ArmyJoe
New member
This morning I went to Camden, SC for a Patriot Guard mission. The temp was in the low 80s, but thankfully, there was a light fog which kept the sun hidden. It's been pretty brutal down here, with several days in the last week hitting 102 degrees. As a result, I've gone to a half-helmet and goggles instead of my normal full-face.
We manned the flag line from 10:30 until noon, with a short break during the service. Afterwards, we headed down the road for some wings and what the locals called "raw fries," which are best described as thick-cut potato chips.
After lunch, we mounted our bikes and headed west under darkening skies. I peeled off in Columbia to explore Fort Jackson, where I attended Basic Training almost 26 years ago. I got there just as the skies opened up. The Post Exchange was on my left, so I hid there until the rain stopped.
After 30 minutes, I went exploring. I found my old barracks easily enough and was surprised to see it was remodeled.
Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade (now occupied by Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment) was literally three buildings to the right from the main gate. My world was so small back then, I had no idea where we were relative to anything else. If we weren't at the range, everything else (barracks, chow hall, classroom, barber) was in a small cluster of adjacent buildings. Though I don't know what they look like inside now, they used to be 8-man rooms.
Here's the namesake of Tank Hill.
Luckily, we were nowhere near there. I've often heard horror stories from Soldiers who did live there. Google Earth says the road up Tank Hill is .82 miles long and climbs 155 feet. Drill Sergeants would delight in running new recruits up and down the hill. Here's a video to put it in perspective. Jump to the 1 minute mark to see the hill and water towers.
The motto on the left water tower, "Victory Starts Here," is a reference to the fact that 50% of all Soldiers and 80% of all females attend Basic Training here.
About 4:00, I left Fort Jackson and went looking for my favorite fast-food resturant.
There's no Chipotle resturants in eastern Georgia, so making a stop was a must-do activity. With my burrito double-wrapped to go, I headed back to Augusta.
I fell in with a pack of cars and we were making pretty good progress. My luck ran out about 10 miles from Georgia and I got caught in a thunderstorm. The rain was was coming down hard and with only the half-helmet and WileyX SG-1 goggles, the rain was stinging my face. I tried ducking down behind the CHAD, but that caused my goggles to fog from lack of air flow. At this point I'm thinking to myself, "I'm gonna die," so I stopped under an overpass and parked as far from the road as I could. I waited for about 20 minutes and when the rain stopped, I headed home.
Like with many difficult situations we face, if you stick it out and perservere, you are frequently rewarded.
Joe
We manned the flag line from 10:30 until noon, with a short break during the service. Afterwards, we headed down the road for some wings and what the locals called "raw fries," which are best described as thick-cut potato chips.
After lunch, we mounted our bikes and headed west under darkening skies. I peeled off in Columbia to explore Fort Jackson, where I attended Basic Training almost 26 years ago. I got there just as the skies opened up. The Post Exchange was on my left, so I hid there until the rain stopped.
After 30 minutes, I went exploring. I found my old barracks easily enough and was surprised to see it was remodeled.
Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade (now occupied by Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment) was literally three buildings to the right from the main gate. My world was so small back then, I had no idea where we were relative to anything else. If we weren't at the range, everything else (barracks, chow hall, classroom, barber) was in a small cluster of adjacent buildings. Though I don't know what they look like inside now, they used to be 8-man rooms.
Here's the namesake of Tank Hill.
Luckily, we were nowhere near there. I've often heard horror stories from Soldiers who did live there. Google Earth says the road up Tank Hill is .82 miles long and climbs 155 feet. Drill Sergeants would delight in running new recruits up and down the hill. Here's a video to put it in perspective. Jump to the 1 minute mark to see the hill and water towers.
The motto on the left water tower, "Victory Starts Here," is a reference to the fact that 50% of all Soldiers and 80% of all females attend Basic Training here.
About 4:00, I left Fort Jackson and went looking for my favorite fast-food resturant.
There's no Chipotle resturants in eastern Georgia, so making a stop was a must-do activity. With my burrito double-wrapped to go, I headed back to Augusta.
I fell in with a pack of cars and we were making pretty good progress. My luck ran out about 10 miles from Georgia and I got caught in a thunderstorm. The rain was was coming down hard and with only the half-helmet and WileyX SG-1 goggles, the rain was stinging my face. I tried ducking down behind the CHAD, but that caused my goggles to fog from lack of air flow. At this point I'm thinking to myself, "I'm gonna die," so I stopped under an overpass and parked as far from the road as I could. I waited for about 20 minutes and when the rain stopped, I headed home.
Like with many difficult situations we face, if you stick it out and perservere, you are frequently rewarded.
Joe
Last edited:
hyea:
