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Duncanpup

(15,651 posts)
Sat Jul 5, 2025, 07:00 AM Jul 2025

The first time i realized. Trickledown economics bit me in the ass. [View all]

Usual warning 59 year old man’s dyslexic bad punctuation ramble on back patio having morning coffee.
I’m still pissed over this bill that was passed total economic cruelty and my mind is on overdrive.
Now i do not take my time in service seriously it doesn’t define who i am i was kid and i was lucky 84-87 all peace time.

So my first actual lesson on Reagan’s fuckery it is 1984 typical hot ass day down at Fort Benning I’m 18 doing O.S.U.T. Infantry over in Harmony church.

The platoon is being punished for some sin that we committed as was the usual . And I’ll say this you’re exposed to the finest N.C.O.’s the army has infantry Drill Sergeants.

And Benning wasn’t hard for me the physical part it is all mental. It is like summer camp yet you have these guys with Smokey the Bear hats brown rounds trying to fuck up your day and they will.

Because it is their job the infantry drills to vet you to teach you to become a dumb ass private and barely function once you hit your first rifle platoon it is all a science.

To describe punishment it is all physical as in P.T. to describe mountain climbers or push ups low crawl high crawl three to five second rush or sit ups. So in this one moment to the poles for punishment.

Yea telephone poles your platoon each squad curling lifting these poles over your heads. D.I. Screaming the one to four count or hold with the poles elevated over our skulls good times sarcasm people.

Next thing I’m out on the ground I’m heat casualty so through this only time i dropped i ended up at this troop medical over this. And they determined I had bronchitis gave me antibiotics and went back to training platoon.

As i was laying in this medical bed getting loaded with I.V.to hydrate sitting next to me was my platoon senior drill. As he drove me in pickup to troop med clinic.
And he asked me 412 referring to my roster number on my helmet cover that we always wore. He asked why did you join my army.

And i replied typical answer stock answers several as in i really didn’t want to converse with this man. As to me the drills were not types you wanted to talk with on a one to one. Yet one answer i gave was the G.I. bill.

And this Drill informed me you don’t have the G.I. Bill you have V.E.A.P. And he said i gather that your recruiter did not explain this as he was taking a drag off his kool menthol cigarette.

And in the only heart to heart one on one i ever had with an infantry drill he explained VEAP to me. And lying in that bed getting hydrated from I.V. I was thinking FUCK ME.

Yet in the ride back in that 1980’s Chevrolet army pickup he said to me.
412 you have 48 hours of light duty you’ll be expected to make each formation and chow I’ll allow you to rest on your bunk during the daytime and in morning and before lights out.
You will report to me for your antibiotic at my office then after two days you’ll be back to dedicating your mind asshole and body to training.

And that evening at chow formation he was giving the platoon a speech as they were being punished front leaning rest position NOW! You shits are being punished.

Over 412 not letting the Drills know that he was sick.
Remember all of us were wanting to stay off of these men’s radar. As I stood there and my platoon was being taught that lesson when one fucks up you all fuck up.

Drills screaming you can’t thank 412 for this and if any of you are sick you lets us your drills know. No flak from fellow trainees we all knew it was part of the program.

We all paid for our sins whether individual sin or platoon transgressions in the holy communion of how dare you as a low scum civilian think you are worthy of the blue infantry cord.

It was just a head game and truly that really didn’t work me mentally. You thinking they can’t kill us and they feed us decent chow, it’s all in what you make of it.

And yet over these last forty one years trickledown economics or trucking union trucking deregulation has bit me in my white ass in that i rode two major union carriers down gone out of business because of Raygun.

2026 is coming will have elections Trumpig admin cannot stop midterms. Sure they’re gonna try once they see in that people are pissed yet midterms are ran by each state.

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