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Our Son
- Thread starter FrugalFannie
- Start date
M60
NES Member
Yes. I know. they were there in 68. All fancy brick and pretty. I was in first Battalion, in the old wood barracks, bordering the grinder. I visited P.I. in 1998. All but one of the wood barracks buildings were gone. Mine was the last standing and was now a admin. building. .
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M60
NES Member
Well, there was this one D.I., who lost it and marched his platoon off of a dock, somewhere on P.I. and into the ocean/swamp. No one seemed to have more information, other than to say, that the D.I.'s had been instructed, that from this point on, there would be no more of that
Ribbon Creek incident - Wikipedia
fencer
NES Member
Were you thinking of this guy? 3rd Battalion DI. Fun fact- He was from Massachusetts.
Everyone joked that way out at 3rd battalion no one could hear the screams, but I am sure the other battalions were just as fun.
But don't worry OP. Statistically, the mortality rate for kids in boot camp is about half what it is for civilians. Mostly because kids in Boot aren't out getting hammered and driving.
ETA: Andy beat me to it. Started a reply and took the dog for a walk.... duh.
CWulf
NES Member
My son's buddy decided to skip college and join the Marine Corps. He sent my son a letter describing this experience at boot camp at Parris Island so far (writing a letter must be pretty hard for kids who spent all their time staring at a smart phone, none allowed at PI). It was pretty much what you would expect but I laughed out loud at the last line of his letter... he said 'and the female DI's here are probably the most terrifying people on Earth.'
![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
fencer
NES Member
Are female drill instructors training male recruits these days? Or did he just come in contact with them?My son's buddy decided to skip college and join the Marine Corps. He sent my son a letter describing this experience at boot camp at Parris Island so far (writing a letter must be pretty hard for kids who spent all their time staring at a smart phone, none allowed at PI). It was pretty much what you would expect but I laughed out loud at the last line of his letter... he said 'and the female DI's here are probably the most terrifying people on Earth.'
I did Mess & Maintenance week at the 4th Bn chow hall.
The female DIs didn't interact with us much, but they were much harder on their recruits than our DIs were on us.
(Maybe it was because we were 3rd phase recruits and the female recruits were 1st phase?)
I got caught by a female DI talking to a female recruit on the back loading dock.
The recruit and I had been in the same poole before leaving for boot camp.
The DI turned me over to one of my DIs and I paid dearly!
Crystal Pelletier from Raven Firearms Training was a female DI at the same time I was on Mess & Maintenance, but the chance of us crossing paths (and remembering it 20 years later) was very low.
I saw ONE female DS at Ft Sill in '94. There were very few females training there (at the time, there was just one artillery MOS open to them), and they needed female DIs, so there couldn't have been very many at all.
She saw a bunch of us lollygagging outside one day. We'd just been issued our Class As, so we had to have been like two weeks from graduation, and we probably didn't snap to parade rest fast enough for her when she came out of the next building. She smoked us like it was Day One with our own drill sergeant just looking on, smiling.
She was about four feet tall and ninety pounds. But LOUD. Good cusser, too.
FrugalFannie
NES Member
toughest drill sergeant I had was a short little hispanic lady. I'd be surprised if she was even 5 feet tall. Just before graduating from basic she came by the company in civvies one Sunday. Her hair was down. That stuff reached almost to the ground!!! She always wore it tied up in a tiny little bun. No FREAKING WONDER she was always pissed off!!! You knot that much hair that tight and see how pleasant your day is. LOL
FrugalFannie
NES Member
Turning Blue ceremony was this morning. We got to watch it on Facebook. 
because Covid means no one is allowed to go to these ceremonies.
These men have been living together for 6 months and yet everyone was standing 6 feet apart the whole time. Talk about "military intelligence."
because Covid means no one is allowed to go to these ceremonies.These men have been living together for 6 months and yet everyone was standing 6 feet apart the whole time. Talk about "military intelligence."
richc
NES Member
My son's buddy decided to skip college and join the Marine Corps. He sent my son a letter describing this experience at boot camp at Parris Island so far (writing a letter must be pretty hard for kids who spent all their time staring at a smart phone, none allowed at PI). It was pretty much what you would expect but I laughed out loud at the last line of his letter... he said 'and the female DI's here are probably the most terrifying people on Earth.'
My son had the same experience. He said one of his Army DI's had the head of Medusa and a booming voice that caused compressions in his chest. OMFG...
