Memories

We had a SAR training day at Mountain Home AFB, and during lunch some of the Base Honor Guard guys let us mess with their nice drill M-1's. Needless to say I enjoyed the opportunity.

Only thing that caused a hiccup in the day was the fact that I was a dual CAP and JROTC guy, who was on the exhibition drill team of the latter, and as such, thought I knew the 'Cool Moves'. I knew that if you smacked the bolt release inside the M-1 quickly enough, you could make it out without getting your finger slammed.

It only took one shot of NOT being quick enough to make me realize it was a bad idea, as the end of my thumb ended up chambered in the rifle.   
I ended up in base medical, had my hand wrapped up, and eventually everything grew back, but It was a very valuable life lesson.

Don't be stupid. 

My fondest CAP memory,so far, (I've only been in the program for four months.) would have to be my first O-Flight. Actually, it was my first airplane ride EVER (I've never flown commercially or anything.Talk about sheltered.) so I was very excited. It was that day I knew for sure I wanted to be a pilot. It was an amazing experience.

Another fond memory I have is our squadron banquet. I got to hang out with my CAP friend and the food was delicious. Especially the pie. Yummy pie.

 
 Yup. Squadron banquet. Good times. Good pie.

 
 

 Another good memory would be the night i made color guard as junior flagholder, but we haven't even started practice yet.
 

-A female cadet I liked said yes to being my girlfriend.

How did that work out?? 

-A female cadet I liked said yes to being my girlfriend.

How did that work out?? 

Long story short...

She passed away while we were still cadets...ended up marrying her best friend who was also a cadet with us...been 17 years and 4 kids now!

My favorite memory would be from encampment. There was this cadet in my flight, I will call him cadet A, every time that our flight sergeant told our flight to fall in, Cadet A would scream out Cadet B's name looking for him so cadet a would know where to fall in. The Funny part is that he would be looking around and jumping, so nervous it would be like gunshots were going off at the same time looking for cadet B. Along with this every time that the flight sergeant told our flight to go to Parade Rest. He would scream out NO windows. It was really funny.

What flight were you in? I was in Charlie

So you were there?

1.EVERYTHING at PAWG encampment- except maybe the yelling.  
My favorite memory at enc 2013 was probably the one I posted somewhere else:

Hairspray
I went to PA wing encampment. TD01 Our flight commanders were constantly bellowing at us, "YOUR HAIR LOOKS ATROCIOUS!!, you should use so much hairspray, if you bump your head on your bunk, it won't hurt because you have a HELMET HEAD!  ...Training Day 03, the carbon monoxide detectors were going off. We found out it was from all the hairspray we were using. After that, no hairspray use was aloud inside the barracks. 

anyway, - you know PAWG ENC [  ] (or maybe some of you)

2.Another was shooting the M9s and M16s with laser pointers on the ends.
 
3. and...probably another: The social on Friday night at the end of PAWG encampment. After all the stress the whole week, the social is a great high point before it ends.

So you were there?

   

My favorite memory would be from encampment. There was this cadet in my flight, I will call him cadet A, every time that our flight sergeant told our flight to fall in, Cadet A would scream out Cadet B's name looking for him so cadet a would know where to fall in. The Funny part is that he would be looking around and jumping, so nervous it would be like gunshots were going off at the same time looking for cadet B. Along with this every time that the flight sergeant told our flight to go to Parade Rest. He would scream out NO windows. It was really funny.

at pa wing enc this year, there was a cadet the staff called "duff man". His last name was Duff and he was LOUD! All of us would be eating in the chow hall...

(we weren't aloud to talk or look at anything but our food; If we did, it would be yelled in our faces:  "HI!!!,--YEAH I SAW THAT!!"  or "WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AROUND!!?!--WHY--WHY?--IS THERE SOMTHING OVER THERE I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?!!!" )

... and suddenly one of the staff would call out: "DUFF MAN---SOUND OFF!" and duff would stand at attention and yell, "DUFF MAN!!" , the staff would reply: "OH WHAT?!!!"    ---then he went:  "OHHHH YEAHHHH!

the staff would initiate this when no one was expecting. 

-A female cadet I liked said yes to being my girlfriend.

How did that work out?? 

Long story short...

She passed away while we were still cadets...ended up marrying her best friend who was also a cadet with us...been 17 years and 4 kids now!

awhhhhhhh 

The best memories I have are as follows, in no particular order:

1. A ride in a Huey at my first encampment.
2. A ride in a C-130 at my 3rd-5th encampment
3. The time I was joined at breakfast by several girls who were attending cheerleading camp at my second encampment
4. My future stepmother finding 3 newborn kittens behind the mess hall at my first encampment, in 1981. They lived well into the late 90s.
5. Firing an M-16
6. The Ranger demonstration at Fort Benning, 1982
7. Watching the Airborne students do their graduation drop
8. The 150' drop tower in 1982. This is where I first met Colonel Jack
9. Rappelling at the 1982 Benning encampment
10. The Leadership Reaction Course, 1982

As Squadron CC, getting to also fly the F-15 Strike Eagle simulator at Seymour Johnson AFB with the cadets.  The Sim view was of eastern NC and I was able to do a fly by of our Squadron building at W03 and to lob a few Eagle eggs into it.

Too many to mention them all, but here's a couple:

First encampment - Tornado, International Space Station, Full Metal Jacket jelly donut scene on then C/FO Pyle, space camp cadets can't drill.

Most recent - Former chairman of the JCoS presenting my BMoV.

Twenty years of them, but I'll try to keep it short....

1. First day of command. Nothing like the excitement and fear.
2. Last day of command.
3. Being an honor grad at NJ Wing's GSAR School.
4. The humbling feeling of receiving the Torch Award in 2 consecutive years.
5. Seeing young men and women go from being clueless cadets to today being NCOIC of a CST in the west, an accomplished skycop, 4 police officers, three career firefighters/EMTs, a couple teachers, and all around good citizens.
6. Meeting people who would mean more to me than family or friends.
7. Being invited to sit in on a Thunderbirds hot wash.
8. Joint Defender

Unitl now, I was actually considering retirement. I've done beaucoup stuff, and there isn't much more that I really wanted to do. Except to do it all over again...

Fondest memories from CAP...

1)doing disaster relief work for Hurricane Hugo in 1989
2)sitting with the boom operator during a KC-135 flight at my first encampment
3)being in the Honor Flight at my second encampment
4)being able to have dinner with the USAF Thunderbirds after an airshow
5)being able to ride in a C-130 and C-141
6)seeing my MTI and his supervisor at BMT pick up my Mitchell Award and comment on it during our first inspection

I want to add to mine:

"The day after giving up Squadron CC" as a great memory.

I've got million priceless memories and I don't even have my Red Service yet! Here are a few:

Grogging my C/CC at encampment,
Being on Color Guard in a pass in-review in front of a one-star,
meeting my best friends,
watching a movie with the other cadre on the last night of encampment,
being accepted as a flight sergeant at encampment,
being at encampment with my friends,
joing the world of senior NCOs,
helping introduce new cadets to the CAP Cadet Program,

I could go on, but I'd never shut up.