What's new, folks? (Warning, minor rant)

[Army Grunt]

Haven't been around in a while. I hope everybody has been as safe as expected, and that you all had a safe, drunken 4th of July and didn't lose too many appendages playing with the things that go boom. Me, I had my friend who is involved in explosives work and accidentally obtained some fun equipment for the night. Celebrate your country and freedom by destroying a small chunk of it...always been my theory.

Went back to my hometown for 30 days, which was about as much fun as playing leapfrog with unicorns. Anybody else notice that the current 18-24 year old generation is fucking lazy as hell? Nobody wants to put in an honest day's work anymore, they just want to play the system and fucking milk welfare and medical disability. Out of my old drinking crew from back in the day, 2 out of 7 are employed. And one of them works second shift in Jiffy Lube. Two are claiming fibromyalgia, and an additional one chronic lyme disease. I'm sorry, if a disease can't be proven...you should not receive a paycheck of my tax dollars to go bar hopping. Be a man, work for your cash and work hungover like the rest of us. I'm still trying to find out what "GTL" means, but apparently 21-year old's with pink polo's or Affliction T's and beer guts think it's some hardcore saying that attracts females and scares off other guys. Lucky for me, I have no pop culture knowledge and am very handy with a broken Guinness bottle. I'm not some MMA wannabe, I just like a quiet, dimly lit bar and have an extremely low tolerance for stupidity.

For you ex military folks. You know I just returned from a wonderful, fun-filled year in Afghanistan's Konar providence (K-Valley). So, with some expendable cash I went to the strip club. I was in a resort town, so the women were above average and the booze expensive. 5 shots of Wild Turkey down, a kid arrives in ACU's, with his CAC card stuck on his bicept like it's going out of style. Now, I don't play Army while back home - I typically sport a mohawk and wear beaten up blue jeans with a band T. Corrective action was required when later into the night, after he "Obtained" a tower of power after a dozen or so free drinks. Seriously - he walked into the shitter and came out with the long tab, Ranger, and the SF unit patch. He also got promoted to E-6 (Staff Sergeant). Later into the night, he let it "Slip" that he was awarded the Medal Of Honor for actions in Iraq AND Afghanistan. Now, normally I don't care if somebody talks themselves up - my thoughts are that if you talk about doing gritty shit, you probably weren't there and overheard real soldiers telling stories. But this kid thought he was tough shit. He went out for a cigarette, I saw "E-1" on his CAC card and no deployment patch...and I get thrown out and arrested for punching the cocksucker in the goddamn throat.

So, what's new here? I checked this place out once or twice in the past 30 days, but it was all funky and my alcohol-fueled IQ wasn't able to figure out how to post up here.

[Smatter Noguts]

Stolen Honor is despicable.

There used to be a character who would walk into Flannigan's in downtown G.R. with an old Amy jacket and talk up his days as an officer in Vietnam to cage a free drink from a sympathetic customer, even though it was obvious he'd never been west of L.A. and was in 7th grade when Nixon called it off. I was drinking one night there with an actual vet who ended up showing him how wet the Grand River could get, and the cops gave him a pass when they showed up to investigate the disturbance.

Thanks for your service, my prayers to you and yours and mine in Guam.

[Army Grunt]

Stolen Honor is despicable.

There used to be a character who would walk into Flannigan's in downtown G.R. with an old Amy jacket and talk up his days as an officer in Vietnam to cage a free drink from a sympathetic customer, even though it was obvious he'd never been west of L.A. and was in 7th grade when Nixon called it off. I was drinking one night there with an actual vet who ended up showing him how wet the Grand River could get, and the cops gave him a pass when they showed up to investigate the disturbance.

Thanks for your service, my prayers to you and yours and mine in Guam.

You're probably already aware, apparently you can say you did whatever about war (service or not) and get away with it. According to Judge Robert E. Blackburn, you can say what you want and it's still "Free Speech". Good for 'em. If you don't mind me asking, what unit were you with back in the real war days - when you didn't have to deal with daily ambushes and fucking locals pulling AK-47's and RPG's on you and your men? Back in the days where it was real fucking combat, and not bullshit guerrilla warfare?

[Judge]

Welcome back and hope you come back more. My uncle retired from the Sub Service after the mandatory retirement age of 20 years. He was offered officer status but would have none of it. He was a COB on several subs. My wife made the mistake of asking him about VN and his time on those plastic boat made so famous in Apocolypse Now.

When we buried him a few Novembers ago he had all the Roosters and stripes on his uniform but only 3 medals that his Marine grandson spent 2 hours leveling just right.

My dad asked the guy who served with him on several tours why with all he had done (grudgingly coerced out of him by a few close friends over 30 years and WT101) he only had 3 basic awards. The retired squid (who was very drunk) stated that not everything that happend during the cold war is necessarily on record.


I don't know, he would never talk about it other than to shoot you a dirty look and then take aim at a wild deer off his deck. He didn't really always get them. And go back to his bourbon and cigarettes.

If you're in uniform and I'm next to you in a bar, you'll probably get a free drink...or if like that little asshat in Denver...spare you a beat down for being a prick.

I dunno man, glad your still on this side of the grass.

Slainte.

[fiyah]

I have enough leathernecks and jarheads like that poser in my hometown.. They've given the military a bad name..

[peetie44]

AG...you had problems posting because the site font (skin) was a little out of sorts (the site admin was on a bender) but it's back to normal now.

