The Big Red One aka The Fighting First

[texlaw1992]

I enjoyed the movie. Does that mean you served with the same company at some later point?

[scout1idf]

I enjoyed the movie. Does that mean you served with the same company at some later point?

I remember in the movie that they were in the 16th Infantry regiment but I don't remember which battalion or company.

I was in the Scout platoon of Headquarters Company, 1st battalion 16th Infantry regiment.

[Oldschool]

Scout correct me if I'm wrong but the Big Red One was the First Infantry Division aka The Fighting First and the oldest division in the U.S. Army.

[Draxas]

Scout correct me if I'm wrong but the Big Red One was the First Infantry Division aka The Fighting First and the oldest division in the U.S. Army.
Not to step on Scout,s toes, but yes The Big Red One is the First Infantry Division out of Fort Riley Kansas, I drive through there quite a bit, as for being the oldest in the army I do not know.

[scout1idf]

Scout correct me if I'm wrong but the Big Red One was the First Infantry Division aka The Fighting First and the oldest division in the U.S. Army.

Not to step on Scout,s toes, but yes The Big Red One is the First Infantry Division out of Fort Riley Kansas, I drive through there quite a bit, as for being the oldest in the army I do not know.

Not a problem Draxas.

Yes to your questions. The First Infantry Division is the oldest division in the U.S. Army and is known as the fighting first..

Interesting to note, as a Division, it dates as Active May 24, 1917 – present. But my Regiment, the 16th Infantry Regiment, dates as 3 May 1861 to present. So the unit I served in has an even longer history than the Division as a whole....

Currently, there are only 2 active battalions, the 1/16 and the 2/16 but when I was in back in the 80's (yes I'm old) there were 4 active and 1 reserve. The 1/16 & 4/16 were in (West) Germany while the 2/16 & 3/16 were in the U.S. along with the reserve unit.

A little long winded, sorry.....

[shadowblack]

I hate to interrupt, but... would it be possible to move this to General Chat?

[scout1idf]

I hate to interrupt, but... would it be possible to move this to General Chat?
Actually, I was going to suggest that. Maybe a Mod would like to move the whole conversation over there......

[Oldschool]

Moved as requested.

[spencer]

I am a retired vet of the Army Reserves. I had the pleasure of serving with the 1ST ID in Bosnia in 1996. I was a member of the 489th Civil Affairs Battalion at the time and also served part of my deployment with the 1st Armored Division (The Ready First Division)

[Oldschool]

Thank You to both Scout and Spencer for your service. Sounds like you did some extended active duty deployment time Spencer - more than "summer camps" and drills.

Not now or ever in the military but have some family and a bunch of friends and co-workers that have been or are currently in Active, Reserve and/or Guard units. Now many of the Guard and Reserve units are seeing many extended activations.

Although he didn't serve in my nation's military I'd feel remiss if I didn't acknowlege and thank Chareos for his service in America's biggest allied forces. And if I'm not mistaken he did some time in the same area Spencer. If not Bosnia - Herzegovina perhaps Kosovo.

Also apologies and thanks for anyone I may have failed to recognize.

[texlaw1992]

I readily admit that mine is not a military family, although my mother's father served in the Polish Cavalry in the 1920s (seriously). I did have friends in law school who joined the JAG Corps after graduation.

When growing up, my father told us one day that while he was too young to have served in World War 2, "I wasn't too young for Korea." I pointed out that he was 14 when the Korean War ended - guess he though he could put something over on us (lol).

We had a former councilman here who put on his resume that he was a "veteran of World War 2" even though he did not enlist until 1948. His excuse was that President Truman did not declare an official end to hostilities until 1949. That councilman was not re-elected.

Not that it matters to the kudos for your service, but did Scout or anyone else who served see combat?

[spencer]

I have served on three deployments...Desert Storm in 1990-91, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1996 and Afghanistan 2004-05. In all cases I was very fortunate not to have been shot at or had to shoot at anyone. The base where I lived in Afghanistan was rocketed a few times, but no one was hurt while I was there. I have seen some things I would rather not relate...one thing pretty horrible, but have never had a friend or comrade even get wounded. I would say that I have been very fortunate.

