Roger W. Norman
February 20th 04, 05:20 AM
Ah, you just always got caught. You can be AWOL without missing anything
serious and no one would miss you. Or you could have been sent AFO to tech
school, end up in the A school barracks while in B school training, again,
never to be missed at formations. Heck, I spent 12 wonderful weeks in New
Orleans while assigned to Keesler AFB, Biloxi, mostly on long weekends,
AWOL.
But it's not the same thing that Bush did. I stood my guard, I took my
classes, hell, I even cleaned the barracks, but I wasn't directly assigned
to anyone, so I got away with it. Plus it was just a short stay on the way
to jump school and jungle training in beautiful downtown Panama, where you
couldn't go anywhere but the plane to 'Nam.
I did beat one Article 99 by racing my commanding officer, who was a 5 miler
a day. Personally I think he let me win.
--
Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
"David Morgan (MAMS)" > wrote in message
...
>
> "ryanm" > wrote in message
...
> > "David Morgan (MAMS)" > wrote in message
> > ...
>
>
> > You cannot be honorably discharged if you go AWOL.
>
> I beg to differ.
>
> Let me just make some public confessions that prove my point.
>
> I went AWOL twice. The first time was to get married. I was AWOL for
> a weekend plus two days. Since a request for leave had been denied
> due to 'readiness drills', I was able to convince my prosecutors that
> it was unfair to the families involved since the wedding had been planned
> well in advance. I defended myself and was placed on 2 weeks of EPD
> (extra 'police' duty... I had to mop a lot of floors and clean a lot of
latrines)
> in a 'non-judicial' punishment court.
>
> The second time, I was just confused. I was about to be shipped to
> Vietnam. I left a gig with double daily roll-calls for two weeks. I
simply
> dissappeared and visited a lot of friends & relatives. There were serious
> warrants out for my apprehension. Before returning, I contacted a Priest
> and discussed what I had done and the decisions I had made. He in fact
> then accompanied me back to my squadron headquarters, where he
> convinced them I was confused but made the choice to return. For this
> one, I was court martialed... but because I was a 'good' Marine (and I am
> serious), I obtained letters from from everyone in my Squadron in
positions
> of authority, from the Commanding Officer to the Executive Officer, the
First
> Sergeant, Training Officer and more, stating that I was a valuable asset
to
> the Corps. Some of them even testified on my behalf. In this case, I had
> to have a JAG officer represent me in court. I received a reduction in
rank,
> a $500 fine and 3 months of EPD..... SUSPENDED!!! pending my actions
> over the next 6 months. I kept my act together, charges were dropped and
> I was promoted quite soon thereafter.
>
> Near the last year of my enlistment, I was 'ratted' on by a senior NCO
> who knew that I had partaken of marijuana. There were no urinalysis
> tests at that time, and because this NCO was a known trouble-maker
> who relished in 'burning' lower ranking individuals, the "office-hours"
> (a lower form of non-judicial punishment) went dramatically in my favor -
> again due to letters of recommendation - and by then, I had received
> a commendation called a "Meritorious Mast" for serving my post above
> and beyond the call of duty, while serving a short stint on foreign soil
> and doing the jobs of three men on my own.
>
> The NCO in question was transferred to another squadron and I was
> given my *choice* of duty assignment to escape even having to return
> to the same department from which the charges arose. I elected to
> serve in the squadron's Administrative Office, right under the noses
> of all the 'brass' in the unit, where I went on to achieve yet another
> Meritorious Mast while assigned to temporary duty within the country.
> By chosing to leave my primary MOS (electronics of F-4Js) to move
> to becoming and admin clerk in the squadron office, I became the
> first Marine in history to have a second MOS (mode of service) that
> was lesser in value than the primary.
>
> I eventually received an Honorable Discharge, backed by several letters
> requesting that due to my *excellent* tour of duty, I remain in the Corps
> with offers of an immediate promotion, immediate testing for yet another
> promotion, and a $10,000 VRB (variable re-enlistment bonus). I should
> have stayed, but in those days, being seen in uniform meant being spat
> upon or the equivalent, so I chose to leave. The year was 1974.
>
> On an interesting side note, while in that 'office', I sat next to a good
> Marine who's father was a congressman. He never left that desk. He
> never had to pull even so much as extended duty on another base;
> he never had to ride in a C-130... he got commercial plane tickets if he
> had to make a trip in the line of duty. He went AWOL for 4 days once,
> and before he could be brought to trial, he was honorably discharged 6
> months early for "Administrative Reasons". ( = a letter from 'dad' to the
> right people in the right place). I *know* how the system works, Ryan.
>
> BTW, my wife left me after just two years of having sex with my friends
> while I was on duty. I never married again - though I have often wished
> that I had remained in the military where I could have retired at age 37.
>
> > Ah, I see... it's the CIA and the mob, in concert with Cuban
> > revolutionaries, conspiring to make Bush the prez, right?>
>
> I don't see how Cuban revolutionaries fit into this picture, but the rest
> remains *very* plausible.