And now they are buddies. He stayed in touch with her and said at the end she was the most motivational, inspirational person he'd ever met.
FrugalFannie
NES Member
Our son reported to Ft Carson last night. It was a little FUBARed as they were supposed to be met by a sponsor at the airport to get to the base etc. But at least 7 infantry soldiers were able to figure out how to get to the base and report though they did actually report late by an hour. However, the person checking them in didn't seem to care that much given that there were 7 of them all with the same story and the Army made their flight reservations. Our son's unit is currently at NTC so that may have been part of the problem. And while he questioned the level of intelligence the sergeant possessed he said he was "chill enough." And according to the SGT, our son's unit is getting ready to deploy for 6 months. But then again, we all know the Army runs on rumors (though this one may hold a lot of truth). I suppose once the unit gets back and he actually gets more info we will know for sure. Not that this is unexpected. Hopefully though we will get to see him before he deploys.
Anyone here have any information about whether a stint at NTC is a run up to deployment? Anyone know how long Infantry units generally deploy for? I know from a friend that her son, in a ranger unit, deploys for only 3 months at a time. He's at Yakima currently and the unit is getting ready to deploy in August.
But our son sounds good which always makes us happy. He's glad to be done with OSUT of course. A little apprehensive about this next phase but I am sure he will adjust quickly once he is actually with his unit.
Anyone here have any information about whether a stint at NTC is a run up to deployment? Anyone know how long Infantry units generally deploy for? I know from a friend that her son, in a ranger unit, deploys for only 3 months at a time. He's at Yakima currently and the unit is getting ready to deploy in August.
But our son sounds good which always makes us happy. He's glad to be done with OSUT of course. A little apprehensive about this next phase but I am sure he will adjust quickly once he is actually with his unit.
Ranger deployments and mech deployments from Carson have no similarities, lol. The Rangers do everything differently from everybody else. Deploying a mechanized brigade is a MAJOR deal compared to an airborne battalion.
I would think an NTC rotation would be an excellent way to certify a unit for a deployment...
FrugalFannie
NES Member
Guess who showed up at our door last night?! Evidently him and Dad had cooked this up a week ago! My husband told me there was "a surprise" coming for me this week. When there was a loud knock at our door last night and my husband told me I needed to answer the door I figured it would be flowers, maybe roses or something. Instead it was our son!!!! He's home for a few days and then back to CO on Monday. ![[banana]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/029.GIF "Banana [banana]")
greencobra
NES Member
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what a nice surprise...
FrugalFannie
NES Member
Absolutely! It really sucked that we were not allowed to attend graduation from either basic or Infantry training. His entire unit shipped to NTC in CA just before he reported to CO and they are just now starting to dribble back so he has been BORED out of his mind.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE him! I did the typical "mom squeal of joy" and huge extended hug at the door, followed by multiple hugs and he even let me kiss his cheek a few times!
And I thought my heart was going to stop when I got his graduation photos in the mail yesterday! It's amazing I didn't pass out. Nothing could bring me more joy than seeing him except a SURPRISE visit!
richc
NES Member
My son had a female DI at Fort Sill 6 years ago.
She was jacked, black and gay. And tough as nails. He wrote us some hysterical letters about how he could feel her voice thumping in his chest when in full on command voice. One rather homophobic kid wrote some nastiness about gay people on the wall. She took him into a private room. My son said there's a lot of racket and the kid came out in tears.
They still communicate. After a month with this woman he said she was the finest leader he'd ever met. She was the most motivational and inspirational person he'd ever met. They became fast friends after basic.
As my son said, he would trust her with his life. There is no higher praise IMHO.
richc
NES Member
I remember the first time my son was home after he had completed basic and was in the middle of intel training.
he was a different person. Far more mature. Very helpful around the house. He had grown as a person.
It was awesome to see!
Congrats to you and your family!!!
FrugalFannie
NES Member
Dropped our son at the airport today. He's back on base in CO. As much as I loved seeing him, I'm glad he's gone back again. ![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
It's weird how easy it is to get used to having the place to ourselves.
It's weird how easy it is to get used to having the place to ourselves.
Fort Carson is an awesome post. My daughter goes to college in Colorado Springs and an Army buddy was stationed there. A season pass for Epic or Ikon ski areas is less than $200. We saw a lot of soldiers while hiking some of the recreation areas. USAFA is also in CS.
Climate is pleasant and cars don’t rust at all.
Climate is pleasant and cars don’t rust at all.
