20 Years Ago Today
(some mild adult language follows)
On Thanksgiving Day of 1990, I got home late in the morning from my job feeding and shoveling the poo of elephants, rhinos and giraffes (on holidays, we started early and finished early) to find my roommate telling me to call my unit. I was a corporal in a Marine Corps Reserve artillery unit. I called, and got the word to report the following week with all my gear... we were going to war. That bit of news made for an interesting Thanksgiving that evening with my family, and also to a whirlwind of activity for the next week.
After a month of training at Camp Lejeune, on January 3, 1991, the Marines of Hotel Battery 3/14 arrived in Saudi Arabia to attach to the 1st Marine Division and eventually end up on the spearhead of the liberation of Kuwait.
It also lead to my first long-term test as a survivalist. Over the next 3 and a half months, I spent nearly all of my time in the field, living out of my rucksack. I kept my M-16 and gas mask with me at all times. I survived incoming mortar rounds, learned to drive a 5-ton truck while taking incoming fire, and sent an awful lot of 155mm downrange on "troops in the open." I saw a good friend moments after he got a large piece of shrapnel through his chin that missed taking off his head by about 5 inches. I ate a ton of MRE's and learned the value of "comfort foods" from home. I went for over a month bathing out of a bucket and crapping in a hole while balancing one butt cheek on my e-tool shovel. I mourned one of our Marines who never made it home. I lost about 40 pounds. I mounted my bayonet to take prisoners, and had my 1st Sgt. (the late L.T. Parker - truly one of the greatest men I have ever known) yell, "Damn it, Green! We're here to take 'em prisoner, not poke 'em in the ass!" I learned (by watching, not doing) that you should not pop the primer on a Soviet 12.5mm round by hitting it with a nail in a board.
I witnessed incredible bravery, teamwork, and enthusiasm.
I was physically and mentally challenged, and I passed. Twenty years later, I know I am not up to the physical aspect the same as I was when I was 22 and in some of the best shape of my life, but mental will be a huge part of the game if we enter a TEOTWAWKI situation, and I'm pretty sure I could make that part of it OK.
I was going to write some on other topics, but I think I'll stop here. To the men I served with, the Marines of Hotel Battery, Semper Fidelis.
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