[Vision2020] The day I enlisted (jus’ recalling some old memories) . . .

[Sam Scripter]

Very interesting, Tom, what the choices were for you, back then, and 
which type of "service" was obviously being preferred. E.g, serve on a 
ship/vessel, or be a rifleman in the front lines, or try to join the 
Guard to mostly remain a "civilian"!!!!

Thirteen years before your 1969 . . . in January 1956, seventeen of us 
at Ashland, Oregon High School all joined the Ashland Army National 
Guard as a result of a weekend recruiting initiative there. Back then, 
the military obligation [applying to males, only] was eight years. The 
Army National Guard choice did not yet require 6-months of basic 
training plus MOS training, nor were these even offered as options. So 
you just signed on to the Army Guard and you started attending Monday 
Night drills, every week, plus two weeks of summer camp.

After I joined the Guard, there soon were various "war" fracas 
world-wide that involved U.S. forces, like the Gulf of Tonkin. National 
Guard units were rarely called up back then, although I recall the 
Wisconsin Army National Guard being activated and trained at Fort Lewis, 
WA, then motor convoying to California, later.

Fundamentally, back in my day, National Guard service kept one out of 
combat. Even so, it wasn't particularly the motive of the 17 of us who 
joined up on that January day in 1956.

Later, in 1958, I volunteered to attend Radar Maintenance Mechanic 
school at Fort Bliss, Texas. So I was in the 23-week course along with 
other NG's, RA's, and US's, and I ended up being better trained to a 
specific technical MOS than most in my Guard unit.

I enjoyed all my times in the Army National Guard.

And thank You, Tom, for your service in the U.S. Army!

Sam Scripter

On 05/28/2018 11:52 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:
> On June 12, 1969 I went to the recruiting center in Sherman Oaks, 
> California (San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles) to enlist into the 
> military. There was an 18-month waiting list for entry into the 
> national guard. There was a 6-month waiting list for entry into the 
> Navy. The Air Force didn’t cross my mind. So, there I stood outside 
> two recruiting offices . . . one marked “U.S. Marine Corps” . . . the 
> other marked “U.S. Army” . . . and flipped a coin.
>
> I was inducted that evening . . . in downtown Los Angeles . . . into 
> the U.S. Army.  Two days later I arrived at the reception station at 
> Fort Ord, California.
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
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