WBF Veterans

[ccmanuals]

With veteran’s day this Thursday I thought why not find out who the WBF veteran’s are. I also thought let’s throw in some minor details to make this a little more fun. Also, veterans’ from UK, Australia, etc. chime in as well.

So to start it off:

Number of Years Served: 25
Branch of Service: USAF
Highest Grade held: Chief Master Sergeant
Last Assignment: The Pentagon
Career Field: Communications and Computer Systems

Tom King

[ 11-08-2004, 02:52 PM: Message edited by: ccmanuals ]

[mmd]

Oh. I thought a WBF veteran would be somebody who survived the recent political bull**** flame wars here in the Bilge without getting terminated by Scot. Sorry, right church, wrong pew. Carry on. ;)

[cs]

Chad Smith
USAF - 4 years
Security Specilist
Last Post Minot ND
TN Army National Guard - 14 years
Cannon & Rocket Artillery
Desert Storm
18 1/2 years total service & still counting

Of course I don't have the rank that a lot of you do, being as at present I'm just a Staff Sargent, but next on the Sargent First Class list.

Chad

[John C. Gresham]

CMSgt is the highest enlisted rank one can get, if I'm not mistaken....impressive.

[Donn]

Donn Westervelt
USMC - 3½ years
Communications
Last station; Hill 55, South Vietnam
Highest rank; Corporal, E4 (held for 3 months before demotion to E3)

[Hal Forsen]

Hal Forsen
US Navy
Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class
4 years active aboard USS Tuscaloosa LST 1187
Two West Pacs.
Haze Gray Under Way Everyday the Only Way

HF

[ 11-09-2004, 11:54 AM: Message edited by: Hal Forsen ]

[Jack Heinlen]

My cap doffed and a hearty thankyou to all who've served.

[Dale R. Hamilton]

Dale Hamilton
22 years Army Special Forces
Pvt E1 to LTC
3rd group, 7th Group, finally
US Special Operations Command
THE BEST ADVENTURE OF MY WHOLE LIFE!!

[DavesFlatsBoat]

Dave Hamilton
Years Served: 6 - '83-89 & '91
Branch: US Army
Highest Active Rank: 1LT - Company XO
Last Post: 24th Infantry Division Ft. Stewart
Specialty: Armor Officer (M1IP)

Had more fun enlisted, but you couldn't beat the pay of 02 over 6!!!

[ccmanuals]

I'm kinda surprised. I thought there were alot more veteran's on the forum.

[Phillip Allen]

Phillip Allen
never got far...temp duty on Uss Belle Grove LSD2 did a piece (3 months) of a WESTPAC before getting into boomers, USS DANIEL WEBSTER SSBN626 BLUE...all between 1968 and 1972

[km gresham]

Heartfelt thanks to all of you who served and are still serving! smile.gif smile.gif

[Bob Smalser]

Number of Years Served: 32

Branch of Service: US Army

Grades: Pvt E-1 to Colonel 0-6

Last Assignments: KSA, Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman

Career Fields: Infantry, Airborne Ranger...Strategy and Plans...Operations and Training.

Rose to almost as high (in value) as a good Command Sergeant Major, Master Chief, or Chief Master Sergeant. ;)

[ 11-08-2004, 08:33 PM: Message edited by: Bob Smalser ]

[Dennis Marshall]

US Navy 6 years '79-'85.
Cryptologic Tech/ 2nd Class PO
Navy Expeditionary Medal (Iran Rescue Mission :( )

Dennis

[cs]

Bob, what was your highest enlisted rank?

Chad

[huisjen]

Dan Huisjen
Branch of Service: United States Navy, June '89 to August '92.
Highest rank: Lieutennant Junior Grade
Last Assignment: USS KANSAS CITY (AOR 3)
Jobs: Legal Officer, Communications Officer, Conning officer in underway rotation.

Durring Desert Storm we provided fuel and supplies to other ships in the southern Arabian Gulf (which is what the ship was designed for), but beyond that we were of the only class of non-aircraft-carrier ships that could handle a CH-53, which was the only helo that could make it out that far from ASU Baharain to deliver mail and transfer personell.

I remeber coming on watch on a couple successive afternoons and stareing naked eyed at the sun, watching the sunspots cross it's face. This was made possible by the thick, far away smoke of oil wells burning to the northwest of us.

[ 11-10-2004, 07:16 AM: Message edited by: huisjen ]

[cs]

Jack I worked (without the MOS) in 31K (wire dog) for a bit while in the desert. If done right, wire dawg is a lot of work.

