From: Steve.Larson@p0.f10.n3402.z1.fidonet.org (Steve Larson)
Newsgroups: k12.chat.teacher
Subject: Armed Forces
Date: Thu, 07 Jan 93 18:40:01 PDT
Organization: FidoNet node 1:3402/10.0 - Westwood High Schoo, Ft McMurray AB

In a message <03 Jan 93  16:20:00> to <Steve Larson> about <Armed Forces>,
Peter Macinnis wrote:

 PM> I avoided saluting by various legal subterfuges until the end of the
 PM> year, when at the end of two weeks in the bush, the kids were all
 PM> loaded into a bus, and I was stuck with a half-colonel, and no way of
 PM> ducking a salute.

Couldn't you have thrown him a _half-salute_?

 PM> It was then apparent that I would never be a successful sham, so I
 PM> grew a beard and resigned.  Actually, I asked for a dishonourable
 PM> discharge, but they wouldn't give me one, even if I did have two left
 PM> feet. 

My mother used to tell me about one of her CO's who was male.  She and he
had an amicable working arrangement.  He left her alone and she left him
alone!  My mother couldn't grow a beard (to my knowledge) but she was out
of uniform ALL of the time, even on parade!  She used to refuse to wear the
khaki underwear ("Bloody ugly things!" my mother called them.) assigned to
the women in favour of civvie panties.

It just occurred to me that the term "military intelligence" is a true
oxymoron.  Why on earth would you go the trouble of creating khaki
underwear for your personnel?  If the camouflage potential was a concern,
surely the underpants would only be seen on THIS side of enemy lines?
...and then only by allies?  :-)

 PM> It was fun, provided you did not take yourself seriously in the
 PM> ossifer's mess: I had a car so I used to drive into town, by two dozen
 PM> cans, and drink with the car-less medical students who staffed the
 PM> Regimental Aid Post.

This was all medicinal, of course!

 PM> One other funny incident: I am a good target shooter with a rifle (I
 PM> will shoot at anything which does not bleed), but the kids assumed I

I'm such a poor shot that no matter WHAT I shoot at, you can be assured
that it WON'T bleed!  :-)

I had a friend named Bill who after finishing high school got himself a job
and with his new-found wealth, bought two things that he had always wanted:
a new car and a beautiful Browning take-down .22 rifle (complete with
wooden storage case and scope).  He and a friend took his rifle to a ravine
and set up some targets in the bank of the ravine so that he might "sight
in" his scope.  Very carefully, he rested his rifle along the roof of his
car (to steady his aim) and shot at the targets.  His friend, using a pair
of binoculars, was to tell him whether his shots were high, low, left, or
right.
After his first shot, his friend said, "Too high!"
Dutifully, Bill adjusted his scope accordingly, and, taking very careful
aim, fired again.
"Even higher!" his friend said.
Bill realized he must have adjusted the wrong way and corrected for it.
"Still high!" his friend snickered.
So, Bill adjusted back the other way and fired again.
"Not even close!" his companion sneered. "You must be shooting five feet
high at a range of 200 feet!"

It was then Bill noticed that he had been ricocheting all of his shots off
the roof of his brand new car, leaving several lead-lined grooves in the
roof of his vehicle!

Regards,
Steve


--  
uucp: uunet!m2xenix!puddle!3402!10.0!Steve.Larson
Internet: Steve.Larson@p0.f10.n3402.z1.fidonet.org