn't the safety officer on that one.

Short, ugly, chinless bastard. Looked like he should have been working a basement desk in 'Office Space'. Utterly charmless.

He had the air of someone who had been called a loser his whole life, and was determined to prove everyone wrong. He made E-7 at a relatively young age, and was ticking off all the boxes on the climb to Sergeant Major; staff NCO, training NCO, drill sergeant, etc. His accomplishments didn't soften his abrasive edges, or give him insight into the thoughts and emotions of other people.

He tried, without much success, to affect an air of 'magnanimous superior bestowing largesse on his subordinates'. But he was too touchy, and hypervigilant to possible insults or derision to ever be truly genial.

I remember he offered me something once; I can't remember; a soda, piece of gum or candy, something like that. I didn't want it and responded with a polite "No, thank you." He just about came unglued, calling me rude and thoughtless, and suggesting I learn the particulars of getting along with people. I remember thinking how emotionally immature that made him seem. If you offer someone a choice, you do not have the right to be offended if they make the choice you didn't want them to.

Six months working for that hammerhead. Then he rotated back to the States. I only saw him once more. After Germany, I was re-assigned to a tank company on Fort Knox, and was re-visiting my old training grounds on a day off once, when I saw him, in the Smokey Bear hat of a drill sergeant, Jody-calling a marching platoon of tanker trainees.

He saw me, but I don't know if he recognized me.

I've never forgotten that asshole, even though I've tried pretty hard to.

I so understand you in reading this lifer NCO as in no chance outside in civilian world.
I’m up heading to M.E.P.’s this morning I’m gonna take physical space force is now taking prior service. I’m looking at lawn garden MOS.
I did ok on my ASVAB our friend Dash one bravo beat me out he qualified for the MOS of engine room coal shoveler to power the space ships I’m kind of being petty and jealous some guys get all the glory.