Chad

[Wild Dingo]

Originally posted by ccmanuals:
I'm kinda surprised. I thought there were alot more veteran's on the forum.There are Tom give them time mate... I will say I know Chuck was in the service but not sure of his force or status but from memory he also served in Vietnam
DonZ is I understand also presently in the Marine service
If memory serves either Jeff Skuthorp Peter Sibley or Wild Wassa were in the ADF

Me? I always wanted to join up but the buggars didnt want me... Army reckoned I would cause too many riots and anti discipline issues {read to easy goin :cool: } but does tryin 7 times count? damn my eyes but I tried at ages 15, 17, 18, 20, 24, 27 and 30 years gave up then stuff the buggars :mad: ... Airforce demanded a far better edjumakashun than I possess and the Navy just snubbed their nostrals at the mare thought!... seems they figured I was a bit of a larrikin... mmmm could be right I guess ah well :rolleyes:

Drove me nuts for a fair while... as my dad was a Sgt Maj 26yers in Korea and Cheif Training Officer Swanbourne Barracks SAS troop 1954-1960 step dad was Lance Corp saw action Korea wounded in action 4 Uncles in Vietnam 2 died in action 1 wounded 3 Aunts in Nurses Corps WW2 Borneo and Korea, 1 died in prisioner of war camp 1 wounded and other still survives, 4 cousins served ADF Nephew PFC in Armored division Darwin... Personally I think I woulda enjoyed it and served well if a tad lacksidasial {read typical Aussie} ah well now Im 47 and the ol bods not the best I say stuff em!

But boy it would have been good... not serving in a war zone but rather the whole commeraderie of the forces the discipline and self control factors... there is definantly a whole other dimension for vets and serving personel.

Anyways Im waffling so dont mind me but there are many others that havent piped in yet Tom so dont worry they'll drop in soon enough :cool:

[Great_Lakes_Bill]

Bill Horner
U.S.Navy, 4 Years (1965-1969)
Radarman 2nd Class (E5)
Last Station U.S.S. Kaskaskia AO-27, since decommissioned, oxymoronically called an attack oiler.

GLB

[garland reese]

Garland Reese
USAF 4 years
E-4
Instrumentation Mechanic
Vandenberg AFB - Minuteman II, III, and Peacekeeper ICBM Missle testing systems
great experience...

[Garrett Lowell]

Garrett Lowell
USMC-5.5 years active, 2.5 years inactive
(Involuntarily extended active duty due to Operation Desert Storm)
MOS: Aircraft Firefighting and Rescue
Last Duty Station: Marine Corps Air Facility; Quantico, Virginia
Highest Rank Held: Corporal, E4

[Kevin G]

Kevin Gunther
USAF 1961-65
Security Service
Translator Chinese/English
E-4

Texas and Taiwan

Enjoyed half of those two places.

[imported_Dutch]

http://www.movieactors.com/freezeframes22/cainemutiny8.jpeg

[Willin']

Mark Carver
USN 1971-1975
STS-3/SS/DV
(Sonar Tech third class (E-4)/ Submarine Qualified/ Ship's Diver)
USS Dogfish-SS 350 (Decommissioning crew)
USS Glenard P. Lipscomb- SSN 685 (Plank owner)

The worst 4 years of my life! Never Again Volunteer Yourself!

[Iceboy]

Jim Mortier
USN 8 years active 6 years reserve
USNS Chauvenet 2 years
Operation Deep Freeze Antarctica 3 years
Instructor at NTC Great Lakes 2 years
Fleet SatCom

[John of Phoenix]

US Army, 14 yrs
AZ National Guard, 3 yrs
Chief Warrant Officer
Foreign tours in Vietnam 70-71, 1st Cavalry Div; Korea 73-74, 2nd Infantry Div; Iran 78-79, US Military Advisory Command-Iran; Ft Wolters, Texas (multiple tours).
Last active duty station, Ft Rucker, AL

Attack helicopter pilot/instructor pilot.

[Chadd Hamilton]

USMC 4 years active 4 years reserve
5811 - Military Police
MCLB Barstow, CA
Camp Foster, Okinawa

[BrianW]

Oh, nearly missed this thread...

8 years active-duty Army from '83-'91
Made E-5 as a Huey and Blackhawk mechanic/Crew Chief in the 101st Airborne and the 6th ID at Ft Wainwright Alaska. Got my Air Assualt wings at Ft. Campbell too.

Switched Services in '92 to the US Coast Guard stationed in Kodiak 6 years, then here in Sitka. Got knocked back to E-4 in the switch, and only made it back to E-6 before retiring, which actually happens this December 1st. smile.gif Worked as a HH-3F Pelican (Jolly Green to the Air Force types) and HH-60J Jayhawk mechanic/Flight Mechanic (hoist operator during SAR cases.)

It was fun, especially the flying.

[Old Bingey]

USN, 58-63, Roosevelt Roads, PR. I was a training device (submarine simulator) operator made E5 before I got out.

[brad9798]

John Teetsel, on the off chance, did you know a copter pilot by the name of Garry Olsen back in the day???

