Why am I in this handbasket, and where is it going?

[Back2Good]

Let me explain the several surprises I encountered last night before I proceed.  First, the cab ride to what is now apparently "Joint Base Lewis-McChord", not just good old Fort Lewis, where we used to go for winter warfare training up on Mount Yakima, only took about fifteen minutes from what used to be the Air Force's McChord field (they must have escaped the BRAC process by joining the two bases into one, so that one of them wouldn't become a BRAC victim).  I got to the Bachelor Officer's Transient Quarters (quite nice, actually, a four star establishment, which this old E-5 is not used to - I was expecting a bunk bed in a barracks room that is home to four soldiers (two double bunk beds, one on either side of the room, one desk, one chair, one telephone, and a two footlockers stored at the end of each double bunk) in plenty of time to raid the mini bar (free for guests of the 7ID Association's Board of Directors, per the welcome packet I received) for a nice Johnny Walker Black with Club Soda before shedding my travel clothes, setting my alarm, and hopping into bed.

I slept the sleep of a baby, with the familiar sounds (and sometimes awful smells) of Army nighttime activity surrounding me, until 4AM, when a few hundred men dressed in black running shorts and black T-shirts emblazoned with the unmistakable scroll of a Ranger Battalion ran by my window, shouting a cadence led by a gruff voice.  Opening the curtains, I discovered that the location of my BOQ was right next to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Infantry (Airborne / Ranger), and gave up all hope of going back to sleep.  I never served in a Ranger Battalion myself, but I did complete the Basic Airborne Course and Ranger Course as an E-4, so I know what kind of training schedule those muscular young men have ahead of them today, and there is no chance I'd be able to sleep through THAT noise.

Probably fortuitous, as I now have time to touch up my shirt and blazer (both were dry cleaned on Friday, but suffered a bit from being packed with my luggage, so it is a good thing that an ironing board, an iron, and a can of spray starch are conveniently located in the closet), then put a good spit shine on my Bally's while still in my underwear - My clothing for the day is now ready for me when it is time to get dressed (breakfast at the 7th ID chow hall isn't until 7AM (oh, excuse me, 0700 hours - Have to get my Army speak back on).  I'm about to go out and ask the driver asleep in his HMMWV downstairs if he can give me a quick tour of the base so that I can see how it looks now vs. how it looked when we came out here from Fort Ord (7IDs former home, when it was the 7th ID (Light), and we didn't have all of this tomfool machinery and motorized vehicles surrounding us - When we deployed, we walked.)

I'm sure $50 will induce the young man to give this old man a quick tour, then get me back in time to take a shower and shave before getting dressed and walking over to the chow hall, which seems to be exactly where I remember it being in the 80's, only it is no longer a WWII open wooden barracks with tables and chairs (the food used to be cooked at a central location, then trucked out to the various unit chow halls in Mermite cans), but a fine two-storied brick building with a veranda on the second floor.

I'll update tonight when I return home to the mini-farm, should be an interesting day.

Best to all,

- b2g

[Back2Good]

Whoa, the chow hall looks more like a Silicon Valley Cafeteria than anything!  Omelet chef, oatmeal bar with all of the fixings, rows of different types of Starbucks coffee served from 5-gallon lined cardboard containers (and of course a 7thID Reunion 2016 ceramic cup to drink it from), and for those with less restricted diets than mine, a smorgasbord buffet of eggs, bacon, sausage, chicken fried steak, city ham, country ham, white gravy, biscuits, croissants, a huge selection of fruits and melons, and a stand at the end of the line where one can have custom huevos rancheros made to order.

This isn't the Army I remember!

Not 10 minutes into the door and I heard an "over here, Sarge!" - Turning in that direction I didn't recognize the individual (bad eyesight and a 40% VA disability for hearing loss on my part, and a pronounced weight gain on his), but when I got close enough to read his name tag, I recognized him immediately, sitting with a group of folks from our old Long Range Surveillance Detachment - It was my old assistant gunner for the M-60 (pig), the fellow I spent 24 hours a day with on patrols from May of 1989 (when the UN Peacekeeping team went into Panama, supported by elements of 5-21 Infantry and the Division's LRSD).  Have not seen this fellow or heard from him since our return from Operation JUST CAUSE (the Noriega grab), which concluded in December of 1989, but he's proudly pointing out my conference championship ring to the other guys, and telling me that while he's from Missouri, and hates the team I played for, he watched every game we played for four years just to see me play.  That's the sort of thing that will humble me for certain, which is a good start for the day.

