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Gil Bang

By Gil Bang
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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 26048

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As of an hour or two ago, my kid's back on good old American soil after 10 months of fighting ISIS  and other assholes in Iraq and Syria.

SPC Alexander Missildine, a 20 year old from Tyler Texas didn't make it home alive, but the rest of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division did. 

Hopefully y'all that practice and believe in prayer will keep Alexander in yours.  

Me?  I'll be thinking of him (I never met him), particularly on Memorial Day, but on most regular days, like I imaging most of us  parents will. 

Some of you cats from shaggy will remember that 5 of my son's comrades lost their lives in Afghanistan last tour, a little over 5 years ago.

NASCAR does a thing for Memorial Day, and SSGT Frankie Phillip's name was on Jimmie Johnson's windshield last sunday.  He finished 4th in the Charlotte race.  Frankie was one of my kid's comrades in the 1-36 from Ft. Bliss.

Anyway, in the next week or so, I'll be heading to Louisiana to see my boy.  Hugs will be exchanged, whiskey will be consumed, and clay pigeons will be broken!  My lovely DIL, a San Diego girl to her core, has lived in Louisiana  long enough to be able to make a pretty damn legit pot of gumbo, so I will make a glutton of myself no doubt. 

And all will be well, until the next deployment, anyway. 

As the 10th Mountain boys say, "Climb to Glory, In Spite of Hell!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4638

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Please tell your son I appreciate what he does for us. 

I don’t have many regrets in life, but one was that I did not serve my country. Over the last several years it had been something I’ve thought about often, but the logistics now are impossible. 

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Glad your son is safe at home.

My son is 2 weeks into his first deployment.

I would get so pissed at my mom for worrying too much when I was in. I won't worry like she did, but the perspective as a parent sure is a hell of a lot different that when you're the one doing it.

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yaqdum

yaqdum 182

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very pleased that your son and his cohorts -- with the exception of the man who was lost -- are back on home soil to resume their lives.  special thanks to all of them and to the families who allow their sons and daughters to go into harm's way in service of our nation.

condolences to the family of young missildine.   he was just beginning his adult life.  we have to make sure his loss means something.

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 26048

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5 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Big props to your son.  How much has his service aged you and the Mrs. ??  The son has buds that went Ranger and special forces. Now I have 3 more sons to worry about daily, and the real son isn't even one of 'em (he's Chair Force).

Well, the Mrs. has been the ex-Mrs. for almost 15 years, and last time I saw her (at my son's wedding) she looked better than ever.  Fucking smokeshow, but crazy (like spent a couple stays in the psych ward crazy).  Me?  Frankly, the last deployment was harder than this one.  The big difference was communication.  He often had internet service, so it was a rare week that I didn't hear from him.   

Last time, when the soldiers were killed, they couldn't locate one of the families to deliver the news, so we knew from news reports that guys had been lost, but they wouldn't let the guys call home until all the families received personal notification.  So after that happened, the army told us to let them know anytime we were wouldn't be home at night.  Going to Vegas?  Let the "Family Readiness Group" what hotel you'll be staying in, and what your room number is after you check in.   You couldn't get away from the worry...even for a night. 

So it takes a toll, but man, the pride from seeing what a man you've raised...it's priceless.  Friends that are my age, a lot of them have complete fucknuts for kids.  Getting DUI's, knocking up some dumbshit girlfriend, just doing all kinds of stupid shit and amounting to nothing, "I"m so proud of Billy...he's employee of the month at  starbucks", or "Trina's going to go to cosmetology school!".  I'm like "wow, that's awesome, bla bla bla".

Meanwhile my son's leading a platoon in a combat zone and is literally responsible for other men's lives.  

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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26 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Well, the Mrs. has been the ex-Mrs. for almost 15 years, and last time I saw her (at my son's wedding) she looked better than ever.  Fucking smokeshow, but crazy (like spent a couple stays in the psych ward crazy).  Me?  Frankly, the last deployment was harder than this one.  The big difference was communication.  He often had internet service, so it was a rare week that I didn't hear from him.   

