Well, I see from the site stats that people visit this page, so somebody send in something!!! :-) I know that you have to be tired of hearing about Bruce and I and seeing us on these pages!
For those of you who actually are unfortunate enough to remember me, I was thinking about posting pictures of my poor cars that have been in accidents. That is one thing about me that has NOT changed. The guys Bruce work with think I have a bull's eye on the back of my car, I've been rear ended so many times. In the same car even!!
From Jim Lanigan:
Hopefully someone else remembers these stories:
I believe it was Lt "Call me Randy" that pinned on my driver's safety badge just days before an FTX. He immediately told me to give a PCMS class outside of maintenance. Without thinking, I opened a door of a deuce, flipped the power switch and pushed the starter button, not realizing that it was in 1st gear until it jumped forward hitting another deuce. The LT then told everyone that I was demonstrating what "NOT TO DO". Shortly afterwards, I was driving the PLL van with a young 24G as my shotgun (I don't know why Oroszi was driving since he was the assigned operator) when all of a sudden, the hood flew open scaring the crap out of my shotgun. The Blazer behind me continued back to the site and filled everyone in on what happened and when I returned, most of the unit was waiting to see the front end of the hood bent upward and held down with an M16 strap. Oroszi helped me remove the hood and I ended up backing over it to flatten it out again.
It was December 87, my last FTX with A 6/52. Derek, Oroszi, McCarthy, Latshaw and myself were inside A-26 cooking steaks and watching adult films as the rest of the unit was huddled around the pot-bellied stoves in the GP-Mediums. We were outside of B Btry's site and someone started banging on the door. We thought is was just someone trying to get warm but when Derek opened up the door, he was confronted with (I believe) the 1SG. I heard rumors that A-26 was no longer allowed to be used as a "maintenance shack".
I still keep in touch with Oroszi when his work brings him near Philadelphia. I lost touch with Cooper but my wife keeps in touch with his ex-wife. I would like to hear from Latshaw and McCarthy but I'm not sure where they've gone.
Jim
From Alan Kyle (569th):
I have one about Frank Nordel, he would get me in all kinds of trouble and he loves telling this story all the time! So Frank comes over to 569th Ord to have who knows what fixed and I'm there hanging around trying to get out of everything when he shouts at me to come over. I got to his CUC V and we start to talk. Frank unslings his M16, points it at the ground and fires off a blank round. Ok, I'm normal and I think this isn't right what has he been smoking. Frank picks up the blank fired brass round and sticks the open end into his flash suppressure. "what is he doing" I ask myself? Well watch and see. Frank chambers a round and points the weapon into a safe zone and fires. "BOOM" comes the report, I jump, oh shit, what happened, everyone heard that I know. Chief Warrant Office Blank, ( I Can't remember but Frank does) Screams at me! Me I'm busted without cause.
From Forrest E. Smith:
Here are some of CPT Smith's fondest memories:
1. Moving across the battlefield as a Hawker with our Patriot brethren and not incurring any of the incidents, accidents, lost equipment, or other problems. Setting up camp beside them and maintaining the standard in all areas. You all were sharp, busted your butts.
2. Night time training moves, before going into Iraq; a different platoon each evening...coffee at 0300 each morning when you returned, with 1SG Whetstone, SSG Dieguiste and SFC Garriot.
3. Frosty breath rising above the crowd during unit runs up Alpha Hill and along the vineyards on fall and winter mornings.
4. Grease Rack Leader "discussions".
5. Alpha Hill...best looking Tac Site in Europe.
6. Anybody remember Jimmy Arbuckle? Chief Carter? 24C SFC now CSM Hull?
7. Charley Battery's missile truck rolling across the field and over the cliff on Alpha Hill (across from the tac site) because it wasn't chocked.
8. SFC Garriot and his motor dogs moving their parts "bone yard" across the battlefield, just out of site of our camps, and just out of CPT Smith's vision...and how he kept the fleet moving.
9. LTC Paige...and the change he made to the battalion after the battalion failed the Tac Eval.
10. This website...put together some time ago, maintained, and built upon, and still growing, speaks volumes about the quality of each of you as individuals, and even more about the uniqueness of the group as a whole.
I have been in twenty years now, and have commanded at both Battery and Battalion levels, and you guys (and gals) still continue to amaze me. I brag on you all of the time, especially to my Patriot troops who don't understand; tac site duty, 24/7, 365 days of the year; FTXs where everyone pulls together for 72 hour suck-athons, over and over until Tac Evals are comeplete; ECCM evals every month, by every crew; OREs; junior grade troops who taught me something everyday, and on and on.
If I can ever help any of you...don't hesitate to ask. Anxious to hear from any of you...even those of you to whom I may have on occasion, kind of, sort of, possibly, but not likely, but still maybe, lost my temper with. To those of you who suffered through my Grease Rack counseling, I apologize. I owe you a beer.
"Air Attack"
v//r
Forrest
From: Kathleen Ferguson
Maricondo reminded me of one...I had forgotten about. The cobwebs cleared and I couldn't help but laugh. Classic Maricondo and Ferguson pissing contest with put downs. I
aggravated him to the point of no return one wet rainy
mud puddle day. He warned me if I didn't stop pissing him
off I would be dumped in a mud puddle.....wellllll do
you think I quit.....oh no, he picked me up put me over
his shoulder walked outside the maintenance room on the
hill and dumped in a big 'ol puddle. I believe a mud
fight ensued after that! Tronti may have been there
for that or Amirault.
From: SSG John T. Ledbetter
I still remember the long years at Alpha Site, the recalls the Tac - Tuesdays and when the army started Sergeants Time. I remember when we had those geese and how everytime they layed eggs everyone would throw them around and I would have to deal with pissed off geese when I was trying to feed them. I can still remember the many problems we had on the equipment and I also still remember when SSG Nelson and I was working on Alpha-1 launcher and he told me to raise the
missiles up and use the bar that is used to hold the hatch up when working inside the launcher and slowly lower the missiles until the actuator just touches the bar. Normally the bar could
hold the actuator up while we work on it, but nobody thought about the weight of the missiles being on the launcher as well, any way when SSG Nelson told me to kill the power the laucher
and missiles drop down on the bar and didn't stop until the bar look like a horse shoe. For the next 20 minutes SSG Nelson and I was trying to remove that bar, while we was doing that a LT. was looking for SSG Nelson and when they found him, we had just pulled the bar out of the launcher. Poor old SSG Nelson not only had to pay for the bar, but several personel mounted the
bar on a piece of wood and presented it to him, as a trophy and it was named SSG Nelson's Bar. Back then we worked hard, play hard and always tried to have fun. When we had to set up a site
or go to the field, everybody got in there and worked their butt off to get the equipment up and tents etc... up. Now we do things in crews and no one else can help. Just stand there and
watch.