He went on the fly for Northwest Airlines until he had to retire (irreg. heartbeat) in the late 1990's ...

Just thought I'd ask ... redface.gif

[Meerkat]

USNR '68-71' active, plus inactive to '74.

Rank at separation: SN (E-3) ETR (Eelectonics Technician - Radio)

ACDUTRA aboard USS Maddox DD-741 (yup, the one from the Tonkin Gulf incident!) for 2 weeks (weee - chip paint and go on an overnight "cruise". "Shore Afloat School" - whatever that meant! I managed to hang out in the comm center for much of the time as (at the time) a Radioman striker). "Maddox" was a WW-II vintage destroyer that had been "FRAM-ed" (Fleet Rearmament And Maintenence) and had a zipper patch where she had been pulled apart to replace her plant, and maybe got lengthened a tad too, in 1947. On my "cruise" she had just been accepted into the reserve fleet (June, 1969) and so she/we got sea trials. Let me tell you, there's nothing quite like a destroyer making hard turns at speeds in excess of 26 kts! She leaned over and stayed that way for a good 7-10 minutes or so! The faux torpedo launches where anti-climactic in comparison! smile.gif

Last duty station: US Navy Communications Station Harold E. Holt, Exmouth, WA Australia.

[John of Phoenix]

Sorry Brad, didn't know him. Crossed paths with lots of folks over the years, but never met your friend.

[I checked my VHPA directory and there are a few Olsens (with and "e") but no Garry. The brotherhood is almost 12,000 strong these days. :eek: Not bad, given that it started with half a dozen guys getting together for a 4th of July BBQ in 1984. If you still have contact with him, have him check in at http://www.vhpa.org. There's always room for more.]

[ 11-09-2004, 06:42 PM: Message edited by: John Teetsel ]

[Jim H]

USMCR
8 years '83-'91
STA Platoon 1Bn 23rd Marines
Houston, TX

[Paul Scheuer]

Scheuer, Paul R. 585 4234.
United States Navy, 1961 - 1964.
ETR2 (Radar)
USS Saratoga, CVA 60, OE Div. Cuban Blockade, 1962.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid31/p5c1c55abca22369aea66318a979cdcf8/fd46b245.gif

[brad9798]

Thanks, John- I appreciate the response.

I see him several times a year ... I'll email him the info.

:cool:

[Oyvind Snibsoer]

Royal Norwegian Navy, 1987-88
KMB Diver (surface supplied equipment)

United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon. 1991-92
NORBATT XXVIII, Coy B, 2nd Plt (Chebaa Group)
Rifleman

[htom]

USMC 1968-1969
Nine months and a bit, all but a few weeks at USMC/RDSD.

Happy Birthday, USMC -- 229 and counting -- drinks at Tun Tavern tonight!

[Paul H]

From the bottom of my heart, a big thank you to all of you for your service.

I didn't end up joining the services, but do come from a family of Navy, Marine and Army vets.

[Ian Wright]

Sgt twice, Bombardier (Corporal) three times. Twelve years and fifty four days.
Never ever again. Not ever.
Let the rich old bastards fight in their own wars.

"Soldiers who want to be heroes

Number practicaly Zero

but there are millions

who want to be civilians"

A boring war and safe home by Christmas to cannon fodder everywhere.
IanW.

[Dale R. Hamilton]

Well I hate those sentiments Ian- and I'm sorry your military experience left you so bitter. I think you must be in the very small minority though- as you can see from respondents this thread, the rest of us are very very proud of our service. As I said "The best adventure of my life".

[Ian Wright]

Originally posted by Dale R. Hamilton:
I'm sorry your military experience left you so bitter.Good heavens, did I sound bitter?
Not a bitter bone in my body, lots of realistic ones though. Many of the squaddies of my era feel the same as I do, I'm sure.
I'm not proud I did my time, I just did it, and that's enough.

IanW

[htom]

USMC answering machine: http://pro-american.com/Music/Military%20-%20USMC%20Answering%20Machine.mp3

[ThomNC]

US Navy 57-60
3rd Class Fire Control Technician
USS Manley DD940
Charleston SC

USAFR 82-96
E-7 Personnel Technician
Dobbins Air Force Reserve Base, Marietta GA

[Donn]

Originally posted by htom:
USMC answering machine: http://pro-american.com/Music/Military% 20-%20USMC%20Answering%20Machine.mp3 (http://pro-american.com/Music/Military%20-%20USMC%20Answering%20Machine.mp3)ROFLMAO! :D :cool:

[uncas]

My hat is off to all who served...
I did not chicken out...Was biting my fingernails during the lottery. My father being a Col. I was gonna go to Viet Nam if drafted...I would have been disowned if I hadn't :D My number was one off.
One question...I was initially 1A...we all know what that means. I was reclassified as 1H. What the heck does that mean? Have asked a lot of people in the military including current generals and they have no idea.

