PV2 Mary Gilmartin

Army | Motor Transport Operator

Dates of Service: Apr 1976 - Mar 1978

VETERAN

80% Complete

1 Endorsement

2 Contacts

Influence Score: 5,164
9,565 out of 865,842 Veterans

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Bio

I earned the Expert Medal for Marksmanship. I was given the opportunity in Basic Training to train a few EWs some marksman techniques so they would be more confident when we all qualified at the shooting range. After Basic Training, I was sent to Fort Dix for Transportation Training. This training was self-paced and I completed my light, medium, and heavy vehicle training early. There, I was offered a training position, which I declined. I was 18 years old, from California and it was right in the middle of winter in New Jersey. These are the reasons I declined the offer. I will never know how things might have been different if I had accepted the offer.

Military Experiences

Sep 1976 - Dec 1976

Basic Trainee

Charlie Company | Fort McClellan, AL

When I entered Active Duty for Basic Training in 1976, I entered as a WAC. When I completed Basic Training, I left as an Enlisted Woman (EW). We all were told that the Woman's Army Corps was in the process of being disbanded. My Basic Training cycle at Ft. McClellan, AL was the first Basic Training cycle of women to become EWs and we performed the same training as men. The only thing that we were not allowed to do is to throw live Grenades. I would have LOVED to experience that type of training. Needless to say, our cycle was always under the watchful eye of many forms of Brass. Everything we did, we were watched. Only in the barracks were we able to have some privacy. We all called the Brass members, 'The Creepers' and if anyone gets offended, "Suck it up Buttercup!"

Deployments

Germany

In 1977, I was stationed at the 503rd Transportation Company located at Patton Barracks in Heidelberg, West Germany (now known as Unified Germany). I left in 1978 after being there a little over a year.