Comments for This brings back some memories.

This brings back some memories.

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:47:34 -0600

Of similiar experiences. Only Bill might have first hand knowledge of this event... in fact, I think he's the 4th guy from the left in the third row...Second Army Tennessee Maneuvers. The Layout. Company F, 347th Inf Reg., 87th Inf. Division, stands by for inspection by the Commanding General, Major General Percy Clarkson. (8 May 43) Signal Corps Photo: 164-007-43-989 (Sgt. J. A. Grant) Yeah, I know it looks like pointless regimentation and make-work, and certainly there were elements of that - but if you wanted to be able to quickly inspect a hundred or so men, and ensure they had all...

Comment from J.M. Heinrichs on 2009-07-14

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:54:10 -0600

... no one shone the laces?
Gaiters were a pain, though.

Comment from BillT on 2009-07-14

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:59:42 -0600

Is Lincoln Wax like a Brazilian Wax?

Let's see if *that* wakes Maggie up.

And I can still buckle my web belt. Haven't changed the length of it since I ~~stole it~~ signed for it in 1968...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-14

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:42:31 -0600

Well, I didn't mention is because until your comment, Josh, I'd never heard of the stuff!

Comment from Josh of Basehor on 2009-07-14

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:06:17 -0600

I didn't see a single person mention Lincoln Wax. I had a tub the size of a coffee can. It was awsome unless you put on a boot that already had kiwi on it, lots of clouding. It may have been slightly more fragile than kiwi but most of my duty stations involved little field time for mission completion.

Josh of Basehor

Comment from HH on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:01:01 -0600

Joe Namath used to wear nylons....played for the New York Jets in the Super Bowl.
What may have bothered my roommates was I did not drink alcohol, use illegal drugs, curse, and raise hell like so many did back then. Not drinking and drugging caused me to work many extra hours to fill in for those who did and were unable to do their job properly. I was a medic and lived one parking lot away from the Emergency Room so I was the closest, soberest worker on short notice. My recreation activities were square dancing, volksmarching, and eating. Photographing stained glass windows in churches was a big hobby of mine.

Comment from Attila on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:21:05 -0600

HH,

The secret is to NOT PUT THEM ON after using the panty hose. That's what was probably freaking out your roommates...brutes.

Comment from Fishmugger on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:14:35 -0600

Ah yes...well speaking of Air Force, my house boy wasn't real great at spit shining but then again we didn't know from inspections except one time for a clothing inspection and you would just tell them the house boy had it in the laundry and he would just smile and shake his head Yes at any question.

There was more then one way to fight a war. When going to a detachment, Manila, Saigon, Seoul, Taipei, we wore civvies and the only question was who my tailor was. And, we had a clothing allowance.

Comment from H H on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:38:48 -0600

I was Air Force and used Kiwi and polished it with a pair of old nylon pantyhose. Finer texture than a cotton ball and it used to freak out my roommates. Having several Army MPs for friends upset some folks in the barracks due to the sight of three or four MPs walking down the hallway in full uniform, sometimes with a drug dog along. Rhein Main AFB, back in the late 70s and early 80s.
Being Air Force, I pretty much never had an inspection after Basic Training, other than when I went to NCO Leadership Academy.

Comment from RetRsvMike on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:01:28 -0600

...come to think of it, that Kovacs clippie thing only works on the new web gear. for the old ones i see that i have a loose loop of parachute cord for that "just ate dinner" expansion.

Comment from RetRsvMike on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:57:47 -0600

still got a complete set of the TA-50 web gear (with hooks, not plastic), and with that special Kovacs clip belt extender, yes i can still fasten it.

Grim/Attila: for shame, using cotton balls and/or t-shirt. BEST EVER rag for getting the "ready for Area Tour Inspection by the Field Officer of the Day" shine was to use the maximally rinsed and de-chem-ified Bltiz cloth (not the rouge cloth, the other half of it). it was so good for getting the shine on it, that half the time i would only get gigged for my haircut (Central Area tours only please, none of that shilly-shallying in North Area for me!)

Comment from Grimmy on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:20:17 -0600

What's a TA-50? Is that what y'all called warbelts (or pistol belts if on watch duty)?

