VA Military Memories Competition
SSG Victoria Ryan, U.S. Army (1973-1988)
Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:
Military training does not end with basic or AIT (advanced individual training). It is an ongoing, continuous journey which imparts many valuable and often life-long lessons. One of the most valuable and enduring lessons I repeatedly received during my many years of Army service was that there is a chain of command and it is there for a reason. Nothing is written in stone, situations can be fluid, and utilizing a chain of command can be instrumental in accomplishing or changing a situation.
SSG James R. Laudermilk, U.S. Army (2004-2015)
Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:
Yes, there was a time in my civilian life when my military training was absolutely vital not in the field, but in a fight for my life. After 19 years in the U.S. Army, including combat deployments to Iraq and roles as an IT instructor and leader I retired with 100% disability due to exposure to burn pits. I have led soldiers through missions, trained others in high-pressure-tech environments, and understood the value of discipline, resilience, and readiness. But nothing fully prepared me for what came next: a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, followed by leukemia.
SSgt Tyler Armstrong, U.S. Air Force (2009-2015)
Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:
Yes, there was a defining moment during my civilian life when my military training became not just useful, but lifesaving. After separating from the military, I was driving on a remote highway late at night when I came upon a multi-car accident. Several people were injured, and it was clear that emergency services hadn’t yet arrived. The scene was chaotic, vehicles were smoking, people were in shock, and one car had flipped over with a driver trapped inside.
CW2 Donnell Medley, U.S. Army (1964-1968)
Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:
On June 13, 1966, while flying an Army Birddog out of Marble Mountain airfield, I was shot down supporting a Marine company that was pinned down by a Viet Cong force. My Marine observer and I had just taken off and were en route to Marine artillery base Hill 55 when there was a call on the radio, “Any Catkiller, any Catkiller near Hoi An?”. We were very near the area, so I answered with our location. The radio operator stated that they were pinned down by an enemy force and requested assistance. We obtained the coordinates and said that we were on our way. Arriving on the scene, we saw that the Marine force was on a narrow road and receiving fire from a trench line approximately 100 yards to their front. There were 12 to 15 VCs in the trench. Assessing the situation, I had the Marines set up their 60 mm mortar. The mortars weren’t coming close after several adjustments were made. I didn’t feel comfortable calling artillery as the Marines were too close. I then told the Marine observer to take my M16, and we would make some strafing runs.
SPC Robert E. Hendrickson, U.S. Army (1976-1992)
Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:
Yes, 3xs, … in my boot camp training .. I was taught basic 1st aid in 1976 … and later on in my life, I unchoked my foster dad from choking on a piece of steak two different times … I did the Heimlich maneuver on him … once I got in the right place and in position, I performed h. m. and he expelled the steak piece … God rest his soul now … that was in 1986 and 1987 respectively …
SPC Gregory Tallant, U.S. Army (1992-1995)
Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:
In August 1992, my basic training class, which was part of an OSUT unit, was sent to Fort Polk, LA. We were stationed in the old World War II barracks while waiting for our unit to return from Germany after the Gulf War. We were assigned to every type of work detail possible, from trash removal and building painting and repair to dishwashing and lawn care, every day, for several months. The first soldier who arrived at Fort Polk from our returning unit was Specialist Enke. He was one of the funniest and laziest soldiers I worked with. One day, an NCO asked for volunteers for NTC, and Specialist Enke raised his hand. I thought it was an easy detail job, so I raised my hand as well. After everyone who raised their hand was selected. Specialist Enke asked me why I volunteered for Desert Training. I said I didn’t. I volunteered for NTC. He said NTC is the National Training Center at Ft Irwin, California, which is in the Mojave Desert. My first thought was that it sounded better than all of the crap details I had been doing for several months. When we arrived at Fort Irwin, we were attached to an M109 self-propelled artillery unit, which was very beneficial for me, as in basic training, we were trained on the towed howitzers M102, M119, & M198 as we were supposed to go to the 10th Mountain Division at Ft Drum, NY, but at graduation we were advised that the 10th Mountain Division was full, so they offered us Fort Polk, LA. Our unit, which had just returned from Germany, also used the M109 howitzers, so I was excited about the opportunity to work with the M109. The E6 crew chief who selected me for his crew told me that since I was only an E2, he was going to put me on every crap detail. I told him that I would gladly work the crap details, and when I explained that while the unit I was attached to at Fort Polk was also an M109 battallion, I had only been trained on towed howitzers, and I asked if he would please teach me about the M109, when it wouldn’t interfere with his crew’s training. He was an E6 crew chief. To my amazement, he put me on every crap detail.