Movie Monday (Tuesday): No Time For Sergeants

How about some good ol’ military humor this week?

Source: amazon.com via William on Pinterest

 

Will Stockdale (Andy Griffith) is a big, burly country boy that can barely read and doesn’t like to wear shoes. He’s never been outside the woods that surround his Pa’s cabin, but he’s okay with that. Will likes the simple life. Trouble is, he’s been drafted, and his Pa was so worried about Will not being prepared for the outside world, he hid all the draft notices. So, now Will’s been drafted, but he’s also counted as a draft dodger. Not a good beginning.

Will is taken to town to get shipped out with the other draftees and finds that, sure enough, he sticks out like a sore thumb, from being a full head taller than everyone else, to being a little slower, to being a little kinder. He winds up becoming pals with the smallest fellow in their group, Ben Whitledge (Nick Adams) and they are all sent to the Air Force. Will sees this as a great adventure, but Ben is beside himself. Being the youngest and smallest of 6 brothers (or 5, I think it’s 6) he’s the only one who didn’t get sent to the Infantry, and it’s killing him. So Will makes it his personal mission to get through basic training and get himself and Ben transferred to the infantry.

Source: chadao.wordpress.com via Jaci on Pinterest

 

At basic, they meet Sergeant King, a laid-back guy who enjoys his position of meager responsibility and wants nothing more than to get through this batch of trainees with as little hassle as possible. Unfortunately for him, he’s got Will and Ben in his barracks. After a series of ridiculously unfortunately events – most caused by Will’s well-meaning ignorance – King is given an ultimatum: either he gets Will through Basic and OFF of this post, or he loses his stripes and his cushy life he’s built for himself. Thus begins the second phase of the movie: getting Will and Ben successfully through Basic Training, in spite of themselves.

This is the role that made Andy Griffith really famous as a comedian. As the big-hearted, thick-headed Will, he’s downright charming in an “aw, shucks” kind of way. And while parts of the movie are dated – there’s discussion about how you treat female soldiers compared to male soldiers, for example, since Will didn’t know there were any female soldiers – it really has held up well, as long as you don’t nitpick too hard at the portrayal of the military. Authenticity is secondary to comedy.

One of my favorite scenes is when Will has to go through all the mental and psychological exams. Don Knotts makes a fantastic cameo here as a high-strung authoritarian mental aptitude examiner. He quickly finds out, he’s never seen the likes of Will before.

Source: palzoo.net via Jaci on Pinterest

 

The running gag through the whole movie, adapted from a play and originally a novel, is that Ben is absolutely disgusted at being placed in the Air Force. Everyone else enjoys the Air Force, even Will, until Ben ’sets him straight’ and says, “Do you know what they call fellows in the Air Force? Airman! How you gonna like it if someone calls you airman?” He says it like a curse word and does throughout the movie. So there’s a decent amount of (humorous) discussion about being in the Army vs. being in the Air Force, which is always fun (but then I don’t take those things too seriously, and it’s not meant to be taken seriously.)

There’s only one part where I kind of cringe. At the beginning, Will says goodbye to his Pa. They’re simple mountain people, not educated, but guileless. When Will’s Pa sincerely tries to warn him – against Will’s protests – that “city folk” will judge him for being different, he talks in his own plain, heavily-accented language, tells of the last time he went to “the big city,” and felt hostile eyes around him that drove him back to the mountains for good. Will assures his Pa that the Army won’t be like that, that they’re all guys together, and not to worry about him. I’ve watched this movie with many groups of people, and while I know a lot of people find this simple conversation funny for its ignorance, I can’t help but be moved by its tenderness. Will and his Pa weren’t written to be ridiculed, at least not in this scene. Here is where we first see Will’s sincerity and unspoiled outlook on life, and the man who taught that to him. I don’t think that’s ridiculous, I think it’s precious.

Anyway, that one serious note aside, I promise, you don’t want to miss this one. We’ve seen it 100 times and every time it’s still hysterical. It’s got a great cast and fantastic dialogue, and it’s great to watch with the whole family (another wonderful thing about old movies).

Source: imdb.com via Jaci on Pinterest

 

No Time for Sergeants is coming on TCM Friday, at 3:00 p.m. CST. Be sure those DVRs are set!
(and netflix probably has it somewhere, but I still can’t get the dumb search feature to work for me. Really, I searched for “No Time for Sergeants,” and what does it pull up? “Hot Tub Time Machine.” I mean, wha…???)