As to suspenders, my first duty station was 3MarDiv in '79. The only warbelt suspenders around were those some enterprising Marine had managed to steal from a dogface while in Korea for training.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:58:35 -0600

Oh, I dunno, Dusty - picture of a field inspection, discussion of how to polish boots (or sham your way out of shining boots in the case of that slacker Frank).

It flows for me.

Now, the True Civilians® might be confused...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:51:00 -0600

Um, I have the old style TA-50. But it's been *koff* *ahem* a while since I didn't have to link two belts together to make 'em fit.

I preferred the old "H" style suspenders. The adjustment tab on the "Y" style suspenders always gave me a cyst in my back where it rubbed. Never had that problem with the older ones.

Comment from Attila on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:47:22 -0600

Grimmy's right on the T-shirt. And if you wash 'em occasionally, they get even better.

Criminey, has this thread gone off the rails or not?...-Attila

Comment from fdcol63 on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:33:07 -0600

Boq, you're right. I Mop & Glo'd a special pair of boots that just sat under my bunk for display and inspection purposes only. As you said, the leather would crack if worn, especially in wet Germany. I hated spending good money on those boots that I could have used on cold bier, but considered it an "investment". LOL

Comment from Grimmy on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:33:00 -0600

"And cotton balls. LOL "

Cotton balls?!? No freekin way! Cotton balls leave micro-scratches in your finish. Nothing less than an all cotton, well worn and plenty often washed, piece of tee shirt will do.

If you can't tell the color of your eyes and count the teeth in your smile in the reflection off your boots when held at an arm's length distance, you aint done it right. And, it better not just be the toe of your boots. The toe, the heel, the uppers, and all those tween the crease areas behind the toe too.

Spit shining is like rifle cleaning. It's a zen thing.

Of course, I doubt I ever spit shined a pair of boots while in the service. All my spit shining experience comes from attending Army Navy Academy at Oceanside my junior year.
Did lots and lots and lots of rifle cleaning though. And lots more after that too.

I always hated inspections but did understand and appreciate the purpose for them. Some could get crazy stupid, like IG inspections. In those, it could be assumed that such things as "paint the grass green, the roads black and the sidewalks white" type orders would be coming down from On High.

Comment from BillT on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:27:13 -0600

Okay -- now who still *has* a personal set of TA-50? Metal hooks 'n' loops, not the "breaks if you look crosswise at 'em" plastic clickers.

Next question -- who can still *wear* the web belt without extending it out to the last eyelet?

And I used a can of Kiwi on each Cochran just getting a decent *base* for the "spit and polish"...

Comment from Boquisucio on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:04:28 -0600

While floor polish leaves a mirrorlike reflection on them boots, the moment you flex them in the least, they will develop the most hideous spiderweb of cracks in a blink of an eye.

Kiwi, nothing but Kiwi for me.

Comment from fdcol63 on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:41:52 -0600

And cotton balls. LOL

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:31:01 -0600

I didn't say no shoe polish, I said no floor polish.

Plenty of Kiwi.

Comment from Attila on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:12:03 -0600

No shoe polish? You got me beat.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:49:18 -0600

Though mine were spit-shined the way the Auld Soldier taught me.

And that didn't involve floor polish. Just some spit 'n elbow grease and a touch of patience.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:46:22 -0600

I admit to the boots for those "special days."

Comment from fdcol63 on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:44:02 -0600

So ... who else had a complete set of personal TA-50 and Mop & Glo'd boots just for inspections? LOL

Comment from BillT on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:06:46 -0600

Inspections to check for presence and serviceability of field equipment -- okay.

Inspections to check for presence of brand-new toothbrush, unopened tube of toothpaste, brand-new can of Kiwi, and unused pack of blued, double-edged razor blades, and three pairs of socks rolled with the heels facing to the left -- nah.

Although the latter type *did* insure a ready pool of warm bodies for the weekend KP roster.

Comment from Attila on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:49:30 -0600

I don't regret any of those experiences. Besides, it made me appreciate Saturday afternoons a helluva lot more. Especially if we won the football game, too (which didn't happen very often until we got a new coach).

