Of Rifles...Turrets...And Tanks
The Army Years
Draft day came on March 19, 1991. I remember it like yesterday. I
bussed to the army depot point and after registration and oath
taking, I was stripped, chained to balls and led into an island
prison akin to Alcatraz. Only the island prison part is true.
Like Shareef, I got a jersey, name, number and cap on draft day.
In this picture, I am getting my lunch in the cookhouse in our
island resort training facility. The food was great there, the
rice wasn't burnt or anything. Most of the time, anyway. On good
days, we had syrup with our tap water, and a banana for dessert.
Now that's service.
Boot Camp Days
Its one of those experiences that was torture when you were in it, but something you evaluate in a kinder light when you have the benefit of hindsight. I'm sure there were times I hated it and there were days when it seemed pretty satisfying. It wasn't always fun, but I'm sure we all had some fond memories of boot camp.
After boot camp, we were assigned to different jobs in the army and moved to different camps and bases. I was assigned to the armoured section of the army repairing tanks. It was a really enjoyable experience. Sure it was hard work and sure there were bad days. We also had fun times as a group of care-free 18-20 year olds.
We were in the army for 30 months and by the time discharge came around, I'm sure inside we were ready to move on with our lives. Most of us were headed for college and we traded our overalls and boots for books, folders, calculators and backpacks again. A chapter of our lives had ended and I guess we all kinda missed the camaraderie and worry-free days. But we'll always have that and this was where my ship came in and I got off ...
The University Years
