What's the coolest thing you've done?

SN Greg Wright — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:12:08 -0400

For me, it was launching off a Carrier (The Enterprise) on the COD. Unfortunately I didn't ever get to trap -- I flew on in a CH-46. Oh, and I drive VLCC's for a living.

How about you?

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 1:12 PM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:12:58 -0400

Created another human being.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jun 10 at 2016 1:17 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:17:53 -0400

Define "cool". I'm at an age when kids make faces if I even attempt to use the word.

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Jun 10 at 2016 1:18 PM

Capt Mark Strobl — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:18:52 -0400

SN Greg Wright - I was going to answer. But read CSM Private RallyPoint Member's response first!

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 1:22 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:22:32 -0400

The SGM took the best one liner ever...so I'll go with the "stand by".

Our last week downrange, our "Green" brethren stole our ETT Guidon and hung it atop the radio tower (built by LN labor). The Boss knew I could live without heights, so he ordered me to "retrieve" it...but climbed up ahead of me. At the top, the access hatch to the platform was about two feet off the rickety ladder...so one had to literally reach out, swing out, and pull one's self up into the tower basket. We got our guidon, and got back down safely...no harness.

...after that, I suppose fast roping out of an SH-60 over the flight deck

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 1:28 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:28:39 -0400

Running jump/dive face first off a 250 ft cliff Aussie style rappelling.

Response by SSgt Charles Freeman made Jun 10 at 2016 1:28 PM

SSgt Charles Freeman — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:28:42 -0400

Visited Iwo Jima and climbed Mt. Suribachi. On a side note, there's a road to the top now, and nobody was shooting at me, so it was much easier than it was in 1945.

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made Jun 10 at 2016 1:35 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:35:21 -0400

I was a teen skinny dipping with 4 attractive girls. They carried me around the pool like carrying a coffin on the shoulders lol. I was freaking sexy and funny. Wooohoooo!!!

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Jun 10 at 2016 1:40 PM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:40:39 -0400

CSM Private RallyPoint Member has the Epic response.
The coolest thing I have done aside from child raising, is bungee jumping. It was an accident. My asshole friends entered me in a radio contest knowing that I have a fear of heights. I got a call from the radio station asking if I was going to go through with it if they announced I won, I said yes hung up, and then it dawned on my why they called. Only thing I could think was "oh shit." I went through with it. Jumped from the crane bounced out over the highway, bounced over the bar, then was lowered onto the ground. Best thing about it was that I didn't have to buy a drink all night.

Response by SGT Christopher Churilla made Jun 10 at 2016 2:22 PM

SGT Christopher Churilla — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:22:33 -0400

Saved a little girl suffering from leukemia by donating my bone marrow.

Response by MSgt Daniel Attilio made Jun 10 at 2016 2:33 PM

MSgt Daniel Attilio — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:33:57 -0400

I think I've many story-worthy cool things but the one that brought/brings the biggest grin of accomplishment was the first time I solo-ed an airplane.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Jun 10 at 2016 2:37 PM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:37:06 -0400

There's a couple things that will always top my list of life experiences. Getting to help deliver both my girls is an amazing experience. Becoming a Marine will be etched into my soul for eternity.

Response by SFC J Fullerton made Jun 10 at 2016 2:40 PM

SFC J Fullerton — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:40:08 -0400

Back in high school, I had a summer job one year working in an ice house. Bagging 10 and 20 pound bags of ice all day. Was so cool, had to wear a snow suit at work in the middle of July.

Response by GySgt Charles O'Connell made Jun 10 at 2016 2:57 PM

GySgt Charles O'Connell — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:57:35 -0400

Enlisted in the USMC!

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jun 10 at 2016 2:59 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:59:36 -0400

To my grandson,it's my telling him about my firing of the M1 Abrams tank.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 3:02 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:02:01 -0400

I was launched off a Carrier (Roosevelt) as well......0-180, GAWD that was so much fun!

