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Post by epaul on Jun 27, 2020 10:07:44 GMT -5
Charlene and I are heading down to Fargo tomorrow to attend Gus' promotion ceremony. Gus is now (or will be tomorrow) an E5 in the ND Army National Guard. E5 is the first of six levels of sergeants in the army. My kid, the sergeant!
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Post by Marshall on Jun 27, 2020 10:54:02 GMT -5
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Post by TKennedy on Jun 27, 2020 11:10:34 GMT -5
Is watching No Time For Sargents compulsory now? If not it should be.
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Post by majorminor on Jun 27, 2020 11:26:12 GMT -5
Not to channel Millring but if I was a sargeant they would call me "Large Sarge"
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Post by billhammond on Jun 27, 2020 11:28:08 GMT -5
I like how Terry and Steve chose different ways to misspell "sergeant."
Attaboy, Gus!
RM2 (E5) W.A. Hammond, USN (retired)
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Post by TKennedy on Jun 27, 2020 11:35:41 GMT -5
Ouch. I am a terrible spellar
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Post by billhammond on Jun 27, 2020 11:41:38 GMT -5
Ouch. I am a terrible spellar Maybe, but you make great guitars, so that balances out.  |
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Post by Hobson on Jun 27, 2020 12:09:13 GMT -5
Congratulations to Gus! Seems like that didn't take long at all.
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Post by Chesapeake on Jun 27, 2020 13:14:54 GMT -5
Congratulations! I only made it to E4.
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Post by epaul on Jun 27, 2020 16:10:59 GMT -5
Congratulations to Gus! Seems like that didn't take long at all. Well, he started out as an E4 (specialist) because he is in the Guard Band. But, a promotion is a promotion. So I will be up on the stage with him trying to suck my belly in. |
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Post by Chesapeake on Jun 27, 2020 16:37:13 GMT -5
I told my CO I played a little guitar but that didn't help.
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Post by Marshall on Jun 27, 2020 17:24:20 GMT -5
In AIT training, I saved my drill sgt’s fanny. He was supposed to organize a company band for the post talent show. He forgot. The day before, he asked us in formation if anyone could play a musical instrument. I raised my hand. I had been to the NCO club a couple times and found a Kay guitar that was playable. So I played and sang for the company at the talent show. I won an Outstanding Entertainer award. Had a friend take a picture of me holding the plaque while standing in front of the dumpster. My Drill Sgt was happy.
That sort of made up for the fact that I was AWOL for the first 3 days of AIT.
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Post by billhammond on Jun 27, 2020 17:40:44 GMT -5
In AIT training, I saved my drill sgt’s fanny. He was supposed to organize a company band for the post talent show. He forgot. The day before, he asked us in formation if anyone could play a musical instrument. I raised my hand. I had been to the NCO club a couple times and found a Kay guitar that was playable. So I played and sang for the company at the talent show. I won an Outstanding Entertainer award. Had a friend take a picture of me holding the plaque while standing in front of the dumpster. My Drill Sgt was happy. That sort of made up for the fact that I was AWOL for the first 3 days of AIT. Find that dumpster photo and post it here !!! |
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Post by drlj on Jun 27, 2020 17:41:58 GMT -5
Congratulations to Gus.
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Post by Chesapeake on Jun 27, 2020 17:51:01 GMT -5
In AIT training, I saved my drill sgt’s fanny. He was supposed to organize a company band for the post talent show. He forgot. The day before, he asked us in formation if anyone could play a musical instrument. I raised my hand. I had been to the NCO club a couple times and found a Kay guitar that was playable. So I played and sang for the company at the talent show. I won an Outstanding Entertainer award. Had a friend take a picture of me holding the plaque while standing in front of the dumpster. My Drill Sgt was happy. That sort of made up for the fact that I was AWOL for the first 3 days of AIT. Part of the drill when I mustered into the army was filling out a questionnaire that included questions about special interests or talents. I'd put together a little magic act in high school, and had won a prize for it at a summer camp, so I put that down. So one day when we were in the field learning how to operate a machine gun, a special services guy drove up in a jeep and asked me to come with him. It turned out to be an audition for the officers club's talent show. They went for it. I had my parents ship my equipment down to Fort Jackson, and the show went on. Never did figure out how to work a machine gun. |
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Post by epaul on Jun 27, 2020 17:53:49 GMT -5
I told my CO I played a little guitar but that didn't help. You were in Army at the wrong time, in today's army, you would be in demand. |
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Post by epaul on Jun 27, 2020 18:00:02 GMT -5
In addition to the big band, Gus is in a jazz/Dixie quintet and has pretty much become the lead vocalist for the ND guard. He sang in front of a crowd of ten thousand or so earlier this summer, including the governor and every bigwig in the state. I asked him if he was nervous. He said, "yep".
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Post by Chesapeake on Jun 27, 2020 18:07:00 GMT -5
You can't beat Army musicians, even at social distance.
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Post by patrick on Jun 27, 2020 18:33:43 GMT -5
I told my CO I played a little guitar but that didn't help. He thought you meant a ukelele. No army ever marched into battle to the music of a ukelele. |
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Post by jdd2 on Jun 27, 2020 19:23:44 GMT -5
In basic, my platoon's drill sergeant was an E-8, actually kind of a nice guy. It took a while for everyone to realize what that meant and to start speculating as to why--what he'd done, etc.
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