The Grinder

[birdguy 3,943]

On 11/28/2020 at 1:45 PM, HighBypass said:

How did one complete gigs (demerits) - did the punishment vary?

Pushups!  

Noel

[n4gix 4,947]

3 hours ago, birdguy said:

Pushups!  

Noel

That would have been a blessing when I was a Cadet at Kentucky Military Institute. There, we had to march the "Beat Path" carrying our M-1 Carbine rifles (9.5 lbs.) at port arms for one hour per demerit. Six demerits would totally screw up any possible "free time" one might otherwise have had!

The "Beat Path" at the Kentucky campus was marching around the two tennis courts. At the Venice, Florida campus, it was marching around the entire Parade Field in full sight of the local citizens. 

[Tim_Capps 474]

Navy Officer Indoctrination School isn't exactly Marine Corps boot camp, but we did a lot of formation work on "the grinder" at Newport. Mostly people entering as doctors or lawyers or nurses or whatever. As you can imagine, it was like herding cats. I was "company commander," meaning my only duty was to march the formation around once we gained what was judged a sufficient level of non-incompetence.The proudest moment of my life was when the class had marched to a building whose entrance was in a bay something like a garage. I could see that getting my four columns in  would not only be like parking a car in a garage with two inches to spare, but our approach was  a column off. I don't remember if this was a command we practiced, or is even in the drill manual, but I yelled something like, "quarter right face, march," followed by the same command to the left. To the amazement of all, the company smoothly moved one column-width to the right without missing a step and slid into the tight space like it was greased. (The times when I ran a column into some obstacle I've conveniently forgotten.)

Getting shacked by a seagull was always a danger on the Newport grinder.

But the most frightening moment was the pass in review at graduation. I was out in front of the company, alone, before a stand with an admiral and all the assembled family members, including my wife (who was pregnant with twins at the time). Mind you, the normal station is to the left of the formation, where you can at least see your company. Marching out front, on the big day, it was an act of faith that doctors, lawyers and nurses with six weeks of drill were behind me, straight and true, looking something like a military formation. And I had to remember to give the order for eyes right and hand salute.

I never sweated a moment like that in my life, not even when I had to rise with a defendant to hear a jury verdict. (There's a trick to that: if the jurors look at the defendant when they come out, it's not guilty; if none of them look at him, it's guilty. The moment is therefore not as dramatic as you might imagine.)

There's a story about Abraham Lincoln when he served as an Illinois volunteer in the Black Hawk War. He was marching his company and noticed a gap in a fence line through which it had to pass. He had no idea what commands he had to give to manage this maneuver. He ordered: "Company halt! Fall out!" Then he ordered, "Fall in on the other side of the fence!" Brilliant.

Edited December 2, 2020 by Tim_Capps

[Tim_Capps 474]

On 11/25/2020 at 10:17 AM, birdguy said:

Jodie calls

My twins boys went through basic training, one at Ft. Leonard Wood (where I had trained as an 18-year-old, many years before the Navy) and the other at Ft. Benning. I understand from them that the Jodie calls have been much sanitized since our day.

[n4gix 4,947]

11 minutes ago, Tim_Capps said:

I understand from them that the Jodie calls have been much sanitized since our day.

Tim, they would have to have been "sanitized" due not to PC as much as simple courtesy and decency. After all, with today's mixed-gender military, things must be kept clean.

Besides, some clever re-wording can convey important, possibly life-saving information!

"I don't know but I've been told, careless soldiers don't get old! Sound off..."

[birdguy 3,943]

46 minutes ago, Tim_Capps said:

"quarter right face, march,"

It's called 'right oblique march'.  Some things you never forget.

Noel

[birdguy 3,943]

48 minutes ago, Tim_Capps said:

I never sweated a moment like that in my life, not even when I had to rise with a defendant to hear a jury verdict. (There's a trick to that: if the jurors look at the defendant when they come out, it's not guilty; if none of them look at him, it's guilty. The moment is therefore not as dramatic as you might imagine.)

I sat on two juries in my lifetime.  On the first one I was the foreman.  As we walked into the jury box after we had made our decision I made eye contact with the defense counsel.  He looked down at the table and shook his head.  There must have been something in my look at told him our verdict was guilty.

Noel

[birdguy 3,943]

37 minutes ago, Tim_Capps said:

I understand from them that the Jodie calls have been much sanitized since our day.

And people wonder why we oldsters long for days gone past.

Noel

[Tim_Capps 474]

9 minutes ago, birdguy said:

It's called 'right oblique march'.  Some things you never forget.

You're right about the first one! Thanks for the reminder. About the second part... um, what was I going to say?

[charliearon 3,017]

16 minutes ago, birdguy said:

I sat on two juries in my lifetime.  On the first one I was the foreman.  As we walked into the jury box after we had made our decision I made eye contact with the defense counsel.  He looked down at the table and shook his head.  There must have been something in my look at told him our verdict was guilty.

Noel

Never had an "innocent" verdict on any jury trial I was ever on!  One drunk driving, and two murder trials.  Another trial. a supermarket robbery,  after 2 days of eyewitness testimony, the defendant pleaded guilty.

[Tim_Capps 474]

Yeah, most trials are slow motion guilty pleas. Had one murder defendant plead guilty after the first day of testimony. Only won a single murder trial before a jury (on defense). Those tend to be worked up pretty good.