50+ thread

Good Morning

Thank you to all the Veterans

Thank you @kamakazie_1 for helping to take care of those beautiful airplanes.

A tad bit colder today. 35-40 degrees colder.

 

Good morning everybody. To all the vets, thank you for your service

 

Good Morning

Currently 61 Rain in the forecast all day


From one Veteran to all other's , Thank you for your service

 

Good morning everyone! And happy Veterans Day and thank you for your service to all the veterans!!

 

Morning all

Going to take my time getting to camp today, not the usual rush. I think we have about 10 people this time. More of a eat and drink event than offroading.


Happy Veterans Day

 

This an Awesome Veterans Day tribute from Black Rifle Coffee company !!

https://youtu.be/l-urynk63Wg

 

Happy Veteran's Day to all! Thanks to all of you.

 

Thank you, MTgirl.

 

Thankyou Weesa !!

 

The 10pk isn't a bad idea, they don't take up much space and will take decades to rot on the garage shelf. Another option might be an Army/Navy surplus store if you have one in your area.

The damage isn't too bad.

Happy Veterans Day to all who served; thank you!

 

Thank you my dear! It was an honor.

 

Happy Veterans day to all of my fellow Vets!

 

Thank you.

Over the years, I have had a bit of frustration about being a Veteran.

I served only 3 years. In a very rare and very brief period of pure peacetime. Those close to my age (55), will remember the brief invasion of the island of Grenada (1983) to rescue the American medical school students, which happened while I was in high school. The next wartime/hot action was the response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in the very late 80's/beginning of the 90's. I served 1985 - 1988. When I was in, because there was no anticipated wartime condition on the horizon, there was tremendous pressure to reduce the number of military personnel, even though Reagan was President, and staunchly pro-military. We heard rumors of mandatory reductions of up to 100K troops among all branches, etc.. But because they were trying to hold numbers down, it was basically impossible to make rank. I knew people who had 8+ years time in service and were E4 Promotable, they just had no way to make enough promotion points to make it to E5. I knew E6's with 15+ years in service, waiting to make E7. So, at the end of my enlistment, I chose to get out, go to college, and use my GI Bill to earn my Engineering degree, which I did.

I wasn't a Combat Arms MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), I was what we then called a "REMF" - rear echelon Mother F....., nowadays known as a POG (People Other than Grunts). I was a 27E - T.O.W./Dragon missile systems repair. So even had I remained in the Army when we went to Iraq, I almost certainly would not have ever been sent overseas.

When I started College, it took 2 years before the gov'mint acknowledged my eligibility for the GI Bill, and start sending me checks every month. Every job I have applied for since college, ,I can check the 'I am a Veteran' box on the application, but since I was not injured/disabled/wounded in any way during my service, I have no VA disability rating, so I get no "preference points" on job applications for that. Since I didn't serve during a recognized period of hostilities, I get no preference points for being a Vietnam era, Iraq/Afghanistan era Vet. I can't join the VFW, because I never served overseas (my entire 3 years was stateside) and I never served during war time. I was not even allowed to join the American Legion - which is supposed to be open to ANY active duty or Veteran, because my service didn't fall within the Vietnam, Grenada, or Iraq/Afghanistan periods. However, President Trump did sign legislation that finally removed the membership restriction for period of service in the Legion, so I was finally able to join the American Legion a couple years ago.

It's just a bit frustrating when even the very government I served considers me "sort of" a Veteran. But, I do not in any way regret my decision to serve. My dad was drafted and sent to fight in Korea in 1951. About 15 of my high school classmates all went into one branch or another right after we graduated in 1985. It was still some of the greatest moments of my life. To this day, I still retain a lot of what I learned in the Army. I sometimes reflect on what it might have ended like if I had stayed in, maybe long enough to have retired. It would be nice to have lifetime medical benefits and a retirement check every month no matter what else you might go on to do. I know many who have retired at ~40 years of age, then gone into other careers and continue getting a current, as well as retired military paycheck. But, you can't change the past, you can only work on the future.

I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for those who have served during war time, especially those who ever found their way into a hot zone. I may not have had the same experiences while in uniform, but I am deeply proud to call you all my Brothers and Sisters.

 

Got the family to our local Remembrance Day ceremonies. Kids are like herding cats to get out the door on time. Uggg...

 

Thank you for your service everyone, very much appreciated.

 

Regardless , you still stepped up, thank you Tom.

 

Evening everyone