Last time, when the soldiers were killed, they couldn't locate one of the families to deliver the news, so we knew from news reports that guys had been lost, but they wouldn't let the guys call home until all the families received personal notification.  So after that happened, the army told us to let them know anytime we were wouldn't be home at night.  Going to Vegas?  Let the "Family Readiness Group" what hotel you'll be staying in, and what your room number is after you check in.   You couldn't get away from the worry...even for a night. 

So it takes a toll, but man, the pride from seeing what a man you've raised...it's priceless.  Friends that are my age, a lot of them have complete fucknuts for kids.  Getting DUI's, knocking up some dumbshit girlfriend, just doing all kinds of stupid shit and amounting to nothing, "I"m so proud of Billy...he's employee of the month at  starbucks", or "Trina's going to go to cosmetology school!".  I'm like "wow, that's awesome, bla bla bla".

Meanwhile my son's leading a platoon in a combat zone and is literally responsible for other men's lives.  

Dust storm starting to come up here in VA....  seriously.

I know how proud worried (living thru my sons buds of course) you are for your son on a daily basis. I always wonder if it's harder for families today.  During Viet nam and WWII, and Korea to some extent, it was much more of a nationally shared worry. You had lots of family and friends in the same boat. 

Again, major props !!  

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 26048

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22 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Well wishes and respect to your son and all of our soldiers and their families who make countless sacrifices.  

Is he for sure going on another tour?  Are his aspirations to make the military his career?

Looks like he'll do 20.  He's an infantryman, and their normal career path includes becoming a drill sergeant for a few years.  In fact, he already had orders to drill sergeant school that were superseded by his deployment.  He does have one infantry buddy that managed to get into helo pilot school, so he'll apply for that, but it's a longshot.  Either way, he likely won't be at Ft. Polk much longer, which makes me happy because it's pretty much in a shithole area and it's tough for me to get to.   I have to fly SAN-DFW or SNA-DFW, and then DFW to Alexandria, and then it's about an 60 mile drive to the post. 

8 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Dust storm starting to come up here in VA....  seriously.

I know how proud worried (living thru my sons buds of course) you are for your son on a daily basis. I always wonder if it's harder for families today.  During Viet nam and WWII, and Korea to some extent, it was much more of a nationally shared worry. You had lots of family and friends in the same boat. 

Again, major props !!  

Appreciate the kind words, but I don't deserve any props.  

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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Just now, Gil Bang said:

Looks like he'll do 20.  He's an infantryman, and their normal career path includes becoming a drill sergeant for a few years.  In fact, he already had orders to drill sergeant school that were superseded by his deployment.  He does have one infantry buddy that managed to get into helo pilot school, so he'll apply for that, but it's a longshot.  Either way, he likely won't be at Ft. Polk much longer, which makes me happy because it's pretty much in a shithole area and it's tough for me to get to.   I have to fly SAN-DFW or SNA-DFW, and then DFW to Alexandria, and then it's about an 60 mile drive to the post. 

Appreciate the kind words, but I don't deserve any props.  

The props are for raising a son that turned out the right way, whether he went military or not. Raising kids with their heads screwed on right isn't easy.

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 26048

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My idea of paradise is different than yours.  It's 3 hours to the nearest costco.  There isn't a decent restaurant for 50 miles.  A large segment of the population is uneducated, backwoods, fatfuck hillbillies. 

But hey, if you're cool with building your entire life around walmart, that's ok with me. 

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SDG

SDG 3319

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26 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Dust storm starting to come up here in VA....  seriously.

I know how proud worried (living thru my sons buds of course) you are for your son on a daily basis. I always wonder if it's harder for families today.  During Viet nam and WWII, and Korea to some extent, it was much more of a nationally shared worry. You had lots of family and friends in the same boat. 

Again, major props !!  

This, thanks for sharing Gil.  Stories like this helps one gain some perspective on what’s truly important. 

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 26048

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10 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:
And that’s fair...@gil bang

 


Best restaurant in town.  Brisket would fucking love it, but I have to mix in a salad once in a while. 

