Raiders Army
02-21-2007, 08:11 PM
Today I went to a lunch honoring CW5 Bob Rangrel's retirement. Why was this significant? Well, the guy is 58 years old and has been in the Army for over 40 years. He's the last Vietnam draftee on Active Duty who has had continuous military service (we also had an attendee today who was drafted by the Army before Bob, but had a break in service of about two years). This guy was drafted January 1967. It was pretty funny because I sat with a bunch of retired warrant officers and they were talking about their days as soldiers and going out to Dyer Street (a street just outside Ft. Bliss in El Paso) back in 1972 and 1974. I told them that I was born in 1972.
Anyhow, Bob is a great guy and has given a lifetime of service to our country. I'll probably retire in 8 more years at 20 years of service and I couldn't imagine getting up and doing PT for over 40 years. He's such a dedicated soldier that he's participating in a Joint exercise with us next month while he's on retirement leave. He was very brief in his comments and focused more on his future than his past. When I congratulated him, he told me that he'd give me a call tomorrow on the exercise we're doing next month instead of trying to milk the moment. That's the kind of guy he is. Anyhow, I just wanted to share this with y'all.
Anyhow, Bob is a great guy and has given a lifetime of service to our country. I'll probably retire in 8 more years at 20 years of service and I couldn't imagine getting up and doing PT for over 40 years. He's such a dedicated soldier that he's participating in a Joint exercise with us next month while he's on retirement leave. He was very brief in his comments and focused more on his future than his past. When I congratulated him, he told me that he'd give me a call tomorrow on the exercise we're doing next month instead of trying to milk the moment. That's the kind of guy he is. Anyhow, I just wanted to share this with y'all.