Military Roll Call! Veterans, GTFIH!

See, my only knowledge of that group of guys is the book and the show.
Dike was awarded a Bronze Star for his action at Uden, Holland, with the 101st Airborne Division between 23 and 25 September 1944, in which he "organized and led scattered groups of parachutists in the successful defense of an important road junction on the vital Einhoven (sic)-Arnhem Supply Route against superior and repeated attacks, while completely surrounded." Dike was awarded a second Bronze Star for his action at Bastogne, in which "he personally removed from an exposed position, in full enemy view, three wounded members of his company, while under intense small arms fire" on 3 January 1945."
 
The real Dike was actually a hero.

No he wasn't. He sucked as a leader. Nicknamed 'Foxhole Norman' for being a coward. Still made it to Lieutenant Colonel. He was the son of a New York state Supreme Court judge, that is why he was a 'favorite'. He went on to become an aide to Gen. Maxwell Taylor, 101st Airborne Division.

"1LT Dike Jr. was commander of Easy Company during the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. As a ranks-climber, he was not a good commander, which resulted in several Easy Company men's deaths during their attack on Foy. During the assault on Foy, Dike had ordered a Platoon to go on a flanking mission around the rear of the town. During their charge, he abandoned the mission and ordered the men to take cover with him. Dike's sergeants informed him they were going to get killed because they were bracketed. Having no idea how to control the situation, Dike froze. 'He fell apart,' as Carwood Lipton at that time the company's first sergeant, later put it."

1LT Ronald Speirs took control of the situation and saved the day -- saved lives. Speirs was a good leader, brave, and somewhat borderline crazy.

1LT Norman Dike
 
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No he wasn't. He sucked as a leader. Nicknamed 'Foxhole Norman' for being a coward. Still made it to Lieutenant Colonel. He was the son of a New York state Supreme Court judge, that is why he was a 'favorite'. He went on to become an aide to Gen. Maxwell Taylor, 101st Airborne Division.

"1LT Dike Jr. was commander of Easy Company during the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. As a ranks-climber, he was not a good commander, which resulted in several Easy Company men's deaths during their attack on Foy. During the assault on Foy, Dike had ordered a Platoon to go on a flanking mission around the rear of the town. During their charge, he abandoned the mission and ordered the men to take cover with him. Dike's sergeants informed him they were going to get killed because they were bracketed. Having no idea how to control the situation, Dike froze. 'He fell apart,' as Carwood Lipton at that time the company's first sergeant, later put it."

1LT Ronald Speirs took control of the situation and saved the day -- saved lives. Speirs was a good leader, brave, and somewhat borderline crazy.

1LT Norman Dike


1LT Ronald Speirs

Dike was awarded a Bronze Star for his action at Uden, Holland, with the 101st Airborne Division between 23 and 25 September 1944, in which he "organized and led scattered groups of parachutists in the successful defense of an important road junction on the vital Einhoven (sic)-Arnhem Supply Route against superior and repeated attacks, while completely surrounded." Dike was awarded a second Bronze Star for his action at Bastogne, in which "he personally removed from an exposed position, in full enemy view, three wounded members of his company, while under intense small arms fire" on 3 January 1945."
 
@Mike Hagger @sub_thug Is this true about the prep course holding? Sounds like the hardest part of the pipeline.

https://www.shadowspear.com/vb/threads/progress-report-from-q-course.25936/

Honestly bro, my SA on that particular part of the Q is not current. But, I’ll say, that specific area - hold for X-Rays, has been up and down, from dropping a very large % of x-rays, to dropping almost none. What he wrote sounds like yester-year of the mid and early ‘00s when it was known to be a real ball crusher. I would, be surpised if it returned to that. I can hollar back if you’re interested.
 
Dike was awarded a second Bronze Star for his action at Bastogne, in which "he personally removed from an exposed position, in full enemy view, three wounded members of his company, while under intense small arms fire" on 3 January 1945."

Yes, I read your previous post #2143. 1LT Dike removed wounded soldiers that he managed to get wounded. He probably killed a dozen soldiers in the process of attacking Foy. I can't believe they gave him a Bronze Star for that. Actually, Bronze Stars are somewhat of a joke in my opinion. I saw officers in Iraq put themselves in for the award and get it while some NCOs who did far more did not get anything. At times, politics does play a role.
 
I saw officers in Iraq put themselves in for the award and get it while some NCOs who did far more did not get anything. At times, politics does play a role.

OERs (Officer Evaluation Report) was another issue. I had a Battalion Commander that wanted his officers to complete their own evaluations. Like, filling out DA Form 67-9. He would add any necessary details and fill in his part. I'm like WTF? I'm evaluating myself? No, that is really fucked up. It's called being lazy and not knowing your staff. I did all my NCOERs for my subordinates and their awards. Any NCO who came to me with a filled out request for a Bronze Star (for himself/herself), it would go into the trash. Sorry, if you did something really heroic, someone else needs to put you in for the award.

@X-Pac Rules
 
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Yeah, whatever it's called now.
I never went through it, and neither did @Mike Hagger. He went to SFAS as an E-6, and I went as an O-2. What I can say of what I saw from those 18X is this: they were in good shape for SFAS, but they didn’t have the experience to be there. SFAS largely tests your physical stamina more than anything else, so being in good cardiovascular shape is huge. The amount of running and rucking is impossible otherwise. At the same time, SFAS favors the smarter man. If you aren’t savvy enough to know how to take care of your feet, do land nav that minimizes your time spent walking (aka don’t get lost and aimlessly walk around), and get through the team week events as quickly as possible to recover for the next ones, you’re toast. A lot of 18X don’t know those things, and most of the ones who pass rely heavily on the seasoned NCOs like Mike and Officers going through the course. My .02. In my experience, guys like Mike (the NCOs) really make the course. They are the ones that teams actually want, and they make sure that the young guys graduate. Every 18X who finishes owes so much to the NCOs that are in his class. It’s the honest truth.

