Camp Mackall - Page 3

MR2 · 08-18-2012, 12:40

I thought the SF Aptitude Battery test was a blue-star sapphire ringed hand upside the head and a #10 jump boot in the ass. I'm sure there were some choice words in there, but all I heard was the bells of St. Mere Eglise a ringing.

Richard · 08-18-2012, 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMT

What was the last question?

Are you referring to the old quiz that tells you to read all the questions before answering anything and then the last statement on the back of the page tells you not to answer anything, just put your name on the paper and turn it in?

Richard

BMT (RIP) · 08-18-2012, 14:10

NO!

BMT

longrange1947 · 08-18-2012, 20:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

I noticed that from the git go although I guesstimated closer to 200 degrees.

Who recalls the spatial reasoning, observation, and orientation portion of the SF Aptitude Battery test we took back when which was in the sub-test with the large picture and four smaller ones in which you had to locate the points from which those smaller pics had been taken.

Do they still do that?

Richard

I remember all those dam tests. Took us forever to finish them at Ord. Did not help that they were grading them and booting as you failed one. Of course they would walk up behind one to notify another just to see how you would react.

The spatial I am thinking of was a large photo with a bunch of little ones and you had to say where on the big photo the little ones were take. Had to take that one for chopper school as well. The one I hated was the one that had a bunch of answers you had to rate as from best to worst, but after listening to a battle scenario on a tape. Then there was the dit doh test, crap I can't remember them all. It was a long night while I was in Infantry AIT.

Thanks Richard for bringing up that night's memories, UGH!

Edit - Oh yeah, they stopped them some time ago.

ZonieDiver · 08-19-2012, 05:53

Quote:

The one I hated was the one that had a bunch of answers you had to rate as from best to worst, but after listening to a battle scenario on a tape.

I loved that part, too. I remember part of one question, which had to do with getting a resistance figure out of some African hellhole. The taped explanation was at least 5 minutes long. Then there were the choices: "If you take the river route, there is a 90% chance of escaping safely, but a 50% chance that you'll get him out on time" - and so on.

I took it in daylight hours, out of Reception Station at Ft. Lewis with two other guys. We all passed, I guess, because they didn't remove anyone.

Quote:

Edit - Oh yeah, they stopped them some time ago.

So, those of us who DID take it (we few, we proud few) were part of the "Last Hard Test"?

Richard · 08-19-2012, 09:19

I was exhausted after taking that sub-test where the scenarios were presented along with a list of 25-30 things to do or be used which you then had to rank order as to how you would choose to do/use them.

It was one of the few tests I've taken in my lifetime in which I came out not knowing how I had done or even having an inkling of whether I had any chance of passing or not.

Richard

x SF med · 08-19-2012, 10:19

Point graders on the old Land Nav course.... "Yup, move out..." being the only answer they would give to any question on the course.... unless you got caught on a road... the only thing those guys heard was... "In the truck, get in the damn truck."

nousdefions · 02-02-2013, 12:40

Camp Mackall has been part of Moore County's history for more than 70 years.

Those years will be explored in two one-hour presentations at 1 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, at the Southern Pines Civic Club, located at 105 S. Ashe St. at the corner of East Pennsylvania Avenue in Southern Pines.

Anyone planning on attending?

ChuckG · 02-02-2013, 14:55

I am in Southern Pines until the end of February and planned on going.

Chairborne64 · 02-02-2013, 15:06

Wow!

I can honestly say I recognize nothing except the airfield. That is something as I used to be the B-1-1st SWTG(A) commander and spen a lot of time out there at the 18C base camp.

jkirkthomas · 02-02-2013, 17:12

I took the SF Battery at Ord in '67 when I was at DLI taking Korean and do not recall a single thing about anything on it. During my physical, which took all of 30 seconds, the doc asked how I was feeling, and when I said "Fine," he said "OK, you're good to go." For my PT test, the recruiter just asked "Can you do all this shit?" "Yes, I can." "OK, fine, you passed." When I was processing into SFTG at Bragg I was told, "Your two choices are commo or a medic, take your pick." I gave it about a millisecond of thought and said "Commo." I don't remember my class doing any training at MacKall, but I do remember carrying a 1919A6 with a piece of shroud line for a carry strap. I think the reduced distance nets were usually done out there, but there was some reason why ours weren't. We did them in the woods near SBH.

Then returning after the commo FTX up near Table Rock, my team was riding in the back of a 5/4 as the last truck in the convoy, and just as the other veihicles disappeared over a hill, our engine blew and we were left by the side of the road. No one noticed we weren't there and they didn't come back for us. Finding a phone and calling Bragg, we were told to " break up into groups of two or three and hitchhike back." I guess that was another lesson in "improvise, make do with whatever you have, but get it done." First time I've thought about that in decades.

longrange1947 · 02-02-2013, 19:46

jkirk, did you have "squeaky Moore" as a Commo instructor? Reduced distance was held behind the commo classroom area if we were in the same class.

Noah Werka · 02-02-2013, 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark46th

I'd like to find the tree I was frozen to that cold February night everybody quit...

If it was that cold February night in 1969, so would I. That was the first time ever a SF suspended training due to weather. I was there. It was cold. They set up a GP tent in the middle of MacKall, pulled everybody in, get inside, take their boots off, and snuggle up. One hell of a winter.

Noah W

Beef · 02-02-2013, 20:24

Here is my circa 1979 Mackall Special. It you look very closely you can see a short guy with a German Shepherd named Kaiser. The dog is biting another short guy wearing a "leg hat" on the butt. That would be me. There are a lot more buildings than are shown on the map. They are all plywood and tarpaper, except one. Concertina wire around the buildings. That's about it. Went back in '81 on my demo FTX while cross training. Pretty much more of the same. Went back in '85 for SERE school. It had built up considerably, compared to how it was. Several cinder block buildings. But I've got to say, nothing like that. Times have sure changed!

jkirkthomas · 02-02-2013, 20:56

longrange1947 - "squeeky Moore" doesn't ring a bell, but then there are a lot of people I've forgotten over the years. I was the class leader of my commo class, and I only remember a few names of the folks who were there. I do remember that we had several guys in the class who either had flunked out or for some reason were kicked out of 300F1. There was a Lt. Ballentine on the committee at the time, and when we finished Phase II I remember SFC Villarosa with a big grin on his face when he showed us his orders for 5th Gp. That was in Nov of '67.

If we were in the same classs, you might remember an incident during a break one day. One of the guys was playing with his knife and managed to sever the artery in his wrist. Blood spurted all over and two guys grabbed him, applied pressure to stop the bleeding, and walked him down the hill to the nearest TMC.

Kirk