heh-heh.... reminds me of an op I was on in Texas in '76. I was in a Chaparral/Vulcan unit, and though freshly trained as a 16R (Vulcan Gunner/Crewmember), the good old Army hadn't yet learned to quit cranking out the AIT grads into fields which were grossly OVERSTRENGTH.... (in fact, on return to Sill from RVN, I was SP5 35Mike, NavRpmn, and it was 30% overstrength in the small 643rd TC Det to which I was assigned, among only SP5s...dunno about other grades).. but I'm (as per usual) getting off track here...

so, after AIT, I was put into the HQ Section, A Battery, 4/1st ADA, 18th ABN Corps, where I ran a typewriter and screwed off a lot. We were deployable anywhere in 72 hours, so we did a lot of FTXs.

For the op, (Gallant Shield- '76, the largest air-mob "exercise" since the Cav went to the Highlands, and the largest "peacetime" op of the same type since "Big Lift"- to Germany in the early 60s), I packed up my field desk and table, had all the blank forms in the world, and proceeded further into the West Texas desert for a 2-week vacation in a M113 APC.. (for me, anyway, I was at Home there)... top open, bumpy, dusty, noisy.... (a Stryker's gotta RULE...)

so, the 3rd day out, the Battery Commander's jeep driver managed to drop a jeep trailer tongue on his foot, and broke it, and went back to Bliss.
The old man, knowing I was from El Paso, asked me if I could drive his M151A1 for the remainder of the op, and I said Hell yes, Sir! It was gonna be a hoot for me, 'cuz Carl (the BC) was no-nonsense and gung-ho, relatively new guy to the REAL Army, and if I recall was a Ballzout West Pointer. His Dad was a two-star.

The CPT was the Air Defense liaison to the G3 (OPS/Plans) of the Blue forces, and we reconned the sand almost 24/7 for 11 days. We'd meet up with the Blue TOC just after their every move,
and he'd brief up the big dogs, and we'd scoot again.His only two instructions to me were:
1) don't flip the jeep; and 2) don't get us captured. No way for either... I'd learned to drive in the desert, cars, pickups, dune buggies,
and dirt bikes... NO SWEAT SIR !!
Almost 900 miles in the dirt during the last 11 days. I slept when I could, usually a quick nod while the CPT was in a tent, sometimes a few hours on top of the trailer tarp. In spite of using the oil from C-rat peanuut butter on my face and hands (the horseflies loved me), I was
burnt to a crisp.

On the last day of the exercise, I was getting cold "hot" breakfast while my jeep tranny was being fixed- we'd lost high gear-our bivouac site was almost broken up and packed into the tracks- when the orange forces hit us like a hurricane- we saw them crest a ridge about a thosand yards out, saw the orange flags on their antennae, and ran for the vehicles, my floorplate in the '151 was just getting screwed back on, and the CPT hollered for me to take the jeep and follow the trains- he was gonna man the .50 on the command track-and lead a counterattack. Sheesh. it's just an EXCERCISE...I reminded him that his protective mask was in his field jacket in the jeep, and he said "getoutta here...."
as I shifted gears in departure, I smelled the strongest dose of CS I'd smelled since Pleiku
(the Club, after 7/17th had a rockin' day) and just knew the CPT was gonna get a massive dose, and prolly captured. Right on the money, Lump.
but... he TOLD me to skedaddle.......

I ran into LTC Carl S. in the Pentagon in '85 or '86.... he didn't recognize me until he saw my name tag... I'd approached the LTC and asked what happened to his career... in that he's only been promoted twice since '76, and I'd been promoted five times PV2 to SFC.... good thing he had a sense of humor....

grinningly,
Lump