Most everyone knows I was in the Army.
O’ yea a whole year and 5 months!!!
I joined in December of 1994 and got out in April of 1996.
I went to Basic Training in the winter at Fort Jackson, SC.
I then went to Fort Leonard Wood, MO … that’s where I learned it can be to cold to snow … and we where grateful for the snow!
I then ended up going to Fort Benning, Ga where Airborne school and I didn’t agree so much and then ended up over at Fort Stewart in GA where life in general didn’t agree.
I ended up hanging out with the Rangers for a while and then ended up in 3/7 Mechanized Infantry.
This is one of the things I don’t want to talk about but figure you all should know about.
I got deployed over to what was called Project Bright Star in Egypt.
My dad can verify this because he got the collect phone calls … hehe
It was supposed to be a friendly training mission but the Egyptians didn’t always see it that way.
They liked to steal from us, point tanks and guns at us and other not so nice things.
We where not allowed to carry ammunition most of the time and had to be nice … this did not stop the pre-teen kids from pointing AK47’s at us and other ‘friendly acts’.
A couple of things happened over there that I have only told a few people … and I mean it don’t ask about it and this does mean you!
Well, I got hurt when I was over there, kind of bad in fact.
I took a bad fall and messed up my back and both knees … also hurting my head although no one knew just how badly until latter.
Most of you know that my knee had to be ‘fixed’ and that my back is been hurting more and more. Well the other knee is now in bad shape from over compensation and my back … well it isn’t in good shape either.
The government is taking care of it all though, surprisingly enough.
I guess I need to thank my Dad for pushing me to go to the VA about my knee O’ so long ago … darn that’s like 2 nice things back to back about him now isn’t it … I gotta stop that!
They give me pills and Dr. appointments and money every month.
Then they get mad at me when I don’t take the pills because they make me walk into walls and cancel the Dr. appointments because, well I have a life and a job!
I do gladly take the money though … one must at least show some appreciation or they might feel bad … right?
The head injury has turned out to be bad, really bad in fact …
I play it off like it is smaller then it is but I have what is called a ‘Traumatic Brain Injury’.
Basically, I have VERY LITTLE long-term memory.
Almost everything that I can remember is as a third person because in fact it is being recreated from the stories from other people.
The other memories that I do have are just facts and there is no visual context to it.
Basically I can tell you where I grew up, how to get there and a rough floor plan but not the colors, things in it or what the local area looked like … just a rough picture is all.
I am not sure what kind of treatment will be involved or if anything can be done but this is the situation at hand.
The other fun part that none of you know … it never really bothered me until the Wife and I started talking about is one that I never talked about to any of you.
During another Army mission I got hurt again, bad again … this time in a more sensitive area.
Long story short, stop asking when the Mrs’s and I will pop out a child unless you are willing to fork over the 8K to 20K to help along the process.
Yes, I am still fighting with that one for compensation but that’s all you are getting from me on that topic.
Long story short during my Military time both over seas and State side I got broken!
I am starting to fix my eye with a prescription that would make an Asian man cry but make said Asian be able to drive in a straight line, my knees and back are being worked on and my heads … well only time will see.
I am a closed book for a reason … now you have a glimmer as to why …
So although I have gotten my Best Friend out of my Army adventure and all of it led me to the place I am in life now where I seem to be happy … it had some bad times too.
That being said, my life now is SO worth what I had to go through then.
Everything happens for a reason, some times it just takes a decade or more to see how and or why … O look at my time as a Buddhist showing through!I need to liven this thing up so it isn’t so damn depressing and all about me!
O’ yea a whole year and 5 months!!!
I joined in December of 1994 and got out in April of 1996.
I went to Basic Training in the winter at Fort Jackson, SC.
I then went to Fort Leonard Wood, MO … that’s where I learned it can be to cold to snow … and we where grateful for the snow!
I then ended up going to Fort Benning, Ga where Airborne school and I didn’t agree so much and then ended up over at Fort Stewart in GA where life in general didn’t agree.
I ended up hanging out with the Rangers for a while and then ended up in 3/7 Mechanized Infantry.
This is one of the things I don’t want to talk about but figure you all should know about.
I got deployed over to what was called Project Bright Star in Egypt.
My dad can verify this because he got the collect phone calls … hehe
It was supposed to be a friendly training mission but the Egyptians didn’t always see it that way.
They liked to steal from us, point tanks and guns at us and other not so nice things.
We where not allowed to carry ammunition most of the time and had to be nice … this did not stop the pre-teen kids from pointing AK47’s at us and other ‘friendly acts’.
A couple of things happened over there that I have only told a few people … and I mean it don’t ask about it and this does mean you!
Well, I got hurt when I was over there, kind of bad in fact.
I took a bad fall and messed up my back and both knees … also hurting my head although no one knew just how badly until latter.
Most of you know that my knee had to be ‘fixed’ and that my back is been hurting more and more. Well the other knee is now in bad shape from over compensation and my back … well it isn’t in good shape either.
The government is taking care of it all though, surprisingly enough.
I guess I need to thank my Dad for pushing me to go to the VA about my knee O’ so long ago … darn that’s like 2 nice things back to back about him now isn’t it … I gotta stop that!
They give me pills and Dr. appointments and money every month.
Then they get mad at me when I don’t take the pills because they make me walk into walls and cancel the Dr. appointments because, well I have a life and a job!
I do gladly take the money though … one must at least show some appreciation or they might feel bad … right?
The head injury has turned out to be bad, really bad in fact …
I play it off like it is smaller then it is but I have what is called a ‘Traumatic Brain Injury’.
Basically, I have VERY LITTLE long-term memory.
Almost everything that I can remember is as a third person because in fact it is being recreated from the stories from other people.
The other memories that I do have are just facts and there is no visual context to it.
Basically I can tell you where I grew up, how to get there and a rough floor plan but not the colors, things in it or what the local area looked like … just a rough picture is all.
I am not sure what kind of treatment will be involved or if anything can be done but this is the situation at hand.
The other fun part that none of you know … it never really bothered me until the Wife and I started talking about is one that I never talked about to any of you.
During another Army mission I got hurt again, bad again … this time in a more sensitive area.
Long story short, stop asking when the Mrs’s and I will pop out a child unless you are willing to fork over the 8K to 20K to help along the process.
Yes, I am still fighting with that one for compensation but that’s all you are getting from me on that topic.
Long story short during my Military time both over seas and State side I got broken!
I am starting to fix my eye with a prescription that would make an Asian man cry but make said Asian be able to drive in a straight line, my knees and back are being worked on and my heads … well only time will see.
I am a closed book for a reason … now you have a glimmer as to why …
So although I have gotten my Best Friend out of my Army adventure and all of it led me to the place I am in life now where I seem to be happy … it had some bad times too.
That being said, my life now is SO worth what I had to go through then.
Everything happens for a reason, some times it just takes a decade or more to see how and or why … O look at my time as a Buddhist showing through!I need to liven this thing up so it isn’t so damn depressing and all about me!
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