Greetings, I am TAW VietVet [TA 1SO]. Staff Officer of the Tribes Ascend North American Battalion. I am Very Fond of my Battalion and the Friends i have made within it and the Division! I have been asked to do an Essay of a sort by my DO Nightshaper so here goes. As a 2nd Lt i can't say no to a Major. A Joke! Really he is an Outstanding DO and i count him as a Friend!
My gaming nick is VietVet, My real name is Donnie Green. On July 30th i will be 65 years of age. I'm not a Fuddy Duddy but a Rock n Roller and a Mean Motor Scooter! Those who know me can tell you i am a Joker at Heart. If i don't make you Laugh i will certainly try again. I am so Fast when i take Corners My Pockets Dip Sand!
In the Beginning there was Me! heh. I was born in Tennessee and spent my first 12 years in Georgia just south east of Atlanta. In 1959 Daddy drug us to Detroit where i grew up till i Joined the US Army and Swore in at 17 years old on my Birthday. Did Basic at Fort Knox KY & AIT at Fort Ord CA As Advanced Signal Corps. 36c20, With a Top Secret, Crypto, Need to Know Clearance. Straight from AIT i was sent to Korea Where my MOS was changed to 95b. So there i was at 17 doing OJT as an Military Policeman. Did a year there. Did 7 months stateside in Oakdale Pena at a Missile Mentor Complex Where i met and Married my ex wife. Got Orders for Vietnam and Arrived in Country late Jan right at the start of TET 1968. Army Captain got on Plane intercom and said, Binh Hwa Airbase has been under Mortar Fire so as soon as plane stops all RUN out Right exits and into Bunker 75 yards off Runway. Being FNG's we all Ran and sortta dove in Bunker heh. Watched our 707 Freedom Bird turn around and take off! With our Duffle Bags still onboard BTW! You may not know it but a Boeing 707 can Take Off at a 45 Degree angle and we was all going Go Baby Go! She was going for Altitude to Avoid Anti Aircraft Fire. During my Tour there 1 was Shot down killing all Crew and Full Load of Marines as it crashed in a Village wipeing it out also. These things that happened i later learned from my PTSD Psych were called Triggers. In early April 68 something Very Bad happened i was Right in the Middle of. Suffice to say 20 Dead and Over 40 hospitalized has to this day at times taken me to a Very Dark Place! To this day i am Protective of Vets and Very Protective of Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mess with Them, You Mess with Me! This part is just to let you see where my head was at at 21 yrs. old and why i Joke for redirection. We had a saying, What are you going to do? Bust me and send me to Vietnam? heh.
I am presently 100% Service Connected Disabled I have been working on PTSD since 1983. I Handled Agent Orange for over 2 Months building our Company's Barracks Blast walls. We were going from Double Sandbags to 55 Gal Drums filled with broken Concrete. Good Greif! Our CO Capt. Colon, We all called him Capt. A&&^H%^#mce_markeramp;* was an Idiot! Know what a 122 Mortar can do to them Barrels? The Concrete chunks would become large scrapnel flying through our Billets. The Barrels were near empty Agent Orange barrels. It's Not Orange, It looks like Antifreeze! The top of the Barrel is Painted Orange. Had it spill on me and have tasted it, It's Sweet! Got Ischemic Heart Disease from it and had a Heart Attack with damage at 45 yrs. old.
My Essay may be longer than others but Remember i got 65 years to tell HAW!
Back State side in the land of The Big PX as a Civilian in 1970 i went to a Tool Makers Institute where I started my rise through the Skilled Trades. I progressed from Journey Maintenance Mechanic to Jour Machinist and finally Ended my work Career with 15 yrs. As an Jour Machine Tool Rebuilder which is as high as you can go Blue Collar. I can Scrape to .0001 ten thousandths. Look that up in Your Funk & Wagnall! heh. Got Married in 1967 my firstborn a son was born in 1982. Wife went into Labor at the 4th of July Fireworks show at 9.30 pm at the Rose bowl in LA CA. Every Big Boom Wife said he was Kicking! Born in th am on the 5th But i Call him My Yankee Doodle Dandy! my Daughter 2 years later. Yup that's 15 years so if it hasn't worked yet there are Precedence's. During my adult life i have moved from Coast to Coast 4 times and am in the Metro Seattle Wa area now.My hobbies are shooting, reloading, Riding Harleys, Trains and Model Steam Engine layouts. I have 7 engines as of now.
Now to the Meat of the Matter! TAW. What are we? TAW! Why? Because we sought out TAW to Petition for Membership! Our Conduct and Reputation Precede us! Our TS 3 Server is in the Top 10 and that is No Accident! Over 2400 Members speaks for itself. The few Posts i have made have been responded to in a Positive Manor. And there were High Ranking Majors, Colonels, Generals who demonstrated the theme Service. They Responded to my post welcoming me a PFC in a Different Division. I like that were based on The Marine Corps, Have a Chain of Command, A Code of Ethics and Policy! ( Keeps me Low Profile so i don't affect our Diverse Membership). On TS 3 when in Practice or a Scrim My Squad and O & D Leaders maintain a constant Commo Procedure without Temper or Inflection of Voice during scrim or Debrief.. Which brings us back to Code of Ethics and Policy! If those are forefront in in Squad Leader and all the way up in Command then Tis a Pleasure to be a TAW! Military when Need Be, Generally Members having fun playing Organized rather than PUB Play which at best is Grating.
Something close to my heart i must share with you. After making PFC and being here awhile at Practice Mount my CO NOS made an Announcement in front of our Battalion on TS 3. With Proper Ruffles and Flourish's he Awarded me the Armed Forces Award and the Deployed Military Medal. These are for Active and Prior Military Service Personnel.The latter Medal is for Deployed to a Foreign War Theatre for a Tour in what we call a Combat Zone. That TAW saw fit to have them in their Inventory knocked my socks off! I thanked him and said it nearly brought me to tears. It actually did as i was Overwhelmed and Full of Pride. I checked and saw that Approval went all the way up the Chain of Command to Icarus. I a PFC e-mailed Icarus and told him thank you and glad TAW had Such in Inventory and rendered a Hand Salute to him in txt. Not expecting an answer right away he mailed me back with Positive Feedback and gave me a Big Huzzah and thanked me for my Service! He has all of TAW to Manage and must be Very busy but he took time with me. From Top to Bottom all TAW Serve. Service is our Theme for 2013. So step up and offer yourself to serve and you may just get handed something to do. I started out by offering to do DI Duties. And lets not forget it takes Money to keep TAW Thundering along. Those TAW who can please contribute to your Battalion fund or TAW general fund. The Battalion fund pays for your servers and such. TAW general pays for our TS 3 and myriad other cost. I contribute monthly to both because i want TAW to be Strong and Upwardly Mobile
Staff Officer of Tribes Ascend North American Battalion
st Lt VietVet
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Nice Read! We Appreciate your service and are glad to have you in the TAW Community
Thanks DeadXOn, I try to do the best for TAW my Battalion / Division. May The Blood Flow Freely! And with that, HiYo Silver Away! Umf Keemosaby! VietVet
Hookah Viet service until death my friend. In life, country, and community