LF....81s

[Big Fish Billy]

81s in action........not rod holders

[longfisher]

81s in action........

Attachment 192733

traverse, elevation, baseplate and tube all look the same but for the little thingie on the top of the tube. What is it, a flash suppressor?

Seems I do recall some tubes before with them but can't be sure. Most were straight when I had them.

Which one's your Son?

Terraine looks like Pendleton this time of year.

LF

[Big Fish Billy]

Tom's kneeling on the right....yup Pendleton....schoolwork one week, field work the next....he's enjoying nice weather...we're in the rain 7 days now......we're teaching the Afghanies how to fish....we put a fishing rod in the "holder" and shoot it over to them........

[longfisher]

...your son looks. As does the other Marine next to him.

I was a little taken aback, really, to see how youthful everyone appears. I guess I'm just not remembering how young I was too.

A few words about youth are in order. Actually, I after being selected from the enlisted ranks to go to OCS I was only 20 and still 20 when I was commissioned. For almost two years I was the youngest officer in the U.S. military and the Marines have an odd affection for the youngest of the officers. Must be a throwback to days they were aboard ship.

Anyway, the youngest office cuts and serves the cake on the Marine Corps birthday. I had to do that two or maybe three years. Also, the youngest Marine, at least in my unit, had to sign a solo of the Marine Corps hymn at the birthday celebration. It didn't matter how bad one sang. You just had to do it.

No abuse or anything like that. Just an odd sort of recognition and affection.

I took it to mean that the U.S. armed forces were having trouble recruiting officers near the end of the war, maybe after Tet. There were a lot of us ex-enlisted in the ranks of the newly coined second louies, perhaps as much as 25%. That was particularly true of the infantry.

Oh, well, he's a fine looking young man and definitely a squared away looking Marine, Bill. Those finely starched covers (hats) will go by the wayside once he's in country, along with much of the spit and polish and saluting crap. But it's good discipline for now.

I know you were dissappointed at how he was misled. But he looks like he's going to make lemonade out of lemons.

How's his rife marksmanship, by the way? He's going to need good rifle marksmanship perhaps as much as he'll need tube skills.

If he's not up to speed at the expert level maybe they still have a program like during the war where you can practice daily if you like. It's going to be his most important and perhaps a life-saving skill one dreadful day.

Please give him my best and congratulate him on his progress. The Marines ain't no summer camp, for sure.

Marine officers, past and present, have a great affection for their troops, past and present. Did you know that in the field officers eat last? If there's nothing left then there's nothing left and the officers go hungry. And, no bitching or cheating is tolerated. That's just one example of how Marine officers sacrifice their own comfort and sometimes a whole lot more for the welfare of the troops.

I'm sure he's in good hands. He's certainly in more caring hands with Marine officers than he would be with Army officers who, by and large, are more concerned with their careers than the lives of their men. That is he's in caring hands if he sticks with the program. Those who stray are quickly and decisively dealt with.

Thanks so much for posting about him. Maybe he'll be so kind as to post on the board himself one day. I'd really enjoy that as I'm sure things have changed dramatically and I'd be happy to learn from your Son.

I'm feeling a little weepy here lookin' at Tom. So, gotta go before I say something even more stupid than normal.

LF

[longfisher]

...that Tom's a PFC. Already promoted!. That's great!

He can now command, Bill, perhaps his own gun crew but certainly a rifle fire team.

They don't make pukes into PFCs, Bill. So, it's says something about Tom's performance. At least, that's how it worked in years past.

He really does need to be congratulated.

Did he earn his stipe in boot or afterwards? If he earned it in boot a second strip to Lance is probably not far away.

At lance he'll be an assistant squad leader and expected to step in when the Corporal squad leader can't. In the infantry that'd mean he could command as many as about 12 - 16 men, depending on unit strength. He might even soon command or be the assist for an 81 section.

Lots of death issues forth from an 81 section.

LF

[marine4003]

Tom's kneeling on the right....yup Pendleton....schoolwork one week, field work the next....he's enjoying nice weather...we're in the rain 7 days now......we're teaching the Afghanies how to fish....we put a fishing rod in the "holder" and shoot it over to them........

Attachment 192745

Well done Sr. Well done!

[gottaflylee]

Congrats to Tom Billy, job very well done...

[Big Fish Billy]

Thanks guys, he's a LCpl, just hasn't done the stitching yet, shooting top of the line and was supposed to be into sniping, but of course along with a lot of other things, that fell by the wayside at some point...we're proud of him...and afraid at the same time, normal I guess....

[longfisher]

Thanks guys, he's a LCpl, just hasn't done the stitching yet, shooting top of the line and was supposed to be into sniping, but of course along with a lot of other things, that fell by the wayside at some point...we're proud of him...and afraid at the same time, normal I guess....

That's great news, Bill. He'll certainly be in command now.

I wish I'd have kept some of the books on command I had while an enlisted man. Tom could've probably used them now.

The hardest thing as a "ranking" enlisted man is to live in the same barracks with your subordinates and still exercise authority over them. If Tom's smart he'll start associating less and less with his suborindates and stay pretty much with Marines of his rank and above now.

Oh, Bill, do you know that Marines don't address Lance Corporals using the word Corporal alone. But they do address Lt. Colonels and Bird Colonels as Colonel. Strange.

Anyway, it's considered disrespectful to both ranks to address a Lance Corporal as Corporal. Parents should probably know this too as if you call him a Corporal he'll probably whince a bit inside while remaining silent out of respect.

Lance Corporal is prestigious enough a rank among the infantry not to "jump rank" in some verbal laziness that would aggavate the squad leader and the assist Squad Leader at the same time.

Anyway, congratulations to Tom. Please tell him we're proud of him.

LF

[longfisher]

...very isolated on the battlefield, Bill. And, countersniper fire is always a very high priority of any unit, ours or theirs. And, unlike the movies where the lone avenging rifleman locates and snipes the enemy Japanese soldier from his lofty tree hide-away, many to most snipers are taken out with air burst area weapons rather than direct fire as the location of the sniper is almost never known precisely. Indeed, Tom's 81's are pretty good at anti-sniper fire.

So, if your disappointment that Tom didn't become a sniper is based on your desire that he be safer, your disappointment may be misplaced. Sniping may be sexy, but it's incredibly dangerous work. He'll be much safer with the 81s, generally in the midst of or even further behind the reserve company, in defilade (spelling?), sitting in a mortar pit and not subject to so many direct fire weapons, as a result.

And, he'll be much closer to the command bunker or HQ. Indeed, at least when i was in the 81s were part of what's called Headquarters Company which is often commanded by the most senior Captain and contains all the senior officers all the way up to the Commanding Officer, most generally a Light Bird Colonel.

So, he'll know all the officers, commissioned and non-commissioned, which will lead to even quicker promotions. Lone wolfs like snipers are just too isolated to get much attention from command.

LF