12B
I probably should have been dead by 12 - but the universe had other plans - Bob Howard, Nick Rowe, and Bo(sr & jr) Gritz made me want to die when going through the "coarse" (intentional sp. error) - in order to attone for my errors as a child.... and teenager... and college student.... oh, hell I'm doomed.

One thing I used to use when expalining SF to outsiders. IT'S THE MIND!

I always told them physically I didn't find the training that challenging (I grew up in Alaska. Sheep hunting, moose hunting, fighting forest fires.)

But I tell people that SF wanted a "near criminal" mind that could be controlled and that the body be in good enough shape to deliver the mind to the target!

After playing the "Ultimate Chess Game" for a while with the NVA counter recon folks, I can still say "IT IS THE MIND" but being able to carry 120 lbs of gear helped too...

That's 120lbs of light weight gear:D

High speed lightweight low drag gear - all in the TOE, some of it never used, unless you leave it out of the ruck.... murphy strikes again ... never thought I'd need that [insert common item left out of ruck] in the [insert season]

Ya mean like your parka on a seven to ten day trek on XC skis across some countrie's Alps? ;) Who needs a parka. All you have to do... is volunteer to break trail.

Besides, One needs room in his ruck for beer and wine. We loved hot Gluhwein out there. The spice packs and cinnamon didn't way all that much. Alllllll those bottles did though. The silver lining was...... everyday, the ruck was a bit lighter. :D

Agreed!!! That is always what I have told people and several times out here in the various threads. I always figured, it was what got me through.

Think back, to just Phase 1. For some of us that is a long way back. ;) I remember guys dropping out. Could have been the runs, could have been anything. Land nav. What I remember most was on the obstacle course.

I went through toward the end of the summer in 1969. It was hot, humid, miserable. The cadre told us as we prepared to run the course, that we would be the first class through the COMPLETED course. I guess, the class before us ran it, but it wasn't completed at the time. OH joy!!!!!!

We were all assigned a number. Thing was, the instructors would open one of the flaps on our fatigue shirts and write the number inside the flap with something like yellow magic marker and button it. As this was being done. One instructor was explaining, with a combination... serious,evil, I'm gonna enjoy this shit look and grin. ;) Basically. The reason for writing that number under the pocket flaps as he explained, was this. If and or when you get through this obstacle course, you won't even remember your name, let alone a number. :eek: Looking around, one could easily spot the three to four meat wagons waiting for customers. Sort of gave you the impression, this isn't going to be good at all. Ugh...

We were already soaked with sweat. It was around 90 degrees and about the same humidity. then, off we went.

On that first run through the course, I saw guys quit. Saw guys to afraid to negotiate some of the obstacles. The 'Tables' sucked. ;) Saw guys pass out. helped a few guys that just seem to give up, somewhere up on some obstacle. Thing I'm getting at is this.

A good majority of the guys that quit, passed out or froze on some obstacle, looked like they were born in Gold's Gym and have been working out since thier umbillical cord was cut. I was 6`4, weighed around 175 lbs. But helping mesomorphs with chisled muscles.

It was the MIND. They could out bench press me to no end. All I could do was walk, hump a ruck, run, do pushups, situps, whatever til the cows came home. But only cause of the mind. I'm not able to define it beyond that.

BTW. The obstacle course as we were told that day.

Get back to this. Some interruptions. Plus I still have to edit this post.

From what we were told back then.
Mentioned being the first class through the completed course.
We were also told, how the obstacle course came to be. For SF training, they wanted the best/toughest. In short. That course came to be, because the powers to be, spent a few years touring and examining other Military obstacle courses around the globe. They chewed it all over and came up with Nasty Nick.

Which by the way wasn't what it was called when I went through. I don't believe it had an official name back then. It DID have a slew of unofficial names that we gave it while running it and after. ;) Even if I could remember all of them, I wouldn't be able to type them here.

Another couple recollections. The meat wagons were busy. Quite a few guys in them and next to them on stretchers, getting saline injections and whatever. When those guys came to, whether there or in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Thing is......... when they regained conciousness, and asked....... well, they were told that they were terminated. Don't know if that term is used today in that situation. Was then.

One more memory.
Those of us that got through that day. This was just the first time. And could remember our name and some of us even our number. :cool: The victory and elation was short lived. After 20 or so minutes of rest, water and salt tabs, The instructors decided that there wasn't enough attrition. Nooooope Just 15 or so. Isn't life grand? We got to run the course AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

Seems they were fairly satisfied after the second run. They about doubled the casualities from the first.

One or two classes before mine, someone had fallen off one of the high obstacles and hit his head, so we had the pleasure of running the course in bright yellow Hi-Tec helmets. Of course, as there was a smaller number of helmets than students (by about a third), the real pleasure was in taking a sweaty, mud-soaked helmet from a recent finisher and sticking it on your head a few minutes before getting to the start line.

Ahh, yes, the obstacle course - I remember a gym rat who completely froze up at the sewer, quit on the spot was afraid of the dark, and afraid of rats.....

I've wondered if that section of sewer pipe was still part of the course. As I remember, it was existing from back when Mackall was active. Just conveniently was incorporated into the obstacle course. I remember the first time through, I wanted to go through it. It was nasty hot and humid, figured it would be great to be in some shade. ;) Yeah, it was shady, but the air was nasty foul and hot. The guy or guys in front of me, just weren't going fast enough. Once in there, I changed my mind and thought it was better to breath the topside thick air. :)

After seeing Razor's post, I realized at least we didn't have to wear those helmets.......

Ahh, yes Camp MacKall in the summer - got gigged for falling asleep in a class, one of the ones with the door closed in August in a Quonset, at perfect parade rest... wasn't that supposed to keep me awake. SFC K gigged me 5 but gave me 10, because I didn't fall over or snore. Later that day, got in to a rather heated discussion with MSG S (instructor, a bounced Czech) that left most of the class in a state of confusion... MacKall, where else could you get abused by Maj Howard, LTC Rowe, LTC Gritz and still never quit. I can't remember the name of the river where we did expedient rafts and bridges - the one that never got over 40 degrees - I think my brain froze....

I think I figured out another thing that sets SF soldiers apart - we try to prove things to ourselves, so that we have no need to prove them to others.

All this talk about McCall got me to reminiscing. I was in the 12B Class of 66-4 "The Best of the Worst." I wonder if the plaque is still nailed up in the tree next to our hooches?

Note Book
 

I still have my note book from Phase 1 in August 74. In one spot you can see where I was taking notes long hand and the writing scrunchs down to a single line and then drags down in a curve off the page. Must have been after lunch.

Drowning Creek was where the slide for life was. Small boat ops was in Big Muddy Lake.

Pete

You guys were just 'checking for holes in your eyelids.' One has to do that now and then. ;)

That's it ! Drowning Creek - named because it was so cold that there were several physiological and anatomical changes immediately present once you entered the H20. And Mott Lake was another place that brings back nightmares....