0e9fff78d914e67027828aa37f2e3305.jpg

 

Edited by Gil Bang
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Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay 1712

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Gil, please give my thanks to your son for everything he's doing to serve our country. I am so glad to hear he is back home! I can't imagine how proud you must be, and whether you think so or not, you do deserve credit for raising such a fine young man. My condolences to the family of SPC Alexander Missildine. We can't ever let ourselves forget these sacrifices.

I don't have kids, but I have a nephew currently deployed in Iraq, and he'll probably be going into combat zones in Syria before long. He's a West Point grad and a Ranger. I know his parents feel the same way about him as you do about your son. Some of you might remember my posts a couple years ago on the Shag about him being shot in the chest (by a US civilian contractor, no less) in Afghanistan during his first tour. He saw all kinds of combat as a Platoon Leader, and survived a suicide bombing on the base, only to be accidentally shot by a damn contractor. But he recovered and isn't letting it slow him down.

I can't say I can fully understand the worry parents must feel for their deployed solider, but I'm pretty close to my nephew, and can at least empathize, even if it's not nearly the same. God bless all the men and women putting themselves in harm's way for our country.

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MaybeACoordinator

MaybeACoordinator 8349

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My boy came home on leave before deploying and I asked him if he was hungry on the way home from the airport. "Yeah, dad, I am." I asked him where he wanted to go eat. There was a short pause, which gave me enough time to predict his answer.

"Whataburger," we said together. We order differently, but think the same. He's a chicken-BBQ sauce sammich combo man. "You've gotta order the weird shit here, dad," he insists, but I am a double-with-cheese-and-jalapenos-and-grilled onions dude. 

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MaybeACoordinator

MaybeACoordinator 8349

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24 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

The best thing about Ft. Polk Chop is that it's not Iraq.

Give my regards to your offspring. As a former Cav Scout and MP, dress it up with some some of banter about the Infantry, etc etc.

You were an MP? I asked my son what he thought about 'em and he said "Aw they're alright than just fuck the po-lice in general."

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Tennesseehorn

Tennesseehorn 101

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On 5/31/2018 at 11:09 PM, Gil Bang said:

As of an hour or two ago, my kid's back on good old American soil after 10 months of fighting ISIS  and other assholes in Iraq and Syria.

SPC Alexander Missildine, a 20 year old from Tyler Texas didn't make it home alive, but the rest of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division did. 

Hopefully y'all that practice and believe in prayer will keep Alexander in yours.  

Me?  I'll be thinking of him (I never met him), particularly on Memorial Day, but on most regular days, like I imaging most of us  parents will. 

Some of you cats from shaggy will remember that 5 of my son's comrades lost their lives in Afghanistan last tour, a little over 5 years ago.

NASCAR does a thing for Memorial Day, and SSGT Frankie Phillip's name was on Jimmie Johnson's windshield last sunday.  He finished 4th in the Charlotte race.  Frankie was one of my kid's comrades in the 1-36 from Ft. Bliss.

Anyway, in the next week or so, I'll be heading to Louisiana to see my boy.  Hugs will be exchanged, whiskey will be consumed, and clay pigeons will be broken!  My lovely DIL, a San Diego girl to her core, has lived in Louisiana  long enough to be able to make a pretty damn legit pot of gumbo, so I will make a glutton of myself no doubt. 

And all will be well, until the next deployment, anyway. 

As the 10th Mountain boys say, "Climb to Glory, In Spite of Hell!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m glad your son made it home safely from his deployment.  Prayers for SPC Alexander Missildine and his family. 

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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26475

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10 hours ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

You were an MP? I asked my son what he thought about 'em and he said "Aw they're alright than just fuck the po-lice in general."

You should question any faith you may have left in our selection methods, because the last thing I was trained to do was Military Police.

3/4 of what we did was either glorified Infantry or Cav Scout (itself glorified Infantry-- the MP branch took over lots of traditional Scout duties as some sort of budget grab between the time I did basic as a Scout and later became an MP-- they were thinking about my convenience.)

