By the way, thanks for serving. You did damn well making E=5 in that time. I made it in three years IIRC, and I thought I was Sierra Hotel for that...you did it in far less!
I am still proud of that, though. That was a big thing for me. I realized I could succeed because I was dedicated to the job, principled, and...well...stubborn.
Before I went in, it wasn’t like I was a screw up, but it was hard for me to do damn near anything right. I was physically and mentally awkward, physically I was always getting hurt doing stupid things, and mentally, I was awful in school. Had to go to summer school for a few years. Even when I went to college, nothing ever came easy to me, I didn’t really enjoy it, but I finally did well, and I owe it to the military.
But when I got into the military, I had grown up a brat, and it felt familiar, and I found out I was good at being a mechanic and a sailor generally. I was always on time, always did the job right, didn’t get in trouble, and worked hard to advance.
It was great NOT to feel like I simply couldn’t do anything right. It was like a millstone on my neck.
So, I owe my country for letting me serve. I got so much more out of it than I think it got out of me, overall. And I am grateful.
Funny. After I had been a civilian many years, at work I was involved in some kind of team building exercise at work, and when your turn came, you had to take a coin out of your pocket, look at the year on the coin, and tell them what was important in that year of your life.
When my turn came, I pulled a coin out, and it was a quarter with the year 1978 on it.
I was overcome with emotion and was unable to speak. I think some people were puzzled by that, but they didn’t know that for me, 1978 was the year I felt like I made the full leap to adulthood. I had one year left and had decided to go to college. Before that, never in a million years would I have wanted to go back to school, but I made the transition from a lowly Airman Apprentice to Plane Captain, to QC mechanic, to flight deck troubleshooter, to special project guy with a representative who went on the cruise with us from Rolls Royce/Detroit Diesel Allison, and they had a pilot program where our planes were one of two squadrons being fitted out with special systems to monitor the condition of the jet engines to predict and prevent failures. The guy was also teaching college level math courses on the ship to the crew, and offered to tutor me personally at no charge. Just amazing. I failed math nearly every year I was in school, or rarely, a “D”. He taught me.
And I realized that I could be successful at things if I applied myself. That was a major revelation, it opened up my whole future to me, and I realized it.
So when I opened my hand and saw “1978” on that quarter, I felt again that amazing feeling of revelation where the world really did seem like it was going to be my oyster!
I never would have made the transition like that anywhere else but the military, and I am grateful beyond words for that.
(Sorry to get wordy there, reading your post about the Seventies made me very reflective...I know pride is not supposed to be a good thing, but when I was a kid, that was a hard emotion for me to come by...:)
One day I looked up from my bed and this huge 1st Shirt was standing in front of me, about 6-4, 260 lbs, but not really fat, just huge!! He introduced himself as my company 1st Sergeant and just as he was getting ready to leave, he asked how long I had been a PFC. I told him about 4 or 5 months. He said he had one allocation for an E-4 and three or four guys eligible for it. He asked how I got injured and so I told him. He said, fair enough, you earned it, I'll put you down for the E-4 allocation he got. So, I made E-4 just before I left the hospital at Benning, Martin Army Hospital. I got assigned to the 1/29th Inf Bge over on Kelly Hill.
I was there about 4 or 5 months and got sent to Germany for my first assignment. When I got there, I was put in charge of the three 4.2 mortars crews and track vehicles (I was 11C, Indirect Fire Crewman or mortars. 81mm and 42 inch.), as we were the 2/14 ACR. I was there only a month or so and the 1st told me if I was going to be in charge over all three mortar vehicles, I needed to be an E-5, so he sent me to the board. I scored good and the first month I was eligible for making E-5, the cut off scores went below my score and I made it right away.
I really hit it off with the 1SGT. He was a giant, like 6 foot 7 or 8 and had to weigh 325 pounds or more (seems like I always got some huge 1SGTs along the way). We called him The Bear because he was as big as a Griz. He always was calling on me to do this, do that, and take prisoners to the jail in Nuremberg. We were very very under strength for a border patrolling unit. We had to be at maybe 60% and were really under strength in E-5s. So, it worked out great for me.
The Bear had this deep, gravelly voice. At formations he could be heard all over the parade field where everyone had morning formations. Everyone else delayed theirs about 10 minutes or earlier by 10 minutes so all their people could hear their 1SGT's speak. Bear drown everyone out with that voice, yelling, cussing, etc. He was one mean bugger, but I liked him.
He came into the Army without a HS education, got his GED, grad college, went to Law School nights when stationed in DC. Got his law degree and said he would use it when he retired, he didn't want to be no officer!!! Har, har!! He was the best 1SGT I ever run into. He CARED about the troops. He stood in formation one day and said, "I run this Troop. The CO is just a figure head, and signs papers. I RUN this Troop!!" And he meant it too. No one crossed him, enlisted or officer. He would basically listen to the LTC as ACR commander and the CSM. He made CSM just before he left us.
So, I was in the right place a couple of times to make E-4 and 5. Just lucky I guess.