I left the Marine Corps for college after making Sergeant in 19 months. I came home to folks saying, "Wow! Sergeant in the Marine Corps! I guess about the only thing badder than that is a Green Beret." Well that certainly put a chip on my shoulder. I worked for a doc who was an SF doc in Vietnam and between his sage advice and Robin Moore's book, I decided I had to know. So I came into the Army with the intention of going to SF and seeing Europe but was quickly talked out of it by guys saying the first think I'd need to do was dx my wife as they would issue me a new one.
So I just went ahead and went to Europe as an 11C, but it didn't take many years before I realized the regular, mechanized Army was just what the Marine Corps told me it was. An SF CSM did a rotation through my unit while waiting on a Bad Toelz position to open up and when one of their teams visited Bamberg, I decided they had two eyes, two ears, a mouth and an nose right in the middle of their faces just like me. I spoke to a Captain (Major?) who had been a Team Leader in SF (it wasn't a branch yet). He told me the long separations would either make my marriage stronger or do what should have been done to it a long time ago. I just couldn't let go so I made a deal with the wife to try out Special Forces for four years and then we would revisit the issue of what I was doing. I was one of the oldest guys in the Q course, not too many of us over 30 in my class. Heck, maybe I was the only one or one of two. But I'd rather have died than quit so I just kept on pushing. Even after we had a classmate die of exposure, compounded by the lack of a spleen to fight off major infections. None of us were going to withdraw and go through that again so it was head down, butt up and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Four years later, I came home to my wife saying, "Guess what day it is?" Needless to say I was panicked, but she let me know that she'd rather have me gone all the time and happy than home all the time and miserable like I was before.
I eventually was 10th SFG(A) NCO of the Year and runner up to a 7th SFG(A) guy who took the (first?) SOCOM NCO of the year prize, before he was booted out less than a year later. So in my mind, I did what I had to do.
I learned multiple languages and went all over the world from Africa to South America and ALL over Europe. I loved learning from other cultures but probably the best thing I learned was from my Senior Medic on my first team, Al, who along with my Chief, taught me not to get a big head. There will always be somebody better or faster than you, so you have continue to improve ALL the time, or you will be overcome at some point. It was funny because when we went to a special, gun-fighting school, we were talking and realized that all of us on that team had finished first in every Army school we ever attended. Well, needless to say, we knew that was about to come to an end.
Almost 20 years in SF, but that was a poor second to one of my team leaders, Jimmy Spoo, who spent 20 years on an A-Team!
Spending my time now helping and supporting those still under the rucksack, riding motorcycles and keeping my shooting skills up.
Boomer Green is how my last team remembered me.
Let's settle this the old-fashioned Navy way, first guy to die; loses.
Motorcycle Adventure Addict
Former Action Guy
Leatherneck/Devil Dog
Motorcycle Officer
Firefighter
Paramedic
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, then got too fat to wear it.
Motorcycled to the Arctic Ocean North of Prudhoe Bay.
Stood on the Artic ice, said, "Been there, done that."
Turned around and drove straight to Key West, Southernmost Point in the US.
I didn't have any room for t-shirts on that little 13,500 mile journey.