OT: Military Pay ** II

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

 

This one I'll pass along in the open .. because Karen is a patriot and

she would not mind at all .. from another list. Butch

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> You sure about the pay? When Jeremy was young and foolish (!) and

> jumping out of those planes at Fort Bragg, he was paid $150.00/month

> for jump. He had to jump to collect.

 

I'm not sure .. I went by the article. But jump pay is based on a 90

day period .. you must make a minimum of one jump in 90 days - of this I

am sure. I drew my last jump pay when I left US Army Component Central

Command, Ft. McPherson, GA .. in April 1988. It was then still $55 for

enlisted and $110 for officers .. same as it was when I started in 1960.

 

I need to correct the date I graduated from Airborne School - I said it

was 1963 .. not so, it was December 1960. I went to the 'Nam in '63.

So it was 42 years - not 39 years. What the hell - time passes quickly

when you're having fun .. ;-p

 

> There isn't enough money out there to make it worthwhile, Butch. The

> bummer was his last year. Scheduled war games at the hell hole Fort

> Polk, LA.

 

Great Coonass food down there though .. ;-p Skeeters too.

 

> One of the men sent in first to help with prep for the games, jumped

> out of the plane and both shutes failed to open.

 

That happens .. but rarely. Odds are better you will die on the way to

the supermarket. I had a Mae West twice .. inverted lines, etc., and

had to pull reserve. Even with reserve it is a bear when you land cause

we were using the old T10 and T7A chutes back then .. the parafoil used

now is a dream compared to them. I hit feet-butt-head with one of the

reserve drops. Knocked me out for a while and my back hurt the rest of

the day .. but stopped when we went to the bar that night .. ;-p When I

was young, I could not die and could not be hurt. But today, I feel

some things that resulted from parachute jumps .. EVERY paratrooper

alive will tell you that.

 

As a side note .. during combat jumps there is no reserve chute - no

reason for it as you jump at 500 feet to limit exposure to hostile fire

and that is not enough time to deploy a reserve. This is one of the

many perils of war. Another was cigarettes .. the anti-smoking groups

convinced the military to take them out of the C-Rats and MRE packages

cause the could be hazardous to the health of a troop in combat. As a

commander, I insured my troops in the 'Nam were NEVER without them if

they wanted them and those that criticise my actions can kiss my grits!

 

We also threw parties with lots of beer for the troops when we got back

into a safe garrison environment .. busted open lots of kegs and NCO's

had the duty of ensuring they did no great harm to each other .. ;-p

We knew and they knew that it might be their last hangover.

 

> Even in practice these people put their lives on the line for us,

> folks.

 

YES! YES! YES! Disabling and fatal training accidents occur even

though the military has taken far more care than would be reasonably

expected. Most of them are a result of young, dumb kids doing dumb

things. But we cannot blame young, dumb kids for being young, dumb

kids .. and we can't blame the Army or Marine Corps either.

 

> $110, $150, and 1000xs that much doesn't make it worth it when they

> know they can die.

 

And they do know they can die! I have never heard a cross word from

even the worst enemies while we were flying to the Drop Zone. And in

the 'Nam .. the closer one came to rotation, the more their butt would

pucker. In GI fashion, we joked and laughed about death .. if you get

it today can I have that watch? Gimme your girlfriend's phone number in

case you step on a mine today and get your peker blown off, etc. They

were afraid but afraid to show they were afraid - that is courage!!!

 

Then they busted their butts to protect each other even though it meant

the loss of the watch or telephone number. Folks who criticize war can

never really understand what is really there when they deal with those

who have experienced it. They have more character than most folks will

ever have - and they know themselves better than most folks can.

 

War is often evil .. often necessary .. but soldiers are always GRAND!

 

> We have got to appreciate what the people in the military do for us.

 

We should .. unfortunately, many don't feel they " have " to .. ;-(

 

> Take care,

> Karen