So during my time as an army apprentice, they kept drumming into us ‘soldier first, tradesman second’ so made us do several blocks of IMT (infantry minor tactics) training. These periods of training were a bit of a break from the workshop, but not necessarily a welcome break. We would spend a week on base camping in hootchies, doing fire and movement drills, ambush drills, bayonet assault course,...

In boot camp on Parris Island, I spent a lot of time stressed, confused, frustrated, and kicking my own ass for getting us in this mess. Clueless and stuck like most people, I just tried to get through it with as little personal time with the DIs as possible. Doing something foolish on purpose was the farthest thing from my mind.

One day about 2/3 of the way through training, we were getting all...

While I was deployed with my MP company to Panama prior to Just Cause, I was doing some off day training, whenI received a message from the CQ to beat feet to the Command building and check in with Top. No problem, just curious as to what's up. Head on over and arrive to a huge "Congratulations Daddy!" from Top and the CO, and others in the office.

Being a bit perplexed, Top hands me a Red Cross...

I previously posted about my Cousin Alex and his fight in Ukraine (here: https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryStories/comments/w96sp5/an_american_and_a_frenchman_in_a_foxhole_in/) this story is significantly LESS serious.

When my cousin got hooked up to his unit one of the reason why is because he had earned himself a CAB and he had actively been engaged in combat in both his tours with the US Army....

In the mid 1960s my dad was a U.S.Army Motor Sergeant for an armored unit in Europe.

Every year the unit would spend time at the firing range.

They also spent time each year on boarder guard between what was East and West Germany.

The Squadron Commander was then a LtCol whose name began with the letters, Bat…

The troops called him LtCol Batman.

He took it to heart.

His Command Sergeant Major went...

I recently did a drug test and he was the observer , he instructed us that we needed to stand on the footprints away from the urinal, drop our uniforms and underwear to our knees and lift our shirt up while providing our sample. This guy went way over the top.

This story takes place back in the 90s just south of the North Pole at CFS Alert. The various shifts and sections were also a blend of a club/frat with initiations, meetings, etc. The buildings were mostly the same as what you see in videos of Antarctic bases. This was pre-internet, one phone call home a week, no TV or radio except VHS for TV and CDs for local radio. Every common room had a full...

EDIT: I FORGOT TO PUT THIS IN THE TITLE, BUT THIS IS INDEED A REPOST! TREAT IT AS SUCH!

Author's Note: In this story, when I refer to the 'battalion' I'm talking about the Brigade Support Battalion. Basically the guys with all the shit that we needed but never got.... Well... Almost never....

In the spirit of the whole E4 Mafia theme that seems to have infected this sub, I'll drop my story. Enjoy.

u/bikerJedi's latest story of the E4 mafia reminded me that old habits are hard to break, even once you make E5 / E6...

My unit had a requirement of NCOs accompanying any vehicle moving around the FOB. So, unlike 3rd ACR, nothing eeeeeever got stolen in my unit, because an E4 couldn't just grab an E2 and go get a 5 ton and drive off somewhere…

<derisive snort> Yeah, ok. Riiiiiiiiight.

On one of...

u/bikerJedi's latest story of the E4 mafia reminded me that old habits are hard to break, even once you make E5 / E6...

My unit had a requirement of NCOs accompanying any vehicle moving around the FOB. So, unlike 3rd ACR, nothing ever got stolen in my unit, because an E4 couldn't just grab an E2 and go get a 5 ton and drive off somewhere.

<derisive snort> Yeah, ok. Riiiiiiiiight.

On one of my...