From: Dick (rertman@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Tue Jun 28 2005 - 08:08:52 PDT
As I hearken back to my Army days (1959 induction), I recall showing
up at Ft. Dix, NJ, for basic. The "welcoming lecture" from the head
DI was truly a work of art as he wove a tapestry of expletives into
his description of the purpose of basic training, the mission of each
soldier,
the Army's mission and patriotism. Sgt. Ortiz got his message across,
Spanish accent notwithstanding.
The good Sgt. then turned us over to an assistant and left for his
office, or wherever head DI's go after the lecture. Unfortunately, the
assistant was a small, nasty little SOB who apparently had a major
Napoleon complex, being so short. He picked one recruit and asked him
a question. When the answer wasn't to the assistant's liking, he cuffed
the recruit on the side of his head. BAD MOVE! In a flash, the assistant
was on the ground wondering what had hit him. The recruit turned out
to be from a family with a long history of military service and had been
well trained in the martial arts...very well trained.
For the rest of basic training, the assistant never laid a hand on a
trainee.
The trainee spent a lot of time teaching the rest of us his skills. Sgt.
Ortiz
turned out to be one of those DI's who was always at the front of any
activity he pout us through. Although Sgt. Ortiz wasn't a commissioned
officer, he turned out to be more of gentleman than many officers I met
during my Army days. We all would gladly follow him right through the
gates of hell if need be.
After basic, I went to Ft. Rucker to become a helicopter pilot. Sgt.
Ortiz's lessons helped me get through that adventure. I often what ever
became of Sgt. Ortiz. Last time I saw him, he was in Class A uniform
bedecked with many ribbons, including the CIB earned during the Korean
conflict.
Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Breneman" <jimbre_7@yahoo.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: 28 June, 2005 07:40
Subject: Re: [MV] Drill instructors accused of going too far
> This is so not "typical of the whiney little brats
> these days..." Had you read the article you would have
> noticed that there was more going on than just yelling
> at the recruits. There was no excuse to be physical
> with recruits in these cases. In fact for the most
> part, there is no reason to ever touch a recruit
> unless provoked (such as defending yourself and/or
> breaking up a fight).
> I have no way to know if you've been through basic
> training, but when I was at Ft. Knox for basic
> (B/2-46IN) there was not a "whiney little brat" to be
> found. By the time I finished training (I transfered
> to Infantry school between basic and AIT) I was in a
> company of steel-eyed killers.
> I'll tell you...there is not an army out there that
> could defeat the United States Army.
>
> Sorry for the rant everyone...
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