Military Role Call

[scooper]

The post by ardent enthusiast upon his shipping out got me to thinking. If I am correct, there are a number of you out there who are currently serving our country. I am not a member of the military but I come from a family of vets and I have utmost respect for what you guys do.

The changing technology and methods of war seem to have changed the emphasis from the quantity of individuals in the U.S. armed forces to the quality of individuals. The few of you should take a great level of pride in that.

I won't get into politics about pros/cons of war or whether or not we should invade Iraq. Regardless of anybody's position on such topics, each of us owes a great deal of gratitude to those of you who put yourselves in harm's way to protect us and even our slightest of rights, such as arguing over "hot babes" on an internet message board. We sit in comfort because of you.

So here is your invitation to stand up here in our little community and be recognized. If you are currently serving in the armed forces, let us know. Or even if you have served in the past. It will give the rest of us FOFCer's something to be proud of. If nothing else, it will give us specific names to pray for in the event of conflict.

[Noble_Platypus]

I spent 6 years in the navy. 2 years in school for nuclear power and 4 years aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman as a machinist mate/engineering laboratory technition. I performed chemistry analysis and radiological surveys in the reactor plant, as well as operating the mechanical equipment in the engineroom.

[Dutch]

USAF and thanks!

[tucker342]

I may be against the war, but that doesn't mean I don't have the utmost respect for the people that serve our country. I salute you guys for fighting for our rights.

[cincyreds]

This is in honor of my brother who has been serving in the Army for 14 years now. He is a warrant officer and works with the Patroit missle systems.

He is currently in Kuwait ready to defend!

I pray for his safety each day.

To my brother and all of you who serve.

(Salute)

[damnMikeBrown]

I was a 19-D (Cav Scout) in the Guard. Also trained as a 88-k(don't ask) initially, as a Reserve. Went through about 1/2 of OCS, then made the bonehead decision of my life & left. Took a job in Hawaii, that ended up falling through. Hey, at least I got to live in Hawaii for a year though :)

Started paperwork to re-up last year, but stopped short. Still think of it often though. When I watch the news, I think, "if anything should happen, I should be there".

[ACStrider]

I can't serve because of my knee, but I wanted to say you all have my support. God bless you all, keep you safe, and bring you home quickly!

[CamEdwards]

Dutch, Ardent, and all the rest of you active (and retired) military..

Thank you. Thank you for defending my wife, my daughter, my two sons, my mom, my dad, my brother and sister and their families, and me. Thank you for defending the freedoms that I enjoy every day.

I mentioned in one other post earlier today that the company I work for (ClearChannel) put together a Rally for America in Oklahoma City last night. At least 6,000 people showed up to support the troops. It was literally a case of us running out of room, or I'm sure we would have had more.

We sang the Star Spangled Banner, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, we listened to speakers ranging from our governor to the head of the state's Order of the Purple Heart. Most importantly, we said thank you.

You haven't lived until you've seen 40 or 50 veterans standing in front of 6,000 people who are chanting "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I talked to one vet after the rally and he said "More people thanked me individually tonight than I've had thank me in the whole time I've been back from Vietnam."

We don't take the time to thank you guys often enough. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you've done, are doing, and will do in the future.

[duckman]

I'm currently stationed at Tinker AFB, OK. I'm currently undeployable right now because of my problem with my leg. So I'm currently training my new airmen to work our particular systems.

Thanks everyone for their support for your US military!

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by damnMikeBrown
then made the bonehead decision of my life

You did name yourself after Mike Brown afterall. ;)

Seriously, thanks again to those of you willing to protect our lives and liberties, including those of people that love to criticize what you do.

[The_herd]

Currently been in the Army 5+ years.

[RawIsDan]

Did my 12 years in the Navy, spent 7 1/2 months at sea during the first go round with Saddam, and saw alot of great things while I was in.

However, enjoying my life as a civi, and my permanent duty station now is the USS Backyard. :D

[Fritz]

RawIsDan - You left 8 Years from halfpay?

[RawIsDan]

Yeah, being an Army brat I have been on the move since I was about 5, every two to 4 years we were in a different place. After I got married and had my daughter I decided not to put her through that.

The clincher was when they merged my rate DP's (working with computers/mainframes) with RM's. Who did nothing but tinker with communications circuits and process message traffic.

Here's a funny nugget, people who flunked out of cooking school when I was there, were often routed into the RM field. Needless to say they were not the brightest of the bright.

No offense to you prior RM's out there. :p

[Leonidas]

Thanks guys for all the support.

12 years in the USAF.

[Fritz]

Originally posted by RawIsDan

Here's a funny nugget, people who flunked out of cooking school when I was there, were often routed into the RM field. Needless to say they were not the brightest of the bright.

No offense to you prior RM's out there.

Our (former) RMs are completely worthless as IT people.

[Tasan]

I was an Army brat for the first 15 years of my life, spending 10 of it in Germany. My dad is a 20 year service retiree and served a tour in Vietnam. He was an MP for most of it, except for the one tour in Germany where they needed a motor pool sergeant, and he was the only available sergeant that knew anything about running a mechanics shop (his parents owned a garage for a while). My dad did everything short of forbidding me from serving, although if I would have, he would have been behind me 100%. I chose civilian life, though if duty ever called, I'd be more than willing to stand and serve. My dad has only recently opened up to me about his experiences in Vietnam, and what he's told me makes me glad there are men like him defending our country and its interests. A great big thanks to all of you that read this board that are serving, or have in the past.

[MizzouRah]

USMC - 4 years active, 2 years inactive

Joined fresh out of High School in 1989, achived the rank of Corporal, and fought in Operation Desert Storm. Although I have been out for almost 10 years (damn where does the time go?), I am still proud to fly the flag outside!

I pray everyone returns safe and sound and thank you for serving our country!

Ooh-Rah!


Todd

[maxwarrior]

19 Years in the USAF. Spent 8 months in the desert kicking Saddams butt the first time. Already been deployed for Operation Enduring Freedom. I've got the best job in the world.

[AnalBumCover]

This is bringing a tear to my eye. Thank you to all the men and women in the service. God bless you and have a safe journey home.

[wbonnell]

I'm curious how many officers (former or active) we have here at FOFC?

[Poli]

Finishing up my sixth year in the Navy. I'm an electronics technician (ET), second class, and I'm surface warfare qualified. I should have my air warfare qualification by the time I leave here, which is November. From there I'll go to Great Lakes to teach other ETs how it all works.

[Dutch]

Officers? They simulate working all day and certainly have no time for simulating sports afterward...

:D