For what it’s worth, SOPC doesn’t make good SF soldiers. It’s so early in the pipeline that it doesn’t seem to count for too much. It happens before even Selection, so it really doesn’t even have much bearing on how the guy will perform in the early phases of the Q-Course.
 
Jackass or not, he got a Bronze Star on 2 separate occasions.

During OIF (from 2003 to 2010) - 99,886 Bronze Star Medals were awarded for Achievement/Service. In addition to those, there were only 2,459 awarded for valor. So, the award with the 'V' device is what makes it special.

Bronze Star Medal - Criteria:
3. "Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or meritorious service. The required achievement or service must nevertheless have been meritorious and accomplished with distinction."

That sounds pretty vague to me. The criteria for the award has changed over the years. Now it is given out for 'meritorious service' over the period of a deployment, or for a specific act or project that was accomplished. Not necessarily combat.
 
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I consider the bronze star slightly greater than an accommodation medal.

Unless it has a V in which case it's actually special.

If your license plate says bronze star but there's no Valor, I'll probably judge you but I'm a judgemental guy, who has a couple of BSMs.
 
I consider the bronze star slightly greater than an accommodation medal.

Unless it has a V in which case it's actually special.

If your license plate says bronze star but there's no Valor, I'll probably judge you but I'm a judgemental guy, who has a couple of BSMs.
I judge them too, but from what I understand, it's a good way to get out of speeding tickets. As a result, I don't judge too harshly.
 
I judge them too, but from what I understand, it's a good way to get out of speeding tickets. As a result, I don't judge too harshly.
My buddy that was 82nd literally has been pulled over probably 3-4 times a year for speeding the last 6 years...

His last speeding ticket? 10 years ago. I don't know how he does it but it always works into his conversation with the cop that pulled him over that he was in and no ticket but just a warning.

EDIT:
I was with him driving around Zion and he got pulled over, pulled off getting just a warning and is like:
"Call Jaren (mutual friend)"
"Ok..."
"Richard just got off with a warning again didn't he?"
"How the..."
"IT'S THE ONLY REASON HE'D CALL ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!!!!"
 
…he got a Bronze Star on 2 separate occasions.

Remember the NCO I mentioned who did not get the Bronze Star Medal in Iraq who should have? Well, as fate would have it, she earned a higher award, the 'Army Soldier's Medal' for actions here in the U.S. Saved a life after a highway car accident. Way to go Jackie! The mysteries of life...

 
Just wanted to say thanks to all military both retired or active. Without you guys none of us would have such a beautiful country
 
Just wanted to say thanks to all military both retired or active. Without you guys none of us would have such a beautiful country.

Thanks. Good luck with the first pregnancy of your wife. Like I said, the baby does not come with instructions...
 
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@Strychnine
I know you were with the U.S. Air Force. Question for you. Did you or any of your friends work with the maintenance of thermonuclear weapons? The U.S. faces challenges in maintaining an aging nuclear arsenal. Seems like the delivery system is more of an issue than the warhead itself. The 'triggering' systems seem to also be getting old and being replaced. Must be quite a job playing with a 10 megaton bomb.
 
@Strychnine
I know you were with the U.S. Air Force. Question for you. Did you or any of your friends work with the maintenance of thermonuclear weapons? The U.S. faces challenges in maintaining an aging nuclear arsenal. Seems like the delivery system is more of an issue than the warhead itself. The 'triggering' systems seem to also be getting old and being replaced. Must be quite a job playing with a 10 megaton bomb.

I knew of quite a few people that were in the PRP (Personnel Reliability Program). That meant they worked directly with Nuclear weapons or were rated above Top Secret. They did not talk about their jobs except they'd say "C'mon man, you know I'm in PRP." That shut down that conversation quick-like.

The Ammo guys (they armed the fighters) were a tight-knit group (I was in pharmacy) and we didn't talk shop much.

Sorry that I couldn't be of better help.
 
@Strychnine
I know you were with the U.S. Air Force. Question for you. Did you or any of your friends work with the maintenance of thermonuclear weapons? The U.S. faces challenges in maintaining an aging nuclear arsenal. Seems like the delivery system is more of an issue than the warhead itself. The 'triggering' systems seem to also be getting old and being replaced. Must be quite a job playing with a 10 megaton bomb.

The downstages a.k.a. Rocket Motors have been updated and replace with in the past 15 years under PRP and I believe the life is extended to 2030. Not to be confused with what @Strychnine was talking about. Propulsion Replacement Program was what replaced the old downstages. The biggest difference was what the first stage is made out of. Making the stage more durable and survivable.

The warhead itself has been modernized as well. Making it more safe. Safe I mean guarding against hazardous current that could orininate from the guidance set, propulsion system rocket engine, not to be confused with the rocket motors mentioned above, or from some current from a test set used to check resistance, continuity and the like. But writing about the triggers ain’t gonna happen.



The Personal Responsability Program was a joke. When I first got in the program you couldn’t even take cough medicine without a script. And if for some reason you visited a Dr off base without getting a referral and seeing your primary care beforehand, holy shit. Prepare to get your dick kicked by everyone from your sgt to the fucking O-6.

I worked ICBM side, so strategic not tactical nukes. The biggest issue I believe will be the up keep of the missile site itself. Corrosion destroys shit quickly and cost a lot to fix or replace.
 
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