It also made me take my future underlings' complaints less seriously when I held them to a higher standard than they'd become accustomed to....Muuuuuuwaaaaahahahahaha! ;) The one exception I allowed as an O-6 was my Chief--the USAF version of a CSM--who even I didn't f**k with...with good reason. No rational commander would, anyway. Great guy, hard as woodpecker lips, and the standard by which I measured everyone else, including myself.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:27:28 -0600

At ease! The Colonel has left the room.

Comment from Dad on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:19:58 -0600

Folks, its called a "full field inspection" and it really did serve a purpose as did "stand by" inspections.

Comment from fdcol63 on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:11:25 -0600

While I may have thought he was being chickenshitely when he found a little dust between the leather and sole of my jump boots when he pried them apart, the E-7 who gigged me for this taught me an important lesson: ATTENTION TO DETAIL.

LOL

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:54:49 -0600

Um, that last one didn't come out quite the way I meant it to...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:54:17 -0600

And Dusty came in from the other side - all bullshite.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:50:05 -0600

I got your point, Papa Ray - I was just tweaking it from a different angle - the one that Bill was zinging in on.

The balance between utility and bullshite.

Comment from Papa Ray on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:46:26 -0600

Ahhh,,,John.

I guess my post went right over your head.

Sorry I can't write what I mean or feel.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:35:52 -0600

Papa Ray - yes, the system does presume basic honesty and competence, not always a valid assumption.

When I commanded a separate battery that shared a motor pool with one of my sister battalions in the DIVARTY, I would schedule my motor pool inspections for the same day as the battalion scheduled theirs - that way my NCOs would be keeping an eye on their own stuff, rather than it being "borrowed" by the other unit, and since my guys were going to have to be keeping an eye on their kit anyway, might as well have the inspection then, too.

The purpose of this stuff isn't to be an end in itself, it's a tool. And, as such, can always be abused and misused.

Comment from Attila on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:35:40 -0600

There are lay-out inspections and there are lay-out inspections.

...and then there are Triple Threats:
SAMI - Saturday AM Inspection (in room, by assorted Richard Craniums of the college kid and Commissioned persuasion)
IRI - In-Ranks Inspection, complete with the M-1 whose stock you have sanded down and re-stained/polished for the umpteenth time while hoping the idiot who snatches it from your hands doesn't drop it on your foot or break his own nose with it, thereby bleeding all over your parades.
Parade - 40 squadrons-worth of college kids, 95% of whom never see anything but the back of the next poor slob's cranium, marching out to prove to the taxpayer that we're doing something for the bill.
Lessons Learned:
SAMI: It isn't worth sh**ting in a shoe box to avoid a trip to the crapper during the Friday night upperclassmen's Freshman feeding frenzy. Don't hide your pets in your laundry bin, especially the scaly ones.
IRI: Don't daydream, especially if it involves Monty Python skits
Parades: Don't stare at the bright white trousers.

Ah, those were the days...-Attila

Comment from BillT on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:35:07 -0600

Second row of tents, front rank, seventh from the left.

No combat-ready outfit ever passed inspection, and no inspection-ready outfit ever passed combat.

Comment from Papa Ray on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:58:55 -0600

"Back in the day..." at FT Polk, LA, we didn't have all of our "Kit". The year was 1967 and our inspections were in the barracks (or on the "Parade Ground"). We would borrow from other units the missing gear for our inspections and they would do the same when they underwent these useless exercises of "military readiness". The training was somewhat along the same lines, just go through the motions training for the last war. It certainly was shown later that we were not prepared, trained nor ready (but little did we know this) for the hordes of VC and NVA that were waiting for us on that hell on earth that we were to live, fight and die in. But all the boxes (that they had at that time) were checked and signed off on, so "they" were covered. It then became our responsibility and challenge to get on the job training and survive. We were Army but we soon adopted the Marine unoffical ethos of Improvise, Adapt and Overcome.

We did, but...still many of my buds didn't make it home and I have spent my life since then pushing against the guilt that came with that.

Remember that when our Warriors come home now.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:57:59 -0600

You'd know that better'n me, Frank...

Comment from fdcol63 on 2009-07-13

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:41:25 -0600

" ... to the woe of the Non-Commissioned Officer who's troop didn't have all his kit, or it was laid out improperly... "

And to said troop from afore-mentioned NCO, as shite does indeed roll down hill. LOL