Posted on 03/18/2018 8:16:55 PM PDT by wheresmyusa
I created this thread to compile hilarious and compelling "Hell Week" & other boot camp stories. Let em' rip.
Everyone had a Gomer Pyle in their company. Some were worse than others, but we all had one.
During a critical inspection; "Gomer" knew he was going to fail, and since we had been instructed that anyone who failed would die, he knew he was about to expire.
As he was approached by the instructor, he thought it wise to "have a seizure", and proceeded to mimic one by flailing on the deck while rolling his eyes up into his skull. It was complete bullshit and everyone knew it.
Of course, they carted off his worthless carcass and examined him; and surprise surprise, he doesn't seem to have any affliction. Guess how we all were notified.
Here's the funny part.
From then on(until he washed out), he did not have permission to walk on the deck inside the barracks. If he had to go to the head, day or night, his feet were not allowed to hit the deck. He had to flop across it like a fish.
The shouts of "flop like a fish f'r" at 0300; and the sound of him trying to get to the head past the watch is still one of the most hilarious things i've ever heard.
I'm smiling right now. =)
~W
If the temperature reached a certain level, the red flag was hoisted and we were kept indoors.....I kept expecting my drill instructor to serve us a nice cool beverage or some ice cream.
I failed the eye test and was told to go home.
A friend, however, went through Navy boot camp. He finished it in 1978, got his assignment or whatever it is they give you when you graduate and that evening fell down a flight of steps at the base and severely broke his upper leg bone (the Humerus?). After spending significant time in the hospital and six or eight weeks in a cast then some physical therapy he was discharged because one leg was now 1 1/2 inches shorter than the other.
He doesn’t claim any veteran benefits, I am not sure if he’d qualify or not. He does claim to be the clumsiest sailor of all time.
Please note, this is a second-hand story, excuse any irregularities or things that would have happened differently.
XD Yeah, i know what you mean.
He broke the femur.
.
I’m doubting he fell down a flight of steps on purpose; but that does suck. =)
On another tangent, i wanted to be a fighter pilot since i was 8 years old, probably before that. It was just something i felt i was meant to do... and at 13 i had my eyes checked and was basically told i could never qualify. I remember it vividly; i’m not saying it’s the same, i never could, but it was like being told you’d never walk again. It wasn’t reality, but at the time that’s how i felt.
~W
Navy boot camp 1976. We had this kid Ellis who couldn’t speak - he just froze up when he got yelled at. Wouldn’t drop and do 20 or anything - he was just frozen, staring in space. Washed out the first.48 hours but was forever remembered as, “Ellis in Wonderland”
we had a gomer in our company at Fort Knox who dropped a grenade in the pit. the Lt. clobbered him and threw it. he also took a deep breath in the chlorine chamber and got some hospital time. he wore his steel pot backwards for nearly eight weeks and nobody really noticed. often wondered what happened to him.
Oh my, we need more gas chamber stories.
I had no idea i could produce that much snot, in such a short amount of time.
There’s another story i have, but i’m waiting. X)
~W
Yep, if you can’t sound off you’re screwed.
~W
Wow.
I had a similar experience.
I always wanted to be a fighter pilot. Took all the collage prep and highest level classes in HS that I could so I could go to collage and then OCS for the Navy or AF.
Then, my Junior year of HS, I was told the same thing, due to my eyesight, I could not be a pilot in the US Military.
I dropped all my hard classes and just skated through the rest of HS. I did wind up joining the AF and was an A-10 Crew Chief.
When I went to Airborne School some of the female ABN candidates would really jump in more ways than one. I suspect Ft. Benning is not the same or is the just the same. I have not been back. This is all for fun but I will add that many from my OSUT who went Ranger and other Army Combat Fields are eternalized by giving all from Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and all in between.
Good lord, i can’t imagine dropping a grenade in training. I can see how it could happen for sure, but damn. I’d be gripping that sucker so hard...
~W
>>I failed the eye test and was told to go home.
Roger Staubach, famous Navy and Dallas Cowboys QB, failed his eye exam prior to admission to Annapolis and was passed on.
A LOT of drill.
Senior Drill Instructor wasn't happy with us, so after a LOT of drill, we moved the racks.
And moved the racks.
And moved the racks.
By the time we were done, it was wetter inside from the sweat than it was outside from the rain.
Man, i feel it. You feel like like you’re a Giora Epstein...and then it’s just a dream you had.
~W
Ironically, what you posted, is the memory that made me post this.
~W
He was constantly requesting to make a head call. I mean constantly. He ended up peeing in the corner of the squadbay. He just kinda disappeared, no idea what happened to him.
A buddy of mine wanted to be a naval aviator but his vision wasnt that hot.This would have been around 85 and lasic wasnt allowed here but it was in europe.My friends mother sent him to sweden(IIRC) and had the corrective surgery.He had 20/20 after that and was accepted to AOCS at P-cola.We took him down to P-cola the day before he was to report and had one hell of a party the night before on the seville quarter including TJs.There was no rule about having the surgery like I’m sure there is now but he was TMPQed for 6 weeks.There is more to the story but he did graduate both AOCS and recieved his Naval Aviators Wings and went to the fleet flying seahawks.I cant believe its been that long ago.
LMFAO...Yeah, it’s not far fetched(his disapperance) when you think about the Marines on Tarawa. X)
~W
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.