>
> --
> David Morgan (MAMS)
> http://www.m-a-m-s.com
> http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
serious and no one would miss you. Or you could have been sent AFO to tech
school, end up in the A school barracks while in B school training, again,
never to be missed at formations. Heck, I spent 12 wonderful weeks in New
Orleans while assigned to Keesler AFB, Biloxi, mostly on long weekends,
AWOL.
But it's not the same thing that Bush did. I stood my guard, I took my
classes, hell, I even cleaned the barracks, but I wasn't directly assigned
to anyone, so I got away with it. Plus it was just a short stay on the way
to jump school and jungle training in beautiful downtown Panama, where you
couldn't go anywhere but the plane to 'Nam.
I did beat one Article 99 by racing my commanding officer, who was a 5 miler
a day. Personally I think he let me win.
--
Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
"David Morgan (MAMS)" > wrote in message
...
>
> "ryanm" > wrote in message
...
> > "David Morgan (MAMS)" > wrote in message
> > ...
>
>
> > You cannot be honorably discharged if you go AWOL.
>
> I beg to differ.
>
> Let me just make some public confessions that prove my point.
>
> I went AWOL twice. The first time was to get married. I was AWOL for
> a weekend plus two days. Since a request for leave had been denied
> due to 'readiness drills', I was able to convince my prosecutors that
> it was unfair to the families involved since the wedding had been planned
> well in advance. I defended myself and was placed on 2 weeks of EPD
> (extra 'police' duty... I had to mop a lot of floors and clean a lot of
latrines)
> in a 'non-judicial' punishment court.
>
> The second time, I was just confused. I was about to be shipped to
> Vietnam. I left a gig with double daily roll-calls for two weeks. I
simply
> dissappeared and visited a lot of friends & relatives. There were serious
> warrants out for my apprehension. Before returning, I contacted a Priest
> and discussed what I had done and the decisions I had made. He in fact
> then accompanied me back to my squadron headquarters, where he
> convinced them I was confused but made the choice to return. For this
> one, I was court martialed... but because I was a 'good' Marine (and I am
> serious), I obtained letters from from everyone in my Squadron in
positions
> of authority, from the Commanding Officer to the Executive Officer, the
First
> Sergeant, Training Officer and more, stating that I was a valuable asset
to
> the Corps. Some of them even testified on my behalf. In this case, I had
> to have a JAG officer represent me in court. I received a reduction in
rank,
> a $500 fine and 3 months of EPD..... SUSPENDED!!! pending my actions
> over the next 6 months. I kept my act together, charges were dropped and
> I was promoted quite soon thereafter.
>
> Near the last year of my enlistment, I was 'ratted' on by a senior NCO
> who knew that I had partaken of marijuana. There were no urinalysis
> tests at that time, and because this NCO was a known trouble-maker
> who relished in 'burning' lower ranking individuals, the "office-hours"
> (a lower form of non-judicial punishment) went dramatically in my favor -
> again due to letters of recommendation - and by then, I had received
> a commendation called a "Meritorious Mast" for serving my post above
> and beyond the call of duty, while serving a short stint on foreign soil
> and doing the jobs of three men on my own.
>
> The NCO in question was transferred to another squadron and I was
> given my *choice* of duty assignment to escape even having to return
> to the same department from which the charges arose. I elected to
> serve in the squadron's Administrative Office, right under the noses
> of all the 'brass' in the unit, where I went on to achieve yet another
> Meritorious Mast while assigned to temporary duty within the country.
> By chosing to leave my primary MOS (electronics of F-4Js) to move
> to becoming and admin clerk in the squadron office, I became the
> first Marine in history to have a second MOS (mode of service) that
> was lesser in value than the primary.
>
> I eventually received an Honorable Discharge, backed by several letters
> requesting that due to my *excellent* tour of duty, I remain in the Corps
> with offers of an immediate promotion, immediate testing for yet another
> promotion, and a $10,000 VRB (variable re-enlistment bonus). I should
> have stayed, but in those days, being seen in uniform meant being spat
> upon or the equivalent, so I chose to leave. The year was 1974.
>
> On an interesting side note, while in that 'office', I sat next to a good
> Marine who's father was a congressman. He never left that desk. He
> never had to pull even so much as extended duty on another base;
> he never had to ride in a C-130... he got commercial plane tickets if he
> had to make a trip in the line of duty. He went AWOL for 4 days once,
> and before he could be brought to trial, he was honorably discharged 6
> months early for "Administrative Reasons". ( = a letter from 'dad' to the
> right people in the right place). I *know* how the system works, Ryan.
>
> BTW, my wife left me after just two years of having sex with my friends
> while I was on duty. I never married again - though I have often wished
> that I had remained in the military where I could have retired at age 37.
>
> > Ah, I see... it's the CIA and the mob, in concert with Cuban
> > revolutionaries, conspiring to make Bush the prez, right?>
>
> I don't see how Cuban revolutionaries fit into this picture, but the rest
> remains *very* plausible.
>
> --
> David Morgan (MAMS)
> http://www.m-a-m-s.com
> http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com
>
>
>
>
>
>