3rd group specific intro...

[Martinjmpr]

Hi, already posted my intro in the general introductions forum, just wanted to post a 3rd group intro here since that's where I spent most of my time.

I'm a support guy (non-tabbed), was in the MID of 3/3 from 92 (actually got there before 3rd Bn was officially activated) to 96 when I ETS'd to go back to college. Deployed to Haiti for OUD where I started in the CJSOTF but ended up in Gonaives at FOB33 for the rest of my tour (about 6 months.) I was actually on my way out to the airfield on 12JAN95 when SFC Cardott (RIP) was shot - a very chaotic time, as I recall.

I also participated in the famous/infamous Zimbabwe deployment in 1995 (great food in the corporal's mess, eh? :D ) SLJM qualified on that deployment, despite my impending ETS, so I can't complain too much. Plus I spent most of my time working in the embassy.

In addition to the above I spent about 4 months attached to ODB 390 for some JTF-6 rotations, particularly got to know the guys from ODA396 since they worked the B-team for our rotation.

Anyway, hoping to be an active member of this online community, and hopefully will be able to get back in touch with some of the 3rd group folks I served with.

[JimP]

Hay Martin...did "Dianne" ever corner you in the FOB??

I was the JSOTF legal advisor under Boyatt at the time.

[Martinjmpr]

Hay Martin...did "Dianne" ever corner you in the FOB??

I was the JSOTF legal advisor under Boyatt at the time.

I think I remember you. Weren't you branched Infantry before you became a lawyer? I remember a JAG lawyer captain with an EIB who gave a really funny legal briefing once, was that you?

BTW, I'm a lawyer now, too, although not practicing at the moment (I'm a feddle gummint bureacrat.)

As for "Dianne", spending a lot of time at the BN HQ I saw Schroer probably a lot more than the guys in the line companies did.

Actually, I have one kind of amusing Schroer story:

When we went to Zimbabwe in 1995, they decided they wanted someone to work as a liaison at the DAO in the US Embassy in Harare. Since none of the 18 series guys wanted a pogue job like that (not that I blame them) they tasked it to the MI Det, and the MI det in turn tasked it to ASPS (All Source Production Section, the section I worked in.) Since we didn't really have a job in Zimbabwe other than going through the USASOC JM course and acting as assistant instructors (A/K/A Harness monkeys for JMPI practice) I volunteered to be the liason.

So of course, LTC Schroer, being the "by the book", "regular army" kind of guy he was, insisted that I show up at the DAO in BDUs. Now, the US military was a real curiosity in Harare since this was the first time such a large US military unit had been there (got some funny stories about that, too ;) ) There were three active duty military people working in the DAO, the LTC who was the defense attache, his assistant who was a senior captain, and warrant officer. All of them wore civilian clothing.

So after my first day there, we had a daily briefing with the battalion staff, and as the liason I went to the briefing (and I'm pretty sure the MID commander didn't go because he was an instructor for the JM course. In fact, I'm not even sure the BN S2 was there so I was probably the only MI guy at the briefing.) I gave my portion of the briefing about what went on at the DAO and what tasks I was trying to complete.

Afterwards I mentioned that the rest of the DAO staff worked in civilan clothes. Before I could even finish the sentence, LTC Schroer said "Oh, no, I see where this is going. You are a soldier on active duty and you will report to duty in duty uniform, BDUs. I don't want to hear it, don't ask again."

No biggie, I thought, so the next day I went back to work at the DAO, in uniform. I was sitting there on the computer, and the DAO came by and said "SSG A..., would it be possible for you to come in here in civilian clothes? We like to maintain a low profile." I told him that LTC Schroer had specifically directed me to be there in uniform. He said OK and dropped it.

Later on, LTC Schroer and some other staff members came by to talk with the DAO about some logistic support they were trying to get, and while they were there, the DAO said "By the way, we like to maintain a low profile, so would it be possible for you to have SSG A... come to work in civvies from now on?"

Immediately, LTC Schroer turned to me and said "A....! I want you to show up in civilian clothes tomorrow" (like it was his idea from the get-go. :D ) Of course I said "Yes, Sir!" and from that point on I worked in civvies.

He was a strange guy. Well, I guess now "he's" a strange gal....:P

[rltipton]

Speaking of FOB33 under Schroer, he was the brains behind positioning patrol borders between the different teams' AORs up in and around Cap haitian. We had the CARICOM cats from Belize over by the airfield and good ol' Dianne put our 7th Group buddies with their Guatemalan contingent just close enough that our patrol areas overlapped by about 300-400 meters. I recall someone telling us that he did that purposely "Since they are neighbors back home" (unconfirmed). The first time we met face to face Belizeans vs Guats it was sketchy though, as they are not exactly "friendly" neighbors back home and they were not exaclty keen on having to work together in Haiti either. Nothing happened, but some weapons came off safe and it was definitely one of those "Oh shit" pucker up moments. ALL further patrols in that direction were carefully coordinated!

[Martinjmpr]

RLTipton: I never heard that story but I can't say I'm surprised. Schroer was definitely an odd duck.

[JimP]

Martin - may have very well been me. I've been told I give "unorthodox" briefings. I don't have an EIB but am long-tabbed and was sporting a scuba-bubble.

CDR tried to relieve that a$$clown after Haiti and an incident in demining operations. Harley Davis wouldn't have any of it. So...the CDR restricted the power of Dianne to even sign a PT card. Pretty interesting times. Just before we launched to the staging area in Gitmo, we were giving last minute updates. Dianne told anyone that did not have a black grease pencil that they couldn't brief. Since all the black grease pencils had been grabbed up back when Christ was a crossing guard at Catholic School, me and the HHD CDR went and sat down waiting for what was about to happen. Sure enough, it gets our turn to brief and we remain silent and seated. CDR gets the a$$ and wants to know why we weren't briefing. Simply replied "Dianne prohibited anyone from briefing who didn't have a black grease pencil". That went over like Rodney King at a KKK convention. Man, we had some GOOD folks there then. :D

[Snaquebite]

CDR restricted the power of Dianne to even sign a PT card

Would that have been the 92-94 time frame when he was 3rd Bn CDR? I seem to remember his UCMJ authority being pulled. I was in B/2/3 at the time

[JimP]

Yup.....

[Martinjmpr]

The BN started redeploying from Haiti around Feb-March of 95. I came home on leave in early Feb and by the time I was scheduled to return to Haiti, the BN was already getting ready to come back so instead of sending me back to Gonaives they sent me TDY to Charleston to be one of the two 3rd group LNOs getting folks and equipment back to Bragg (I swear I never got paid more for doing less - there just wasn't a lot to do but for some reason they wanted us there.)

In July the Bn deployed to Zimbabwe for an exercise and we had ODAs/ODBs all over Southern Africa at the same time. I remember some kind of dust up about a demining operation in Rwanda that actually ended up being written about on the pages of Soldier of Fiction magazine but I can't remember exactly what the issue was - seems to me it was something about Schroer micromanaging the B-team that was supposed to be working with the UN or Embassy operations in Rwanda.

Was that the issue that got Schroer's leash pulled in? I don't remember hearing about it at the time (I was in the process of ETSing anyway) but I know Schroer wasn't well liked by anyone in Group and especially by the long tabbers in the line companies.

FWIW Schroer was still the 3rd Bn commander when I ETS'd in early January of 96.