Memorial Day

Source: bbc.co.uk via rayna on Pinterest

 

We will always remember.
We will always be proud.
We will always be prepared,
so we may always be free.
~ Ronald Reagan

Cpl. Gary Moore ~ KIA 03/16/2009
Cpl. Jonny Porto ~ KIA 03/14/2010
Sgt. Jordan Tuttle ~ KIA 07/02/2010

Walk Toward the Fire

THE NIGHT I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED
BECAUSE OF MY BLOGGING

At 12:35 a.m. on July 1, 2011, sheriff’s deputies pounded on my front door and rang my doorbell. They shouted for me to open the door and come out with my hands up.

When I opened the door, deputies pointed guns at me and ordered me to put my hands in the air. I had a cell phone in my hand. Fortunately, they did not mistake it for a gun.

They ordered me to turn around and put my hands behind my back. They handcuffed me. They shouted questions at me: IS THERE ANYONE ELSE IN THE HOUSE? and WHERE ARE THEY? and ARE THEY ALIVE?

I told them: Yes, my wife and my children are in the house. They’re upstairs in their bedrooms, sleeping. Of course they’re alive.

Deputies led me down the street to a patrol car parked about 2-3 houses away. At least one neighbor was watching out of her window as I was placed, handcuffed, in the back of the patrol car. I saw numerous patrol cars on my quiet street. There was a police helicopter flying overhead, shining a spotlight down on us as I walked towards the patrol car. Several neighbors later told us the helicopter woke them up. I saw a fire engine and an ambulance. A neighbor later told me they had a HazMat vehicle out on the street as well.

Meanwhile, police rushed into my home. They woke up my wife, led her downstairs and to the front porch, frisked her, and asked her where the children were. Then police ordered her to stand on the front porch with her hands against the wall while they entered my children’s bedrooms to make sure they were alive.

The call that sent deputies to my home was a hoax. Someone had pretended to be me. They called the police to say I had shot my wife. The sheriff’s deputies who arrived at my front door believed they were about to confront an armed man who had just shot his wife. I don’t blame the police for any of their actions. But I blame the person who made the call.

Because I could have been killed.

The weirdest part of the whole thing was that I halfway expected this might happen. Because I was not the first one it had happened to.

What you’ve just read is a true story, and only an excerpt of the post. You need to click on the title above to read the whole thing, and you really need to read the whole thing.

On twitter, facebook, the blogosphere, and major online media outlets, these stories are finally getting the attention they deserve. Most of what you will read in that link was unknown to me a few days ago. Part of me is shocked that this has been going on so long, and so few people have talked about it.

But part of me isn’t. I can’t lie, I even hesitated to post this much. After all, I don’t like the idea of calling the attention of those kind of people onto me and onto my family. I can’t even imagine what these bloggers are going through right now. I know for certain of one who has had to leave the state and take his family into hiding for their own safety. All of it traces back to one man.

I’ve said many times, social media isn’t for sissies. And just like in every other area of life, there are bullies in social media. But the only way to defeat a bully is to stand up to him. Breitbart called it “walking towards the fire, not running away from it.”

That’s what’s happening today.

This is related to politics, in that the attacks are politically motivated, but this is not political. This is not a left/right thing or a Democrat/Republican thing. This is basic right and wrong. And today, bloggers, facebookers, social media engagers from all over the country and all points on the political spectrum to walk towards the fire and say, “No more.”

Today, all day on twitter, I’ll be linking to and RTing anything related to Brett Kimberlin that anyone posts. You can follow along by clicking the twitter button on the top right hand column. I know it’s Friday and a long weekend and especially for those of us in the military community, we’ve got other things on our mind as we approach Monday. But please don’t shrug this off. Even if you don’t want to post about this, link or RT anything, that’s fine. But be informed. These people are out there, and as long as they are allowed to operate in relative secret, they won’t stop.

It’s time to walk towards the fire.

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,
but instead expose them.”
Eph. 5:11

For more, start here.

