So You Served!!

JAMESDUNN · Mar 21, 2009

Navy vet.

I spent four years in the Navy, May of '69 thru May of '73. I was a hospital corpman, finishing up as a HM2 out of Cherry Point N.C. at the Naval Hospital there. I spent one year with the USMC as a field med. tech. I finally framed my Nixon signed honorable discharge certificate thanking me for service rendered "in a difficult time for our nation". . All seems like a long time ago.

robertklee · Mar 21, 2009

Parris Island MCRD

I was there in '74. It was a rough 12 or 13 weeks. Everybody yelled at me alot and called me bad names. Has anybody been back? Would love to see it today.

Semper Fi

:usa

mrbreeze · Mar 22, 2009

US Army, 3 years active duty 1982 - 1985

SSCHMUNK150586 · Mar 23, 2009

USAF '68 - '72, Security Police. Spent one year at U-Tapao AB, Thailand with B-52's, KC-135's and the U-2. The rest of the time I was in SAC, stateside.
Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans. :usa

marcopolo · Mar 23, 2009

I was in the Canadian Forces from '68-'78. I was an Army guy, but also volunteered (can you believe it?) for a two-year tour at sea aboard a helo destroyer. Yes, the Navy is different. I also had a six-month deployment to the middle east (Sinai desert) in 1977. I then spent another 28 years as a Defence department civilian at HQ in Ottawa. I've been retired three years now after my 38 year defence gig.

GCTROYER · Mar 24, 2009

Thanks to all who have served and are serving. My son is at Fairchild AFB near Spokane, WA training to be a SERE Specialist. Just got his first stripe this month. Any of you Air Force guys know anything about SERE? He isn't allowed to say much, so his mother and I are left to wonder what he's going through. He did comment after he made it through selection (Indoc?) at Lackland that nothing he had done up to that point in his life was hard. By the way, graduation at Lackland was an awesome experience. I've never been so proud of anything in my life as I was of my son that day. Still am.

Thanks again and God bless you all.

akbeemer · Mar 24, 2009

In my experience SERE was an acronym for Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion. It is training normally given to aircrews of all services on how to avoid being captured if shot down in unfriendly territory, and how to resist interrogation if captured.

Congrats on your sonÔÇÖs accomplishments.

SGTBORING · Mar 24, 2009

Sere

Went through it in myself. Having a career that bounced back and forth between the Air Force and the Army, Active, Reserve and Guard duty has given me the chance to experience some of the best training the DOD has to offer. SERE taught me lessons I still carry with me on and off the Battlefield.

If I was smart and had the money, I would charge Big business leaders and management types sums of cash to put them through SERE, the Army Basic Combat Infantry Course, and the Senior NCO Academy. The experience would teach them allot about themselves, their abilities, and how to manage others.

Why this kind of experience is not valued in the corporate world is beyond me. I guess, strength and Integrity are not virtues in the world of business. In my civilian career I often feel like I have to dumb it down, and take my foot off the gas so I wont leave my peers behind.

Be very proud of your son for being a SERE instructor. Those guys and gals are preparing our front line fighters to survive the worst situation any of us could face. You are lost, possible hurt, and people are trying to find and kill you or you have been captured.
.

802 · Mar 25, 2009

ARNG 22yrs and counting.

Walter Reed '91
OEF '04
OIF '08

A hearty Thank You to my brothers and sisters in arms!

:usa

GCTROYER · Mar 25, 2009

Thanks for your response AKBeemer and sgtboring. Just got update from son.
Went through the program he'll eventually be instructing with mostly pilots and air crew. Many quit - 54 out of one group of 72! He's very hush about the resistance training, except to say that they had him bleeding out of both nostrils on more than one occasion. Field survival was in 4 feet of snow, no shelter, no food, 75 lb. ruck for a week. Passed water survival - 7 dunkings in 12 ft of water strapped in a helocopter fusalage...in the dark. Said they rotated the fusalage to a different orientation each time so they wouldn't know which way was up. Well,
I feel I'm abusing this thread, but would love to hear more from anyone with SERE experience - Army, Navy, or Air Force - so please feel free to send a private message. I will, however, continue to check this thread as I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the vets' service and experiences. Thanks again.

glennhendricks · Mar 25, 2009

Brother in law did SERE

Not much call for us snipes but my BIL did SERE in the 80s. Was a KC135 Navigator.

He said it was pretty damn tough.

Congrats to the son.

akbeemer · Mar 26, 2009

When I went through the Ranger Course we had a bit of SERE training when we jumped into Eglin AFB. The training began with one of the RIs (Ranger Instructors) reading off a card. He began by saying, "Although physical violence can and will be used on you, you may not use physical violence in response." That set the tone for a somewhat unpleasant experience. I remember they broke an arm of one guy and some ribs of another during the "hard sell" interrogation.

ChopperGuy · Mar 26, 2009

buckeye said:
USAF '68 - '72, Security Police. Spent one year at U-Tapao AB, Thailand with B-52's, KC-135's and the U-2. The rest of the time I was in SAC, stateside.
Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans.

My K9 partner Shadow came from U-Tapao when the base was closed. I don't think he was there until after '72 though.

:usa

glennhendricks · Mar 28, 2009

#2 Son and Wife

At #2 Son's graduation from Marine Combat Training.

chambde · Apr 6, 2009

4 generations

Posted in ADV but what the hey?

My Grandfather circa 1920

My Father circa 1942

Me 1977

My son. Currently in Iraq.

professor · Apr 6, 2009

Great pictures!! Great family!!!!!

MOTOR31 · Apr 7, 2009

Chambde,

What was going on in your picture? You have such a "deer in the headlights" expression there.
:whistle

akbeemer · Apr 7, 2009

Motor31 said:
Chambde,

What was going on in your picture? You have such a "deer in the headlights" expression there.

It's the birth control glasses. They had that affect on everyone that wore them.

chambde · Apr 7, 2009

Motor31 said:
Chambde,

What was going on in your picture? You have such a "deer in the headlights" expression there.

I was a long haired haired hippy type pinko about 1 day before that pic was made. I was scared to death

Roy.Jackson55@aol.com · Apr 7, 2009

AKBeemer said:
It's the birth control glasses. They had that affect on everyone that wore them.

I havn't heard that in a while. Still funny

So You Served!!

JAMESDUNN

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GCTROYER

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Rather be flying, but....

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chambde

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You stupid, fix it!

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