Coolest thing, Navy-wise, is going to a different country. My fave was Portsmouth, England. I got to try different foods, talk to very sweet locals, and enjoy an actual tea time!
Coolest thing ever; carrying my son and delivering him into the world.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jun 10 at 2016 3:34 PM

Capt Seid Waddell — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:34:46 -0400

250 MPH, 50 feet off the deck, in an OV-10 Bronco. Good thing I was back seat, because trees came by faster than I could have reacted to and avoided them.

Next best was 110 MPH on a Suzuki 400.

The most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 3:37 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:37:36 -0400

Back seat ride in an F-15E. I got to pull 9 G's and take control of the stick. On the way back to base we used the Sniper Pod to check out the ladies on the beach at Panama City.

Response by Capt Michael Greene made Jun 10 at 2016 3:47 PM

Capt Michael Greene — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:47:40 -0400

Stay in long enough SN Greg Wright , and your list of adventures can become huge. Here's one from mine:

In the dark of night, we launched off the catapult and pretty quickly I was in the air, operating listening equipment in the back of an EA-3B jet for VQ-1. This was in the 70s, somewhere over the Sea of Japan. I watched green lines on some screens, listened to squeaks, and pushed a few buttons. For about an hour, we were pretty bored. I unbuckled and walked around a little bit, then sat down to get back to work. You know, defending the Free World an' shit.

Then, in my headphones, I heard a "sh, sh" that made the hair on my neck stand up. I read the frequency and saw the pattern and knew I had picked up the Air-to-Air Radar of a communist fighter jet. Excited, I pressed the foot switch and said "Break, break. 3-2 has a MiG looking in our direction." I knew he was looking our way, because my old receiver wouldn't have picked up his narrow beam if he were looking elsewhere.

The officer at the left end of the row of operators immediately started pushing buttons and turning switches to look at what I had picked up. Then he said something into his oxygen mask, but not to me. I looked right, and saw the pilot look back at us. Then the pilot tapped the navigator on the shoulder and pointed out the cockpit window. Then the signal changed and I heard "chika, chika, chika" coming through my headphones.

I stepped on the mic switch again and said "3-2 has switched into acquisition mode." my officer shouted back, "What bearing? What bearing?" I looked left toward him and he had opened a large green computer printout. He threw it on the floor and unfolded a map and talked to the flight deck again. I looked right and saw our navigator looking back at us and waving his arm.

We were flying a few miles off the coast where several commie countries came together. I knew that if the fighter was Russian, he would fly alongside and wave at us. That would be cool. If he was Chinese, he couldn't make it out this far. But if he was North Korean... Peacetime or not, the North Koreans had a habit of shooting our airplanes. My squadron had a wall full of names of the dead.

I found the bearing and relayed it to my officer. Not knowing exactly where we were, I had no idea what country the fighter was coming from. Then I heard a long, screeching "Weeeeeeeeeeee" so I reported: "3-2 has fired his weapon."

Suddenly our jet zoomed downward at the steepest angle I'd ever experienced. Unfortunately, I was still not buckled in, so I was slammed straight up to the roof of the cabin. BAM! I was pinned to the ceiling by G-forces. My oxygen hose wasn't quite long enough, so my mask pulled my head at a painful angle. The cabin filled with smoke. I couldn't see a thing. I felt the wall for signs of a hot air leak bleeding from the engine. The wall was cold. The smoke was just condensation.

Quickly, the air around me got really warm, and instantly the condensation disappeared--we were near sea level, now. I could see again. I looked down at the cabin floor and thought, "When we pull out of this dive, this is gonna hurt." Just then, the pilot leveled our jet, I slammed into the floor, knocking my head on the parachute seat pack in my chair. Yep, it hurt. I got up, sat down, and looked at my officer. He said, "We aborted the mission. We're going home."

Peacetime, my ass.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 4:02 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:02:17 -0400

Adopting my son and he is my world, my everything

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 4:05 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:05:50 -0400

Drove a police car flat-out for 70 miles in a high-speed chase. Flat out, in the case of a US Border Patrol Ford Crown Victoria circa 1999 was roughly 130 MPH. Fortunately traffic was light and CHP was able to intercept with a spike strip before anyone got hurt.