That's a wild story. I never served in the military myself but when out drinking I've encountered the type of guy you describe from time to time. What's funny is, when I lived in Canada (1978-93), I met a more than a few local guys in bars over the years who claimed to be Nam vets (though I personally did know one Canadian who had enlisted in the U.S. Army and had served in VN). I would listen to these posers for awhile, introduce myself as an American and then ask them where they did their basic training. That usually sent them packing but I got a few good answers, such as, "that's classified", "Fort Knox" or "somewhere in Georgia". As if a veteran wouldn't remember exactly where he did his basic, ha-ha.

Welcome back and CHEERS!

[Resident Asshole]

Ran into this guy maybe a month ago. I've seen him around town, drives and electric wheelchair. He told me he was a vet and asked me for change. I told him if she showed me his card I would give him more than just change.

He said he didn't have one so I called him a liar to his face. He then jumped out of the wheelchair to come after me, I jumped in it and wheeled away. Gotta have fun.

[Bluespook]

I did my time during peace, never left the states. My brother on the other hand has been to iraq and has seen his share of combat. Got the bronze star out of it. He's in centcom now, doing war planning. He's a major, soon to be a lt colonel. My grandfather was in the navy, pacific during ww2. The thing both of these men have in common is that neither one will talk about their actions. My grandfather summed it up best a year or so before he died. "if you saw what i saw, you'd try to forget it and not want to talk about it either."

[Surreal]

I just like a quiet, dimly lit bar and have an extremely low tolerance for stupidity.

I concur AG. Welcome back.

Cheers,

Surreal

[Labatt_50]

though I personally did know one Canadian who had enlisted in the U.S. Army and had served in VN

They have a memorial to them down in Windsor right by the river I think.I think it was paid for by the veterans themselves.

[drunkensooner]

How did the punching incident go down? Did you call him out on his BS story? Did he take the first swing?

An aside about fibromyalgia: Like you, I used to think it was condition used an excuse to recieve opiate pain medications because it's a chronic condition with no real course of treatment other than pain management. My opinion changed due to my brothers fiancee who has had the "disease" since she was a teenager. Usually she displays no signs of the disease, however in June she had been having intense pain and dark swelling on her face and arms. I was visiting my brother and while he was out, she needed to get up and go to the restroom. She was in such agony she couldn't even stand up and walk, and she was too embarrassed to ask me for help. My brother found her next to her bed on the floor crying and in soiled clothing from attempting to crawl to the toilet. I know now that it is a very real and for some devastating condition.

[greygoose]

How did the punching incident go down? Did you call him out on his BS story? Did he take the first swing?

An aside about fibromyalgia: Like you, I used to think it was condition used an excuse to recieve opiate pain medications because it's a chronic condition with no real course of treatment other than pain management. My opinion changed due to my brothers fiancee who has had the "disease" since she was a teenager. Usually she displays no signs of the disease, however in June she had been having intense pain and dark swelling on her face and arms. I was visiting my brother and while he was out, she needed to get up and go to the restroom. She was in such agony she couldn't even stand up and walk, and she was too embarrassed to ask me for help. My brother found her next to her bed on the floor crying and in soiled clothing from attempting to crawl to the toilet. I know now that it is a very real and for some devastating condition.

1. welcome back, and a heartfelt 'thank you' for your service. really.
2. while fibromyalgia is a recently-confirmed condition, it seems to only affect females. a guy having fibromyalgia is about as common as finding tits on a boar. you need to call your 'friend' out.
3. you did the right thing punching that jackwagon in the throat. impersonating rank, that's just low.
4. again, welcome back and thank you again. next round on me.

[Savage]

Any shitbag like that deserves to have his ass introduced to his shoulders.

[Army Grunt]

Thank you guys for the warm welcome once again. I seem to stumble on this site after a few civilized afternoon and evening caps. And please stop thanking me for my service guys, I volunteered to join, volunteered for my job. There are others on this board who have done far more then me and have earned many more thanks then myself.

Any shitbag like that deserves to have his ass introduced to his shoulders.

I simply took him aside, showed him my ID, and explained that he was disrespecting my uniform and that I'm sorry I missed his promotion ceremony in the restroom from Private to Staff Sergeant, and that it must have been quite a trip since he walked out of there with a Special Forces and Ranger tab. He didn't like that. When I brought up his Medal Of Honor and that the last National Guardsmen to have earned the MOH was MSG Keeble, and that it was awarded posthumously in '07. He really didn't like that. Now, from there my language may or may not have intensified a bit...but he tried getting in my face, so I put him in his place. Like I said, I'm not some MMA expert and even don't pretend to be. But I took control of the situation and prevented things from getting out of hand, to the best of my ability considering it was outside of a strip club.

Likely the only time in that policeman's career that the guy in a mohawk reeking of bourbon held more credibility then a soldier in an Army Combat Uniform.

An aside about fibromyalgia: Like you, I used to think it was condition used an excuse to recieve opiate pain medications because it's a chronic condition with no real course of treatment other than pain management. My opinion changed due to my brothers fiancee who has had the "disease" since she was a teenager. Usually she displays no signs of the disease, however in June she had been having intense pain and dark swelling on her face and arms. I was visiting my brother and while he was out, she needed to get up and go to the restroom. She was in such agony she couldn't even stand up and walk, and she was too embarrassed to ask me for help. My brother found her next to her bed on the floor crying and in soiled clothing from attempting to crawl to the toilet. I know now that it is a very real and for some devastating condition.

You know, I've done a little bit more research on it since I read this yesterday. Her case sounds pretty goddamn legit, unless there is some underlying cause to cause such problems. But, I'm no Dr. House...so I have no clue really. My buddies claiming the disease still managed to go bar hopping nightly and pick up the poontang without any issues other then intoxication/painkiller related stuttering. Not to mention, the one guy makes more money in disability then I do back in the states. Another rant, for another say maybe.

[Wingman]

there's a whole lot of words in this thread. and that's a fact.