New member and M151A2 owner...

[Mr. Recovery]

mike_v, just so you know SEABEE62 has been awarded the prestigious Golden Hammer Award by me for his service to this site!

[mike_v]

HA... Rickf has been smoking that stuff again....we only borrowed what the government owned anyway.....and of course,...we would build it and the Marines would blow it up....then we would build it again....we do have a UDT unit. Above and below the water.....and if we needed to dig a fox hole...we always had our backhole......Thanks for the encouragement Raymond ! SEABEE

I agree on the "borrowing" - we used to call them "midnight requisitions" when I/we would sneak into a sister unit's motor pool and snag better parts for my Gama Goat...

Tonight, I am going to Google "SEABEES" and learn more about you guys now that you got me and rick "scared"...

There I go again, dragging rick into the muck...

[mike_v]

mike_v, just so you know SEABEE62 has been awarded the prestigious Golden Hammer Award by me for his service to this site!

My wife's miniature dachshund would chew that hammer up in 5 mins flat - "Milo" likes plastic...

But I agree, looking at SEABEE62's profile, he has been a member since 2009 and with his credentials, he probably owns a few "golden hammers" - the 24 karat kind!!!

PS: Mr. Recovery (sir) - you have been here since 2007, over 2k post and a rank of Brigadier General here - wow, I'm really going to get my "ass kicked" by you "mega time-in-grade" board members. Seriously, look forward to meeting all you guys at a future rally and learning about my MUTT from you guys who have "been there, done that"...!

[mike_v]

Now that RickF has finished "potty training me" (met the 10 post count), I will be headed to the Technical side to ask some questions and give some of my observations from working on my MUTT this week. Photos forthcoming...

[rickf]

Seabee, Mr. R, Raymond, Myself and a very few others still left here are from the founding members of the site. Unfortunately we have lost a couple very good members in Geoff Webster AKA Toptiger and Ralph Fuller. Both decorated Vietnam Vets. You may have seen Ralph on Steel Soldiers under the username Uglyranger. A couple of others have drifted off as their hobbies changed including the owner of the site although he still pays the bills to keep us up and running. I am glad to see we found another with a twisted sense of humor. It seems a lot of the younger crowd just don't like the ribbing or understand how us old vets can harass each other the way we do. I have even been accused of insulting the Marine Corps! I have nothing but the highest regards for the US Marines! BUT, Being Army you know it is tradition that you have to insult the Marines, and vice versa.The different branches are always ribbing each other and if you don't like it then you just weren't there. It is all in fun and I guarantee you that not one person on this forum would hesitate for a second to stand beside another in a time of need.

[m3a1]

I'm so very glad you all haven't gotten around to private security contractors.

Q - What's the difference between the Girl Scouts and PSCs?
A - The Girl Scouts have adult supervision.

Cookies, anyone?

Cheers,
TJ

[mike_v]

Seabee, Mr. R, Raymond, Myself and a very few others still left here are from the founding members of the site. Unfortunately we have lost a couple very good members in Geoff Webster AKA Toptiger and Ralph Fuller. Both decorated Vietnam Vets. You may have seen Ralph on Steel Soldiers under the username Uglyranger. A couple of others have drifted off as their hobbies changed including the owner of the site although he still pays the bills to keep us up and running. I am glad to see we found another with a twisted sense of humor. It seems a lot of the younger crowd just don't like the ribbing or understand how us old vets can harass each other the way we do. I have even been accused of insulting the Marine Corps! I have nothing but the highest regards for the US Marines! BUT, Being Army you know it is tradition that you have to insult the Marines, and vice versa.The different branches are always ribbing each other and if you don't like it then you just weren't there. It is all in fun and I guarantee you that not one person on this forum would hesitate for a second to stand beside another in a time of need.

I hear you Rick and agree with everything you wrote.

No, I did not know Uglyranger on Steel Soldiers - Ralph sounded like a great guy. I check out the Classified everyday on Steel Soldiers, though I don't post there too much. Always looking for a "deal" and have found many there, but my interest in my CUCVs have waned a bit and now this MUTT I just bought has "stole my heart"...

Glad you brought up the "ribbing and teasing" - I was afraid maybe I was coming on too strong for a "newbie", but you and the rest of the guys were kind enough to give me a warm welcome and as a "loner" and losing my best friend last Nov, I was feeling pretty lonely...

Yes, a shame these young kids are so "sensitive" (darn "snowflakes"... ). Many are really disappointing in many ways: no desire to join the military, lack of patriotism, let militant females "bulldog" them around ("sissies"), lack of interest in vehicles ("muscle cars"), can't drive a stick, don't know what end of a screwdriver to hold and much more... I'm a pilot and airplane owner and general aviation is "dying" as well. No interest in flying or being a pilot by young people. Now the "majors" and Air Force cannot hire enough pilots. The flight hours, ratings and qualifications were very high back in my younger days, now it's been reduced to get bodies in the cockpits. Heck, my passion was to be a military 'chopper pilot, but my vision was too bad and I did not have a college degree back then...

And "they" are suppose to lead and run this great nation after us - we are in trouble if things don't change...

[Hambone]

Hey Mike, good job, these old farts haven't been this stirred up in years, may need a shot of Geritol.

