Military Branch Survey

[F22trainer]

I was at Lackland Wilford Hall Sept 1976 for a month getting my facial reconstructive surgery. Long month...

[Jhnybgd]

We went in the gas chamber in San Diego in 86.
unbelievable how well you can breath afterwards

[boomer108]

Went through Lackland in 69' we all got gased.

[BigElectFlyr]

Went through Lackland in 69' we all got gased.

I was there Feb-Mar '69. We went thru the gas chamber same day we went to the firing range, firing the M-16, and first time through the obstacle course. Was a busy, tiring day.

[Hoomi]

I was there Feb-Mar '69. We went thru the gas chamber same day we went to the firing range, firing the M-16, and first time through the obstacle course. Was a busy, tiring day.

I thought the obstacle course (redubbed the "Confidence Course" by the time I went through) was a blast.

[Hardway]

I was at Lackland Wilford Hall Sept 1976 for a month getting my facial reconstructive surgery. Long month...

:(:Cool:

[F22trainer]

:(:Cool:

...and that was how I lost my pilot slot in the USAF.

[crxmanpat]

I was in the Drum & Bugle Corps during Basic. I didn't know what PT was. :)

[Valkpilot]

I was in the Drum & Bugle Corps during Basic. I didn't know what PT was. :)

Where did you go to boot at?

[crxmanpat]

Lackland. But then again, most of the basic trainees didn't know what PT was either. ;)

[Hoomi]

Lackland. But then again, most of the basic trainees didn't know what PT was either. ;)

Sure we did. It was the excuse they made for dragging our butts out of bed before the unholy crack of dawn.

[Valkpilot]

Lackland. But then again, most of the basic trainees didn't know what PT was either. ;)

Oh, didn't know the Chairforce did that too. Though in the Navy, the first half of boot was common core, second was specialized training if you were a drill company, like I was, and yes, I too was in drum and bugle.
But we still had PT, even worse, our Company Commander was a Water Safety and Physical Training instructor between companies.

[nuts-n-volts]

80-83 USS Constellation, 83-84 USS Kitty Hawk. AG2 (that's Aerographer's Mate or weatherman) Lauched all the weather balloons, bathythermagraphs, took observations, coded weather maps. Couldn't be a pilot cause of color vision. Dropped outta school and enlisted for the fun of it! Saw a couple of WestPacs and some of the greatest Navy aircraft of all time! Been building and flying models since I was 4 and to this day can't pass by a wooden glider without giving it a toss! Currently the local club president 'cause I just can't stop flyin' and talkin' about these things.

[DR. Joy]

I miss the Army at times except when my back is killing me. Then: not so much.

[Hoomi]

I miss the Army at times except when my back is killing me. Then: not so much.

The biggest thing I miss about the USAF is working on the airplanes. When I signed up, the recruiter asked me what career field I'd like to go into, and my main criteria was that it was on aircraft. With my ASVAB scores, he put me into Avionics Navigation Systems, more commonly called Radar/Nav. It was a pretty good field to get trained in, as it covered a wide spectrum of electronics. I've been steadily employed for over 37 years with that training.

[Valkpilot]

The biggest thing I miss about the USAF is working on the airplanes. When I signed up, the recruiter asked me what career field I'd like to go into, and my main criteria was that it was on aircraft. With my ASVAB scores, he put me into Avionics Navigation Systems, more commonly called Radar/Nav. It was a pretty good field to get trained in, as it covered a wide spectrum of electronics. I've been steadily employed for over 37 years with that training.

What I miss the most is the travel. Over the course of 20 years I made 2 1/2 WESTPACS, 1 Med Cruise, a World Cruise, and various other ports of call. But my shore duty billets got weird. Most people are in either
San Diego or Norfolk. I had 2 years in Cleveland and 3 in New Orleans.

[rctobes]

Active duty Navy 2012-Current. AME, Worked on F/A-18's (Legacy and Supers) then, Hawkeyes (E-2D) now I'm on CODs (C-2A) !

[WrightBrosRC]

USN '88 - '96 Ret. Disabled. Fire Controlman. USS Texas, USS California, Weps and RADAR spec. Harpoon, CIWS, RIM-66 surface to air, ASROC, Tomahawk and 5 inch guns.

I wouldn't trade that time for anything. I remember like yesterday the first time I stepped out onto the weather deck at night in the clear South Pacific sky.

[Helmsman52]

USN '88 - '96 Ret. Disabled. Fire Controlman. USS Texas, USS California, Weps and RADAR spec. Harpoon, CIWS, RIM-66 surface to air, ASROC, Tomahawk and 5 inch guns.

I wouldn't trade that time for anything. I remember like yesterday the first time I stepped out onto the weather deck at night in the clear South Pacific sky.

Same here about night lite ocean sky... We were in the middle of the Atlantic heading to Little Creek amphib base from the Mediterranean during the short lived Gulf war... never seen sooo many stars in my life within a flat no obstructing 360 degree horizon. Thanks for your service!

[Helmsman52]

Oh, didn't know the Chairforce did that too. Though in the Navy, the first half of boot was common core, second was specialized training if you were a drill company, like I was, and yes, I too was in drum and bugle.
But we still had PT, even worse, our Company Commander was a Water Safety and Physical Training instructor between companies.

My mom and dad were Marines on Paris Island at the time I was born... but I went Navy and ended up at Great Mistakes during the winter for boot. Our staff company 902 also did PT... abandoned ship... getting mashed... snow watches... also being a ARPOC/Honor Guard I ended up having to do IT (intensive training) with the seals... man that was interesting. Rifle ricks companies on the other hand seemed to be always getting mashed/hunting for Charlie and making it rain in their barracks along with regular PT.
All in all we started off with 87 in our company and graduated with 42. Good times...