The other 1/4 was Law and Order. I am proud to say I got to live out a scene from Cops in Italy where we carted off a H.I. McDonnough Good Ol Boy contract worker who was about to get whooped by his wife. His statement of the events read like the intro to Raising Arizona.

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MaybeACoordinator

MaybeACoordinator 8349

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He told me a story about one Sunday morning when they all came back from 48 hours leave. They had a formation out on the grounds and one girl was so drunk she could barely stand to attention, much less follow simple orders. A sergeant tried to take her out of there and she went ballistic, so they had to call in the MPs too. "She bit an MP, dad!" He said in awe.

Somebody must have really like the cut of her jib, though, 'cause all she got was a night in the brig. (Joint base,  hence the Navy term.) 

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yaqdum

yaqdum 182

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On 6/4/2018 at 10:00 AM, MaybeACoordinator said:

"She bit an MP, dad!" He said in awe.

that reminds me a little of an event late one night in fayetteville, nc.

my guard unit was attached to the 82nd, and we were having summer camp that year at fayettenam.  the saturday night we were there a bunch of us went to town, and way late i saw a disturbance and went over to watch.  the nicest guy you ever saw was being hassled by 3 or 4 mps, and i was really pissed at mps.  that is, until they got him into the back seat of a cruiser, whereupon he morphed into godzilla.  swore he was going to kick out one of those windows.

you just can't tell by appearances.

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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26475

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18 hours ago, yaqdum said:

that reminds me a little of an event late one night in fayetteville, nc.

my guard unit was attached to the 82nd, and we were having summer camp that year at fayettenam.

Dude man. I was in the NCNG 210th MPs way up in Western NC. Was down in Fayetteville about 14 times more than I would have chosen.

Stole an oscillating fan from the back room of a Korean hootchie-coo place on Hay Street. I don't think it's there anymore. The Korean place, I mean. I know the fan is gone because I stole it. Or rather my buddies Snake and Rocky paid for it but didn't get anything in return, so I had them circle the block and I stealthed in the back way. That oscillating fan proved a big hit back at the 1930s barracks, I told everybody including the crazy Cav Scout Lieutenant that I stole it from a Korean whorehouse, old sergeants said I was the only guy they knew who came out ahead in such a deal.

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yaqdum

yaqdum 182

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18 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

more than I would have chosen

agree there.  we were only there a couple summer camps.  there's always an excitement at the big-time posts.  benning just buzzes, and even with the 101st elsewhere campbell had a distinct aura.  but bragg had a crazy streak that i didn't resonate to.

one of my fave camps was the one year during the energy crunch where we stayed in austin.  got to sleep at home in our beds.  was like having a bad job you couldn't quit.  then after transferring to a reserve school got to camp one time in san antonio (we stayed at the historic gunter hotel) and then once at bliss where we helped the texas 49th introduce a bunch of recruits to tank gunnery.  anybody up for some azimuth and range talk?

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Why the hell is a unit in 10th Mountain Division attached to Ft Polk?

There is neither cold weather nor high elevation/ terrain changes available.

Swamp navigation required now?

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MaybeACoordinator

MaybeACoordinator 8349

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1 minute ago, RDCanecutter said:

Pine trees, sand, and ticks are the Army's way of saying I Love You.

I decided I was gonna rough it one night in the Piney Woods and sleep outside our tent with a basset hound, right there on the pine straw. All went well. For 24 hours, and then I spent the next three days in chigger hell. I really can't think of a more sustained period of low-grade agony in my whole life. And you can't kill 'em, 'cause they're already gone. 

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LongestHorn

LongestHorn 759

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8 hours ago, slorch said:

Why the hell is a unit in 10th Mountain Division attached to Ft Polk?

There is neither cold weather nor high elevation/ terrain changes available.

Swamp navigation required now?

Not sure, but both the Army’s Chief of Staff and the top general at Forces Command are pressing the Army to rebuild its combined arms maneuver capability.  Polk is one of the few locations in the Army where assigned units have ready access to combat training center (CTC) facilities.  

https://www.army.mil/article/175469/changing_nature_of_war_wont_change_our_purpose

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