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72coupe
Handloading Master
| Joined: | 11 June 2006 |
| Location: | Iowa Park, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1493 |
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Posted: 9 August 2008 12:16 AM |
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He who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster; For if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - F.Nietzche
This is Timberghost's signature line. It started me thinking. I know its a rare occurance and not very well done when it happens. But it brougth me back to the time when I had been in the jungles of Veitnam for about 3 months. The rifle company I worked for spent long stretches in the field with out relief. That is I once spent 39 consecutive days in the field without a change of clothes or a bath and this was the ordinary thing.
I didn't smoke or use scents such as after shave or deoderant. Some time during this period I became aware that I could smell Veitnamese in the jungle. If i came within 300 feet or so them and the wind was right I could actually smell them. Wind was not much of a problem as the area I worked in seemed to have little wind.
Also at times it seemed that I could tell if someone was watching me although I was never able to verify this.
Has anyone else experienced this?
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Reloader since 1969.
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Timberghozt
Board Founder
| Joined: | 11 February 2005 |
| Location: | Plaza De Los Armas, Mexico |
| Posts: | 5337 |
| Photo: | [Download] | | Are you a handloader?: | Yes | | Favorite type of cartridge to load?: | I load everything! |
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Posted: 9 August 2008 12:23 AM |
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Yes 72 and you hit the nail on the head..When I was a young Scout I could slip into the middle of anywhere I wanted.Silent as a mouse,but much deadlier...I could tell the make of any vehicle a half mile away by the sound of its engine, could hear a man cough three hundred yards away and see the flicker of a careless cigarette from a far piece..I lived out of a rucksack in the mideast desert for seven months..Slept little,ate little and was honed for one thing..Killing my enemy..and I did my job...coming home was the hard part for me,I had gotten a taste of blood and I liked it..I was in my element and thrived on adrenaline...the abyss,careful to those who tread into to,only madness awaits if you stay too long there..
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"He who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster; For if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - F.Nietzche
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crazy2medic
addicted handloader
| Joined: | 16 March 2006 |
| Location: | Watauga, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 296 |
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Posted: 9 August 2008 12:45 AM |
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| okay I must ask a question, alot of hollywood pictures depict troops in vietnam smoking pot in the boonies, from what I have read, NO combat deployed soldier or marine would dream of doing such a thing, As it would endanger the lives of all! when your life depends on all your senses being honed to a razors edge I would think those in the bush or the sand box with you would make sure on no uncertain terms that you didnt do anything as stupid as that! my understanding is on the remf would make that type activity a part of their deployment! am I right?
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80 million armed americans! now that's peace of mind!
Teach the children quietly, for someday sons and daughters will rise up and fight while we stood still!
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72coupe
Handloading Master
| Joined: | 11 June 2006 |
| Location: | Iowa Park, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1493 |
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Posted: 9 August 2008 12:49 AM |
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The company commander caught a guy smoking a joint in the field one night. He drug him out of his poncho tent and kicked the living shot out him.
No problem after that.
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Reloader since 1969.
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3006 user
Gold Sponsor
| Joined: | 30 July 2007 |
| Location: | Denver Area, Colorado USA |
| Posts: | 297 |
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Posted: 10 August 2008 12:07 AM |
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I'm glad there are some positive reports about drugs in the military.
Not everyone escaped unscathed as pertains to drugs...
A good friend was inducted into the Army just in time to be involved in the Tet offensive. He was a mild weed smoker in civilian life, by that I mean a joint or two in high school.
He returned to civilian life when his time was up as a heavy user-- Thai sticks, Hashish, pot, mushrooms, LSD, and psylocybin (sp?). No heroin or cocaine...
Lost a very good job later on because of drug use, and continues to this day with pot.
He blames it on Post Traumatic stress, especially after he knocked his brother's teeth out with a pipe...
Just makes me sad, because he's probably not the only one.
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Timberghozt
Board Founder
| Joined: | 11 February 2005 |
| Location: | Plaza De Los Armas, Mexico |
| Posts: | 5337 |
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Posted: 10 August 2008 01:03 AM |
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crazy2medic wrote: okay I must ask a question, alot of hollywood pictures depict troops in vietnam smoking pot in the boonies, from what I have read, NO combat deployed soldier or marine would dream of doing such a thing, As it would endanger the lives of all! when your life depends on all your senses being honed to a razors edge I would think those in the bush or the sand box with you would make sure on no uncertain terms that you didnt do anything as stupid as that! my understanding is on the remf would make that type activity a part of their deployment! am I right? I never seen drug use during my deployments but it does happen..Moreso in garrison post environments.As for us in a light infantry company.If I did know a guy was high out on a mission ,when we got back,a few of us would drag his dumb ass off somewhere where no one could see what we were doing..and he would get a come to Jesus meeting..There is no place for that crap in a combat zone..It is deadly serious business 24/7 in Iraq or Astan ..Dope is handicap none of us wanted around when I was there.
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"He who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster; For if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - F.Nietzche
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72coupe
Handloading Master
| Joined: | 11 June 2006 |
| Location: | Iowa Park, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1493 |
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Posted: 10 August 2008 01:03 AM |
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In my limited experience the drug problem was not with people walking around in the jungle, but with the people in the rear.
The battalion was having trouble with a young cook. He was doing drugs and creating other probelms so they decided a few weeks in the jungle might straighten him up. This guy was a case he was very small. By that I mean he was about 5 feet tall and weigh maybe 120 pounds. His name was Lakey.
We were clearing bunkers in early January 1969. The procedure was throw in a hand grenade then go in and wire it up with C4 and blow it up then move to the next one. It was a nice afternoon and we were all pretty relaxed until seargent Wallace threw in a grenade and it and 2 chicom grenades came out.
We were all just kind of standing around but things speeded up right away. I dived up on top of the bunker and everyone else managed to get out of the way somehow. This bunker had 2 entrances me and a couple other guys covered the opposite entrance while seargent Wallace pulled the pin on another grenade and counted to 3 before throwing it in. It hadn't much more than cleared the doorway when it went off.
At the exact instant it went off 3 North Veitnamese came running out the opposite door. 2 of them didn't get far but Lakey grabbed the slowest one pinning his arms against his chest. Lakey and this guy wrestled around for a few seconds until one of the guys went over and kicked the NVA in the head knocking him out.
The NVA had been trying to get his arms free so he could get to his belt which was heavy with grenades. Lakey stood up, saw the grenades on this guys belt and fainted dead away.
The company commander sent Lakey back to the rear on the next resupply chopper. We never heard anything about Lakey again.
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Reloader since 1969.
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