Others from LRSD are beginning to arrive, we've stationed folks at enough adjacent tables to reserve them for the rest of the outfit, our First Sergeant and CO will be pleased when they arrive, we haven't forgotten anything.

Looking forward to the CAPEX (Capabilities exercise) we'll be treated to after breakfast - The 7th Infantry Division isn't a Light Infantry Division any longer as it was during the 80's and early '90's when we were stationed at the now long gone Fort Ord, when it was reactivated at Fort Lewis it was designated a Mechanized Infantry Division, so they have goodies we never had - Cavalry Scout troops in Strykers, Armor Companies equipped with M-1 Abrams tanks, and self-propelled 150mm artillery...Should be a good show.

I believe i have my speech memorized, but I also believe I'll practice it at least twice more before dinner.

[Back2Good]

Lunch time, back at the chow hall, only now they have the lunch menu in place - I was hoping the omelet guy would still be here.  I asked the mess NCOIC (an E-8 (Master Sergeant)!  In our day the mess NCOIC was an E-7 who had screwed up at his job as a line Platoon Sergeant and been assigned to the mess hall as punishment.  Of course our food was prepared at a giant kitchen behind the Commissary at Fort Ord, and trucked out to unit mess facilities in Mermite cans, which were then slapped into the wooden rack behind which stood three E-4's (Corporals) with ladles they used to drop a portion of whatever you pointed at onto your plate) how he was able to lay out such a variety of items on the buffet, He smiled and said "We do our cooking right here in this building, and I supervise the entire process.  Breakfast menu is the same every day, but lunch is different every day, and on Fridays, lunch is a giant sushi bar, and dinner is steak with all of the fixings."  This mess NCOIC went to culinary school before enlisting, and got a degree in restaurant management on his own time (nights and weekends) after enlisting, he said it took him six years to complete a 4-year degree, but his plan is to spend 30 years in the Army, retire with 80% of his base pay coming in twice a month, and use the money he's been saving for 23 years to open a restaurant in his native home of Birmingham, Alabama.  Now that's a man with a plan!

By now we've collected everyone from my old Platoon at 5-21 IN and all of the members of Division LRSD who were able to make it this year, good to see so many old friends, the war stories are going to be flying fast and thick, especially at the dining in tonight, when the Artillery punch starts flowing. Mine and my peers war was "a fine little war", as the British call it, 7 months in Panama preparing under the cover of a UN peacekeeping mission, then three weeks of shock and awe as the 7th Special Forces Group, the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the 3rd Ranger Battalion, the 82nd Airborne Division, a Company of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and three full Battalions of the 7th Infantry Division assaulted Omar Torrijos Airport and military command centers all over the country.  US forces suffered 23 KIA (killed in action) and 325 WIA (wounded in action) - As Santa Anna said after taking the Alamo, "In the end, it was but a small affair".  But we have veterans here who served during the Korean war and the war in Vietnam as well, and they have collected themselves into their own groups, although I'm sure we'll be mingling with them often this evening.

The CAPEX was an awesome affair, the equipment, weaponry, and fire support (self-propelled, provided by Division Artillery (DIVARTY), and US Air Force and Navy close-in air support) demonstrated was jaw-dropping...This is only one Army Infantry Division, and there are 18 others, along with 11 Separate Brigades and 11 Independent Regiments - Imagine the force we are capable of bringing to bear in a full-on conflict.

Anyway, back to my scheduled activities, it is proving a fine day, there's even a marksmanship contest out at one of the known distance ranges where competitors (I've signed up, naturally, wouldn't miss it for the world) will fire a full magazine from every rifle the Division has ever standardized on, from the M-1 Garand, to the M-14, to the M-16A2's of my generation, to the new M4 that most of the Army carries today (each weapon will be fired at a separate target at 300 meters, then the targets will be graded to determine first, second, and third place winners).

I doubt I'll post again until after tonight's festivities, and I have a sneaking suspicion that my writing then will be nowhere near the standard you've become accustomed to

[Revolution]

I am glad you are enjoying reminiscing with old friends. Throw in some good jokes with that speech!!!

Rev