Edit: I should not have left this out. There was a soldier in my deployment to Afghanistan who lost part of his arm from a suicide bomber. I did not know him well and he was stationed in a different part of the country from me, but he is, in fact, a comrade, and it is sacrifices like his that help make me proud to be a member of the Armed Forces.

[Badstench]

Off topic... but not... it's a similar theme.

New Zealand has a small force of soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan. This is a direct company of 'fighting' soldiers. We also have military engineers and 'rebuilding' advisers present.

The 'fighting' company is our S.A.S, which is the equivalent of the US navy seals... highly trained and very professional.

Secrecy has always surrounded the deployments of the S.A.S, and also in the actions they are commtted to. Until recently, this arm of our military was a no-go subject for journalists.

But word leaked out that one soldier had performed heroically under fire a few years ago, and he was awarded the Victoris Cross, which is the highest honour a soldier can earn in the commonwealth. The number of New Zealanders who have been awarded this honour can be counted on two hands, so when it became public knowledge, it was splashed all over the newspapers, accompanied by TV coverage of the medal ceremony.

His name was Willie Apiata, and he accepted his medal looking every inch the soldier; groomed to military perfection and wearing the rigid uniform expected of a good soldier.

That was more than a year ago, but he recently resurfaced. I was reading our local newspaper as it described how a small contigent of Taleban fighters attacked Kabul, and a French correspondent happened to take a photo of a group of soldiers immediately after they had quelled the violence.

The photo showed two soldiers walking ahead of an armored carrier. One was wearing a helmet, full battle attire and dark glasses. He had a beard, and could not be identified.

The second soldier had just removed his helmet. His hair was long(ish) and his facial beard was wild, but I immediately thought, "Hey, that's that guy who won the Victoria Cross!"

This was confirmed in later news items, and a big stink was raised over the publishing of the photo. Apparently, our S.A.S is only involved in covert operations, so publicizing where and who they are is considered a security breach.

The short end of this story is that Willie Apiata was censured for taking his helmet off and allowing himself to be captured on celluloid, and he will probably be recalled.... for his safety and the safety of his company.

My point of writing this is to acclaim those soldiers! We all know that there are "special forces" belonging to every country that undergo rigorous training over and above the norm for military soldiers.

Willie Apiata doesn't want to come home; he wants to stay with his mates... but politics and might dictate otherwise.

Until now, New Zealand has always held a position in foreign conflicts as the 're-builders' and 'advisors'; we play a role in peace-keeping around the globe, and are thought of highly in the hot-spots of troublesome areas.

Because the S.A.S has suddenly become known to operate in some areas, this could make our country a target for terrorism, which it hasn't been before.

One photo did this, or one lax moment in a decorated soldier's day.

And you know something? I'm glad to think we have Willie Apiata's serving in conflicts overseas. These men fight for their lives, but they also fight for democratic purposes that help to maintain the freedoms we enjoy.

War is never wished for, but sometimes it's necessary.

[scout1idf]

Not that it matters to the kudos for your service, but did Scout or anyone else who served see combat?

No.

I was in the Reserves by the time the Gulf War started and we never got activated.

[smv1973]

My family has a long line of military service. My great, great grandfather served in the Union Army during the Civil War. My grandmother has his discharge letter and it is kind of cool because on the bottom it is signed by Abraham Lincoln. My great grandfather served in the Army during WWI. My grandfather served in the Army during WWII (Pacific theater). Two of my Uncles served in the Vietnam War (one was in the Army and the other was in the Marine Corps). My older brother served in the Army for 6 years and my younger brother is in the Army National Gaurd. He has done one tour in Iraq, and has been in for almost 10 years now. I was also in the Army Reserve and National Gaurd for 3 years before I was discharged do to medical problems.

[Oldschool]

Definitely a long line of military service SMV. Also didn't know you were in the military - Thanks for your service.

[smv1973]

Definitely a long line of military service SMV. Also didn't know you were in the military - Thanks for your service.

Thank you but no thanks is necessary. I just wish I was able to serve longer and have been able to do more.

[Chareos]

Thanks Oldschool, I am very touched. I was in Bosnia for six months '93 - '94, Kuwait October '94 for a couple of months and Sarajevo, Bosnia in '97. Had a couple of close shaves and unfortunately have lost a couple of mates but would not have missed it for the world.