While the police car was the most fun (and exciting), the coolest was shutting down the entire digital cell phone network for Los Angeles, CA for a night in 2001 (correction, must have been 1998 or 99). I was an INS special agent investigating a human trafficking case and had telephone contact with the smuggler/trafficker who had threatened to kill a Korean woman he'd smuggled into the United States for money (she was retarded and epileptic and he threatened to drop her off naked in the Mojave desert without medication or water) and was extorting her family.

I spoke with him at length on his cell phone, in Korean, pretending to be her American born cousin and to arrange the meeting to pay her out. What I was really doing was giving the AirTouch (later Verizon) cellular tech time to use my court order to shut down the digital network, forcing his dual band phone onto analog where a machine called a "Trigger Fish" could track his location to an ever decreasing radius.

Ultimately I got it down to a small motel, then had agents standing at end of the hall way and dialed his phone again. The door behind which we heard the cell phone ring was then battered open, the girl was rescued and three traffickers arrested including the ring leader.

The victim was reunited with her family and the traffickers got 1 year (for the driver and his friend for conspiracy) and the leader got five years. When the leader got out, we turned him over to Korean authorities and tried him again in Korean court. Korea has/had a special statute that allows prosecution under the laws of a foreign country if the victim and defendant were both Korean citizens and can both be brought to Korea. They (Korea) also lacks double jeopardy.

The Assistant US Attorney who prosecuted the US case and I got a three week trip to Korea where we assisted Korean prosecutors, and our boy was sentenced to 9 years in Korean prison.

It was hard work, felt great, but for purse adrenaline the police car wins.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Jun 10 at 2016 4:23 PM

SSG Warren Swan — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:23:16 -0400

Woke up this morning.

Response by Capt Walter Miller made Jun 10 at 2016 4:43 PM

Capt Walter Miller — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:43:08 -0400

Spend 3 days at the Royal Marines Boot Camp when I was in Alpha 1/8.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 4:49 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:49:08 -0400

Teaching my little boy (almost four now) how to read. He is autistic, and when I'd read to him at night, he would be fascinated with what I was doing. I think he memorized Green Eggs and Ham first, then figured out with some coaching how to sound out and recognize the words in other stories.
He rarely speaks, but he loves to read aloud.
I am very proud of him.

Response by SPC Kirk Gilles made Jun 10 at 2016 6:25 PM

SPC Kirk Gilles — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 18:25:04 -0400

Okay, forgive me being a Peace time soldier. But as Scouts we were always OPFOR. We bailing wired a COL inside his track! Chalked up and tied all the other TOC vehicles, hid loose gear etc! Our Plt ldr couldn't stop snickering during his butt-chewing.
Our Bn Cdr put the Scout Plt into HEMMTs with MILES gear on. We charged the enemy position and died a glorious "death" while our tankers won the battle from the flank. Good times

Response by SFC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 6:29 PM

SFC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 18:29:34 -0400

I can say the coolest thing I have done I get to do everyday. Get up in the morning with good health. Have all ten fingers and ten toes. Have a loving family and a awesome dog.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 10 at 2016 6:40 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 18:40:27 -0400

Holding First Grandchild would be the top of the List. Not far from the top would be being in Subic Bay/Olongapo for the Eruption of Mt Pinatubo "I've seen the Mouth of Hell".

Response by CPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 7:20 PM

CPO Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 19:20:07 -0400

I have so many after 24 years of a above average Navy ground guy career. Worked with some real cools guys and units around the world.

#1 making Chief Petty Officer United States Navy, and yes initiated and proud.
#2 Training beside the CPO stuff, would be Marine Corps Jungle Warfare Training Okinawa Japan 1998... That was fun and would help develop me into a small unit tactical leader, that would help me in further tactical events in my career.
#3 1991 Desert Strom, was on a Special Marine Task Force Troy I MEF/ 1st Recon. Tasked with creating a deception camp and battle field bye prefabbing and then moving within a mile of the border, to place Tank and Artillery Decoys to lure the Iraqis into thinking that the invasion was coming up and from the coast. This was the major part of the left hook battle plan. We were part of a 380 man task force mixed with Recon, Marine Infantry, Army intel, psyops, TOW squad, platoon of Marine Combat Engineers and us a 21 man SeaBee tasked element. We built and placed the Decoys under fire and then we helped the Combat Engineers blow a breach in the berm, to make them believe we were coming in at that point full force. Anyway I was just a SWCN and that was my second deployment and first not last combat one. This was a true life changing experience.

