From the Heart of a Soldier

I can never forget Boot Camp in San Diego. Sometimes it was cruel really with the newbies and all the jokes with them. Just cruel. But the boys in Boot Camp, that was really rough. I heard a joke there and I still remember it. “The drill instructor had morning formation, then had to give bad news. “Private Smith! Step forward! Your mother is dead. Step back!” Well, the drill instructors’ senior officer was observing all of this and afterward explained to the drill instructor that next time he must deliver bad news, he needs to use some tact. He tells him, “I’ll be keeping an eye on you”. A few weeks later the drill instructor must deliver more bad news. “Privates! All those with your mothers alive, Step Forward! Not so fast Hernandez…...”
The Navy was a wonderful experience for me, but more than anything else, it makes a man out of a boy. If you are wayward, it straightens you out. I believe everyone should serve two years. It’s not a lot to serve for your country.

Excerpt #2:
As a Ranger Instructor, I was assigned to the Florida Ranger Camp, which is on Eglin Air Force Base which is in the Panhandle of Florida. The Para Rescue Jumpers for the Air Force had a pretty good relationship with us. We would often jump together. The Army required people to jump a minimum of once every three months to keep their jump pay. The USAF did things differently. They had a set number of parachute openings per month for the para rescue detachment. Now the Air Force often had trouble doing that because their people were in school, on leave, hurt or whatever so they would call the Army Camp and ask if anyone wanted to make the water jump, or a free fall. Several of us would go. Water jumps especially are a lot of fun. We would wear wetsuits and it’s at night. They fly far enough out in the Gulf that you can’t see any of the lights on the shore and you jump out, hit the water, activate your inflation device and then bob there and the recovery boat comes out and grabs the top of your canopy and pulls you into the boat, and you drink beer all the way back. It was a good time! Now the briefing for that was if you hit the water and remain calm, the recovery boat could see you thrashing, it meant that there was a problem, and they would come to you first. I had done several night jumps with these guys, and it was fun. So, we got a call one day that they had a day jump out in the Gulf, and I said, “Oh yeah, I’m there. Let’s go!”
Well, I got out of the aircraft, parachute opened, and I looked down into the water and suspended I can see straight down into the water column, and there were these HUGE fish. I’m saying Oh no we are jumping into a school of sharks so when I hit the water I’m thrashing. I’m trying to swim to the boat, and they come over to me and they are asking, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” I am telling them there are sharks everywhere! Did you see them? They laughed and said yeah, we know. They are always there. That’s why we jump at night so you can’t see them! So, the Air Force guys are making fun of the Army guy.