Well last Tuesday i dropped off Robbie at a friends house who is going to watch him for me till Sunday. I then got on the road for the 14 hour drive to Columbia, South Carolina. I did really good till about 5 am then i had to stop to rest, so I took a 5 hour power nap, then continued on my way. i finally made to Fort Jackson at around noon on Wednesday. First stop was to the living quarters. It was a GP large tent with nice metal bunks with soft thick mattresses. at one end of the end we had our official bar. inside the bar was our "war souvenirs" consisting of my Viet
Cong equipment and accoutrement's. also inside was the donated liquor for the event. Good thing i don't drink it anymore. There was quite a bit. On top of the bar is our Christmas tree for that homey feel. Wednesday was spent finishing up our Viet Nam base camp. The camp is pretty much like a regular base camp in Viet Nam, except we couldn't put the bunkers and such in the ground like they did during the war.Thursday was spent getting my stuff set up the way i want it, and talking to parents and family during the family day for a unit of basic training soldiers. Then we finished bringing in our vehicles from the Curtis-Wright Hanger (which by the way, was where the Doolittle Raiders first came together as a unit). we also set up our new MKT (Mobile Kitchen Trailer). We actually cooked later on in the weekend.
Basically an MKT is a kitchen on wheels with stoves and everything BUT the sink. Friday night we Spaghetti and meatballs and Saturday morning we had eggs (scrambled of course) bacon, and pancakes. Oh and Thursday we had hamburgers and hot dogs courtesy of the the post G-3 shop( which handles the training of the units on the base).
Friday we had a graduation ceremony and then we test-fired what weapons that had blank adaptors. luckily i had my Hollywood adaptor and a military adaptor so we had 2 weapons that could fire. Oh i also was given a Viet Nam era smoke grenade which i used later while having a little fun. Friday night we had a "M*A*S*H" style party, with Hawaiian shirts allowed only. mine wasn't really Hawaiian but it was okay for this party. So i need to find a shirt that is really really LOUD!!!
Saturday we had a TON of people coming around to see our exhibits and such. we also had a few mock battles and then drove people around in our vehicles. It was a lot of fun. and even learned a few things.Here are some more pictures. This one is of me in our guard tower. it comes complete with PA system, machine gun mount, and air raid alarm.
This is a M151A2 Jeep with trailer. I had a chance to buy this very vehicle for $10,000. would have been a great bargain but just don't have the funds for it. The biggest problem is that the prices of these vehicles are sky-rocketing due to the ever increasing popularity.
This vehicle is called a "Mule" but for the life of me i cant remember the proper nomenclature. it is used for everything from basic transport of supplies and equipment to being armed with a M60 Machine Gun or a 105mm recoil less rifle. would like to have one of these someday also.
finally this is a picture of our command TOC (Tactical Operations Center). You will notice the radios on the tables and the map of Viet Nam on the wall.Needless to say, i had a great time and cant wait till next year. I enjoy being with my friends, some of whom i only hear from this one time a year.
One of the things i was contemplating was that in 2001 i started this event with 2 GP small tents and a cot and now 6 years later we have a complete fire base with howitzers and mortars, a complete motor pool, mess hall complete with mobile kitchen, and enlisted and officers quarters.
Bob i forgot to get a picture of an L16(???) Grasshopper that is being flown by an 86 Year Old retired Colonel. i might actually have a picture of it from last year's event so i will find it.
I would also like to thank Heather for watching Robbie during this time. Hope he wasn't too much of a fussy butt.