[rickf]

Well, You just hit it off with Hambone! One of his kids is a pilot/instructor and the other just soloed I believe.I Learned to fly through the CAP but before I got my license I found girls, yep, sex drugs and rock and roll. It was that period. Then I got drafted. So the money was gone. I can fly a plane but not legally. If the pilot dies I can land it. he guy I mentioned before, Toptiger, was an attack helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He also had the largest private collection of small metal model aircraft in the world. Google Geoffrey Webster. He was a millionaire many times over but he NEVER forgot where he came from nor those who fought for this country. He was the consummate practical joker also, He would call me from anywhere in the world just to talk because he was bored. But he called once with the absolute perfect southern accent, ( He was from Mass.) and left me a message and had me totally convinced that I had purchased a lot of 120 immersion heaters from Gov liquidation. It wasn't until the end of the message when he real quickly gave the phone number to call that I recognized his number. The ironic part of that is that I ended up buying two of those heaters from the guy who did buy them. But he had a twin engine float plane at his house in Frostproof Fla. He even offered to let me fly it as long as he took it off the water. I never got the chance since he passed before I got down there. He actually stopped flying because he knew something was wrong, he told me he just didn't "Feel right". Turns out he had a brain tumor. He was on the forum to the end though,as was Ralph Fuller. Both tough and very well respected officers.

[rickf]

And TJ, Take your cookies and............................ well we will just leave it at that.

[Mark]

The deal with ribbing the other branches of the service we called it a 'pi....g contest'. We also did the same to other units of the same branch of service.It was done in fun/breaking up the boredom of the hour.The extreme resulting behavior was physical fights.

[rickf]

Seabee, Mr. R, Raymond, Myself and a very few others still left here are from the founding members of the site. Unfortunately we have lost a couple very good members in Geoff Webster AKA Toptiger and Ralph Fuller. Both decorated Vietnam Vets. You may have seen Ralph on Steel Soldiers under the username Uglyranger. A couple of others have drifted off as their hobbies changed including the owner of the site although he still pays the bills to keep us up and running. I am glad to see we found another with a twisted sense of humor. It seems a lot of the younger crowd just don't like the ribbing or understand how us old vets can harass each other the way we do. I have even been accused of insulting the Marine Corps! I have nothing but the highest regards for the US Marines! BUT, Being Army you know it is tradition that you have to insult the Marines, and vice versa.The different branches are always ribbing each other and if you don't like it then you just weren't there. It is all in fun and I guarantee you that not one person on this forum would hesitate for a second to stand beside another in a time of need.

I hear you Rick and agree with everything you wrote.

No, I did not know Uglyranger on Steel Soldiers - Ralph sounded like a great guy. I check out the Classified everyday on Steel Soldiers, though I don't post there too much. Always looking for a "deal" and have found many there, but my interest in my CUCVs have waned a bit and now this MUTT I just bought has "stole my heart"...

Glad you brought up the "ribbing and teasing" - I was afraid maybe I was coming on too strong for a "newbie", but you and the rest of the guys were kind enough to give me a warm welcome and as a "loner" and losing my best friend last Nov, I was feeling pretty lonely...

Yes, a shame these young kids are so "sensitive" (darn "snowflakes"... ). Many are really disappointing in many ways: no desire to join the military, lack of patriotism, let militant females "bulldog" them around ("sissies"), lack of interest in vehicles ("muscle cars"), can't drive a stick, don't know what end of a screwdriver to hold and much more... I'm a pilot and airplane owner and general aviation is "dying" as well. No interest in flying or being a pilot by young people. Now the "majors" and Air Force cannot hire enough pilots. The flight hours, ratings and qualifications were very high back in my younger days, now it's been reduced to get bodies in the cockpits. Heck, my passion was to be a military 'chopper pilot, but my vision was too bad and I did not have a college degree back then...

And "they" are suppose to lead and run this great nation after us - we are in trouble if things don't change...

Mike, We are pretty open here but we are not Pirate 4x4 open. We try not to actually offend people. Ribbing is OK but I will not allow actual insults that are meant to hurt someone. And politics is completely out of the question. That is a subject that just opens the door to discontent among members no matter what your affiliation. I will generally let a thread run its course but there are times where I will step in and say "lets get back to the original subject" or "this is headed in a bad direction" and I expect those involved to take it upon themselves to straighten it out and It usually does and nothing else is said but there have been a very few times that I have stepped back in a locked the thread. Sometimes I am criticized but it is usually by the newbies. I have kept the peace, with the help of all others on the forum, for 13 years now doing it this way. Forums seem to be dying off in favor of Facebook pages. I personally hate Facebook with a passion and go there as little as possible.

[rickf]

The deal with ribbing the other branches of the service we called it a 'pi....g contest'. We also did the same to other units of the same branch of service.It was done in fun/breaking up the boredom of the hour.The extreme resulting behavior was physical fights.

The fights were usually brought on by alcohol or someone with some other type of issue. I was a big guy at 6'3" and 220 lbs. so for some unknown reason it was always the smallest guy in the bar that wanted to start a fight with me. What is it with that? That followed all through my life as a bouncer in several places. Always the smallest guys. Well not ALWAYS, buy most of the time. They never won. Well, there was one guy that did, my drill instructor. Those guys just know how to push all the right buttons and even though I was a very even tempered guy he got me and I told him I was going to kick his ass from one side of Ft. Dix to the other. That was what he was waiting for, This gut stood 5"10" and he ran up one side of me and danced on my head for five minutes and ran down the other side and laughed at me sitting there on the ground bleeding. He was not even sweating. Lesson learned, Don't mess with the DI! We stayed in contact for many years since he lived in the area and he did admit to me many years later that I did hurt him and I did put up a better fight than most. Not much consolation when the end result was me on the ground.

[Hambone]

FLYING? We love flying in my family, That's why I'm broke in retirement age , My oldest went to college for aviation, he has all the ratings, flies regular. My youngest son threw his business degree in the trash and is enrolled full time in flight school. My oldest is good at destroying airplanes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PerOvD4SLM
Pic of my two kids, older brother was able to sign off younger brother for first solo flight, youngest has his PP check ride March 24.

[SEABEE62]

Ditto Rickf....signing off, ADMIRAL SEABEE