[Tom Galyen]

Tom Galyen

6 years USN and 18 years USNR.
Last duty in 1990 aboard USS Kansas City
1st Class Fire Control Tech .
On active duty served aboard USS Luce (DLG-7) and USS Biddle (DLG-34) made one Med Cruise on the LUCE, and an around the world cruise on the Biddle. It was the first of 2 Vietnam cruises. We had been promised we would get R&R in Australia, but when we got to Vietnam the powers that be there said that east coast ships could not go to Australia. We could anywhere in the world we wanted except Australia. We got to choose and chose to go to Copenhagen, Denmark and got to go around the world to get there and back to our home port of Norfolk, VA.

Also I was aboard Kansas City the first time she replenished the Battleship Mosouri. Everyone was running around with cameras shouting Kansas City - Mosouri. One hell of a time. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Even the pucker times when we went in close enough to North Vietnam to take pictures with ordinary 35mm cameras. There is nothing that compares to the feeling you get when they pass the word for "Battle Stations" followed by "This is no drill" and "Set Condition 1AS on the bridge and CIC" (Anti-Sub mode.) Until the release from GQ you learn to sweat in places you didn't know you had.

Still you tend to forget the bad and remember the good. The shipmates and the times in ports that ordinary landlocked mortals can never dream about. Except of course those intrepid souls who wander the great oceans in wooden boats and plastic bathtubs with a few shekels in the till and no idea where or when they can get some more.

To all those who roam Davy Jones's relm,whether Naval, Merchant Marine or circumnavigator, I lift my mug of grog (made of course with Pusser's finest) and drink to their health, wishing them "Fair winds and following seas."

Tom G. (Seaweed)

[Dave Lesser]

David Lesser

Entered USAF 1969
Retired 1999 - Medical Corps
Six years in Germany, eight years in California, the rest in Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and Mississippi.

Career Highlight - sailing from Guantanamo Bay to Miami aboard the USCG Eagle after working for 3 months in the GITMO refugee camp, March 1994

[bamamick]

Thanks to all of you guys. A story (it was funny to some of us, anyway): when I was 27 I tried to join the Naval Reserve. I graduated from high school in 1976 and the service was not high on my list of things to do. My dad was dead set against it. Vietnam had just ended and the service wasn't really viewed as a 'career' opportunity.

Anyway, I guess this was around 1986 or so. I went to talk to the local recruiter about joining their reserve group. Turns out it was an engineering group based in Pascagoula. The recruiting Chief asked me what skills I had that could benefit the Navy. I told him that I was a control room operator at a chemical plant. He said 'well, what exactly do you do?'. I said, 'well, I make chemicals'. He said, 'doesn't sound very useful' and the interview went on pretty much in that vein. He didn't want me! I was aghast. I thought that you just went in and signed up. It never occurred to me that they would turn me down.

I was pretty embarrassed, as I had made a big deal out of joining to my wife and parents. Oh, well. Come to find out I would have been turned down anyway as I have some metal holding one of my legs together (an old baseball injury).

I can't really say that I lose sleep over the fact that I didn't serve. My life turned out very well. But I do have an honest and heartfelt appreciation for those who did serve. No small sacrifice for any, and for some the greatest sacrifice they could make. My prayers go out to them all, and especially those who are in harms way right now. May God be with them, and bring them all safe home.

Mickey Lake

[High C]

Thank you all! smile.gif :cool:

[gary porter]

Ok,
U.S. Army 68-72
I was drafted which I didn't appreciate so I inlisted in stead.
I made E-5 in 18 months so felt good about that.
Did time in Fort Knox, Fort Gordon and last
Fort Wainwright Alaska. Still here.
You see I've always had an Angel or Angels looking out for me. Two of us out of our school in Ga. were sent here instead of Viet Nam to set up and electronics calibration lab. That was such a blessing that I got out here and never left. Some folks couldn't stand the winter and put in a request for Viet Nam,,,they got it. Made a career
in electronics, avionics, and communications. Now building boats and furniture and computer work for the University here. For me the military was a good experience and I'm proud or at least glad to have served.
A good day to all our vets.
Gary

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

As Veterans day draws to a close I would simply like to take this time to say

Thank You

[Tom Galyen]

Uncas,

I just read your entry. I think that 1H means come back and see us when they cross the Mississippi. :D

Tom G. (Seaweed)

[brian.cunningham]

Thanks for the service guys.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Thank you all for serving. smile.gif

[htom]

1 H -- Hold. You were connected.

[Googles] Registrant not currently subject to processing for induction.

[Ian McColgin]

There are many who serve honorably and unselfishly in non-military roles but on what our neighbors to the north call Rememberance Day it's right to honor those who faced the terrible deeds of war. It's right to remember and honor them every day, but especially this day.