Posted on Feb 16, 2014
Most humbling or embarassing military moment?
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So, it would appear that we've all been there, you know, one of those "whoops" moments... well, maybe it made you laugh, or made you cringe, but one thing is for sure... you'll never forget it! There could be a moral to the story, a lesson learned, wisdom gained, or perhaps it was just plain funny... whatever it was, what's that one stand-out moment in your career? This should be a great time and I'm certain that it'll help facilitate continued inter-service discussion and understanding. Those humbling moments make for great stories and help keep us grounded and able to connect across generation and cultural barriers. So, please feel free to add any links, sound files, photos, or anything else necessary to help tell your story. Now, it's about that time, so pull up a keyboard and let's get this thing started; thank you for all that you do, and... see you all in the discussion threads!
Edited 10 y ago
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 57
It was my first morning down range. I walked out of my room at the crack of dawn and saw a lone soldier about 30 feet away, facing my direction and holding a salute. Being the well-trained soldier that I am, I snapped to attention, did an about face, and saluted for reveille.<div><br></div><div>I couldn't see the flag and the trumpet was too faint to hear, so after about 20 seconds I peeked over my shoulder to see if the other soldier had ordered arms yet. He had changed positions and that's when I realized that he wasn't saluting... he was talking on his cell phone. </div>
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<p>I was on my first field exercise after coming back onto active duty. It was just before sunset and an infantry squad showed up at the engineer AA looking for support for a night mission. I happened to be walking by and got 'Hey you'd by the 1SG.</p><p>The infantry squad put the engineers on point (go figure) and we headed out into the swamps of Ft. Stewart.</p><p>At one point, up to our armpits in swamp water, my lead man stopped and I nearly ran into his back. I asked him why the hell he had stopped and he said there was a log in his way. I told him to see if he could push it out of the way with the butt of his weapon. He started to push on it and then jumped backwards and nearly knocked us both under. I asked him angrily (but quietly) what the f*** was the problem. He said "Sergeant, that f***ing log opened its eyes and looked at me!!!!!" It turned out to be about an 8 foot gator. We did the only thing we could at that point and quietly waded by.</p><p>Lesson learned: when the infantry wants to go swimming in the middle of the night in Southeast Georgia, tell them they're on their own!! LOL</p><p> </p>
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I'll never forget being a a brand new PVT at Fort Carson and we were getting ready to go out to do some Sergeant's Time Training. We all formed up and then I realized for some reason everyone kept looking at me and laughing. I couldn't figure it out until finally the PSG came out took one look at me and said a Rink you idiot your Kevlar is on backwards.....:( didn't live that one down for months. Taught me a great lesson too, check yourself before you head out the door.
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