I Got My Spurs

From wikipedia:

The Order of the Spur is a Cavalry tradition within the United States Army. Soldiers serving with Cavalry units (referred to as "Troopers") are inducted into the Order of the Spur after successfully completing a "Spur Ride" or for having served during combat as a member of or with a Cavalry unit. Traditionally, each Trooper is presented spurs by his sponsor at a ceremonial dining in commonly referred to as the "Spur Dinner". The spurs are to be worn with the military uniform during Squadron or Regimental ceremonies and events or as designated by the Cavalry unit commander. In some units, gold spurs are awarded for combat inductions while silver spurs represent having completed the Spur Ride. Within the tradition, silver spurs and gold spurs hold a similar relationship for the cavalry as the Expert Infantryman Badge and the Combat Infantryman Badge hold in the U.S. Army Infantry. There is no Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) requirement for the Order of the Spur and the order is open to members of foreign militaries serving with U.S. Cavalry units.

Occasionally, Cav units hold Spouse Spur Rides so that the spouses of the soldiers can earn their own set of spurs, sort of a morale and team-building exercise to honor the spouses who support our soldiers. Edited for clarification: Of course, SoldierMan is infantry, and in an infantry company, but SoldierMan’s unit is attached to a Cav squadron. They hosted a Spouse Spur Ride yesterday, and so we were invited to participate. So this really was like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and the spouses in our company.

The regular Spur Ride is a grueling two-day marathon of events that the soldiers have to complete to earn their spurs. The Spouse Spur Ride is, necessarily, a “lighter” version of that. But I still felt like I earned them!

All photos stolen from others, since I was obviously a little too busy to take pictures during the event!

We were divided into groups and participated in a number of events, such as a grenade assault range, land nav, low crawl/high crawl course, and the leader’s reaction course (obstacle course). Of course, by the time we had all assembled, the thermometer was already pushing triple-digits. Gotta love the desert.

Blissfully unaware of what the afternoon was about to bring. No, really, they told us next to nothing, other than we were given a packing list, equipment to be provided by our soldier, and we were told to be prepared to get wet at some point, so no “fancy” underwear. Yup.

Yes, I run like a girl. And I throw like a girl. SoldierMan’s company was running this lane where we had to run from bunker to bunker and throw grenades at targets. My grenades usually went about 3 feet. The soldier running me through it knew SoldierMan and got a kick out of that. (At least, I’m assuming he was laughing WITH me, not AT me, though either one would have been appropriate, honestly :)) And that fellow following me with his cell phone out is our CO, videoing my amazing performance…har har…as seen here:

I think we had gotten to the next station too early, so to “kill time” between hydration stops we did some light PT. It was definitely over 100 degrees at that point. But the ACUs were actually pretty comfortable. We carried our assault packs (again, our soldiers’ assault packs) and our “weapons” with us to every station. And don’t you dare let 1SGT see you holding it wrong!

Pretty sure I was supposed to be low-crawling at that point. But at least my muzzle isn’t in the dirt!

There’s a low crawl! You should see my arms today. Owie!

More time-killing PT. I have awesome form, I know.

Big group shot of all the spouses after the obstacle course. We survived! :)

We had a great time and the soldiers who ran each lane did a fantastic job. The soldiers in charge of each team were great about making sure everyone had a chance to do everything and do everything safely. I ran home after we were dismissed, took a deliciously COLD shower and iced my feet down until I had to hobble around on my blisters and get ready for the evening.

That night, we had the Spur Dining In, where each of the spouses was awarded a certificate and a spur charm necklace (I’m still trying to figure out how to wrangle some real pink spurs – the traditional award for completing the Spouse Spur Ride and the significance behind the pink event shirts. Long story, but there were some technical difficulties and our group didn’t get them. But I’m pretty determined to find some on my own. I’ve figured out how to get my own pink spurs. I did earn them, after all! :)) The Dining In was fun, at the German Club on post, and there are pictures floating around somewhere of SoldierMan presenting me with my “spurs,” but I don’t have them. The pictures, I mean.

I found one from someone:

Yeah, that’s SoldierMan creeping in the background. He’s waiting to present me with my spurs.
I love that Stetson.

So now SoldierMan has his EIB and I have my Cav Spurs. What’s next, Army? Bring it on. Bring. It. On.

The Dining In also doubled as the Farewell to our SCO and his wife, so it was a very bittersweet evening. They are fantastic people, incredible leaders and inspiring role models, both of them. They will be sorely missed.

Speaking of sore, I think it’s time for my next round of ibuprofen.

Owie