Response by SN Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 7:34 PM

SN Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 19:34:41 -0400

1) First off...can't top SGT Christopher Churilla

2) Navy wise:
1) Becoming a Golden Shellback back when "hazing" was tolerated. We just called it character building back then.
2) Being in the TS zone while launching an EA-6B Prowler. (Think I lost a filling or two.)
3) Supersonic fly-by and the wall of water. Amazing!!
4) Launched off the USS Abraham Lincoln.
3) Last but not least: Served my country. I always wanted to serve, and serving was the greatest thing I have done on a personal level.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jun 10 at 2016 8:26 PM

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 20:26:25 -0400

FB-111 Supersonic flight profile over the Atlantic, had to throttle back at Mach 1.8 due to HQ restrictions (aircraft capable of Mach 2.5) and busted altitude limit of 50,000 feet because didn't push over soon enough, but what a ride!

Response by SSG Roger Ayscue made Jun 10 at 2016 9:14 PM

SSG Roger Ayscue — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 21:14:46 -0400

Hanging out the door of a C-130/C141 and C-17 as a Primary Jumpmaster

Response by MSG Dan Castaneda made Jun 10 at 2016 10:51 PM

MSG Dan Castaneda — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 22:51:54 -0400

Response by Maj John Bell made Jun 10 at 2016 11:11 PM

Maj John Bell — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 23:11:08 -0400

While I was on Embassy Duty in Africa, I:
-arm wrestled a six month old gorilla. (She whooped me.)
-got hugged by a baby elephant
-petted an orphaned Rhino
-hand fed an orphaned giraffe
-had a hippo surface about 10 feet from my aluminum row boat
-listened to a herd of elephants crash through a stand of trees, in the dark, and went back to see the highway they made the next day.
-had a lioness climb in the back of my pickup truck and go to sleep
-saw the great migration

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 10 at 2016 11:57 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 23:57:59 -0400

Blowing things up in Antarctica. Learned from the best; EO-1 Ed "Boom Boom" Bujanowski who'd say "You can never use too much dynamite".

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Jun 11 at 2016 12:12 AM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 00:12:59 -0400

It was fun to drive a BTR-80

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 11 at 2016 1:38 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 01:38:31 -0400

Being a Dad is already taken, but being the first one my son saw... yeah.
In terms of the Army?
1) Went to the top of where the largest buddha in Bamiyan was...
2) NVG Bambi buckets
3) Trained flight medics and crewchiefs
3) Scared the hell out of A Troop 1/25 at 2am with 5 'Hawks doing a slow pass on their barracks at Tak, Thailand, with both -60D's on each bird firing every blank round we had
6) Survived crewing for flight school students
7) Slung a HMMVW out of chest deep soupy Thai mud outside of Hua Hin, Thailand
8) Speaking of Thailand... [redacted]... hm... [redacted]... and created nothing/came back with memories which are plausibly deniable.

Response by PO3 Leroy Leftwich made Jun 11 at 2016 11:50 AM

PO3 Leroy Leftwich — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 11:50:34 -0400

I was top watch in main control, we were anchoring in Hong Kong. TheCaptain didn't want local assistance from the tugs. So he ordered us to turn in place. I took control of the throttles as we received orders from bridge. 2/3rds ahead to 2/3rds astern for over an hour. The ship sat still as we turns 180'. I was sweat fro heat to toe.

Response by SGT John Wesley made Jun 12 at 2016 2:28 PM

SGT John Wesley — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 14:28:11 -0400

Raising my stepchildren. Watching them grow up and be just good people. Coolest thing ever!

Response by ENS Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 12 at 2016 4:21 PM

ENS Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 16:21:59 -0400

Coolest thing I've ever done? That's a hard question! The first thing that comes to mind for me personally is doing a backflip out of a moving helicopter and skydiving back to the DZ in Hawaii! Outside of that, probably clearing a 100ft double in a motocross race.