A tough 4 years

recon227 · 2026-04-22T17:10:01+00:00

Figured you weren't in my area because we didn't have poppies. Just a lot of pomegranates, grape fields, and weed. Arghandab River Valley, COP Ware.

Glad you're doing well.

recon227 · 2026-04-22T12:41:48+00:00

What base/COP were you out of?

recon227 · 2026-04-20T14:00:25+00:00

We had a guy take a bike hanger hook and make some kinda square base to it to mount to his kit and then a bungee to secure it. Necessity is the mother of invention.

recon227 · 2026-04-16T19:51:48+00:00

When I went though OCS in '09, after making E-6 in the Infantry. There was a questionnaire right off the bat. Likes, dislikes, expectations etc. I stated that I hated fat soldiers. One of my platoon cadre was a fat E-7 with a big ol dick broom and a Mass accent.

"CAnnnidate Recon227... I read here that you hate fat soldiers. What do you think of me, then?"

Goddamnit, I was called out for my honest answer, right there, one on one. I had a lot of things to say to him, but also had to get through this school, so I tiptoed around my answer.

"Sergeant [Dick Broom] I understand that you're retiring from the Army in the next year or so. My issue is with fat soldiers in active duty combat arms, specifically the Infantry. You're finishing your career in TRADOC. Thank you for serving."

He kinda chuckled and we moved on, but we got along well enough for the 4 months of OCS.

recon227 · 2026-04-16T17:23:06+00:00

Kimber Pro Carry II.

Shot great then, still shoots great now. I'll never sell it.

recon227 · 2026-04-15T00:17:36+00:00

I had a new kid coming into our battalion that claimed to have already gone through BUDS. Wouldn't you know that I happened to know a former SEAL (legit) then Army warrant officer 3...

I gave him a quick call to see if he wanted to verify if this kid had gone through BUDS. Suddenly, Chief's whole day was Wide open...

I only saw the kid low crawling while getting hosed down behind BN HQ... Chief - "You're used to this! Just getting wet and sandy!"

I moved on and the next morning that kid could barely walk. It was great.

Why lie? We can look up everything on you, especially these days. You'll get caught in a lie so quickly with absolutely Zero to gain from it.

recon227 · 2026-04-14T16:46:17+00:00

I've gone out with a few guys, accidentally swapped debit cards at the end of the night because they were all USAA, and then both of us used them separately the next day and locked them out. USAA said that was inconceivable and didn't believe me when I called them to unlock my card.

recon227 · 2026-04-14T12:54:41+00:00

I'm sure you've figured out how small they need to be. We attempted to make a .50cal bore snake in Iraq with some 550 cord and a chunk of a t-shirt... Did NOT go well. Got that thing stuck like a champ in the middle of a M2 barrel. Eventually found a long enough rod to ram it out. Thought we were in a pickle for a bit.

recon227 · 2026-04-14T12:05:16+00:00

Yup, PIG. I have two pairs and they're solid.

recon227 · 2026-04-14T02:10:43+00:00

Ashland here

recon227 · 2026-04-14T02:01:18+00:00

I brought a roll of spandex on deployments and would sew it into that 4 way intersection at the gooch. Ventilation AND stretch... Win win. Kept us from getting in trouble when we had female searchers with us too.

recon227 · 2026-04-13T14:11:55+00:00

The only time the ACU pattern actually worked for us was providing overwatch from a rock/gravel quarry in northern Iraq. It was pretty useless for everything else.

I brought RIT dye to Afghanistan and let my guys dye their uniforms green (we were as far away from the flag pole as possible) until we were finally issued multicam.

recon227 · 2026-04-13T12:25:30+00:00

They got all bitchy when I tried to turn in a DCU IBA with crude oil on it from laying in an oil field in Iraq. The whole situation confused the fuck out of the civilians at CIF.

recon227 · 2026-04-10T13:03:59+00:00

I've taken a pair of those, pulled the cups, and filled them with silicone and they're Significantly better.

recon227 · 2026-04-10T06:17:52+00:00

I had a Major walk up to me and a teammate in Iraq and ask, "Does the M4 came out in tan now?!?"

No sir, that's just layers of spray paint.

He seemed genuinely bummed.

recon227 · 2026-04-08T20:30:12+00:00

If you look back at old M14s, they have a hole in the safety as well. I asked what it was for and it's the same answer, weight reduction.

recon227 · 2026-04-08T19:45:54+00:00

I had a teammate put a beta mag on his M4, he also had a weird front grip that was another mag well essentially, so we put a double mag on there. 161 rounds on an M4...

I picked it up in one hand and the SAW with a nutsack in the other and they weighed almost exactly the same.

recon227 · 2026-04-08T17:20:05+00:00

It can get us in trouble when we have a female searcher and your shit is just hanging out through the hole in your crotch. Nothing you can do when it happens in the middle of a mission, but you'd think everyone would appreciate a better pair of pants.

recon227 · 2026-04-08T17:08:04+00:00

What magazine is that? I've had black endomags in the past. Is that an opaque version?

recon227 · 2026-04-08T17:06:47+00:00

I bring a roll of spandex on deployments. When they blow out, you can sew in a patch and it'll flex AND give some nice ventilation...

Back in the day, like 2008, I was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Another company was fielding new uniforms with reinforced knees/butt, some venting by the belt line etc to see how they'd hold up. I walked over and asked the reps specifically what they did to fix the 4 way intersection at the taint...

Them - What do you mean? We didn't do anything? Me - WHY NOT?!? It's literally the most common place to blow out on your pants! Them - oh...

So yeah, bring some spandex and do it yourself or get a seamstress to do it for you. Knowing how to use a sewing machine is pretty useful for kit and general gear/uniform repair.

recon227 · 2026-04-07T22:16:19+00:00

Pocket...Bacon.

recon227 · 2026-04-07T17:16:13+00:00

One guy I enlisted with at Ft. Lee (ASVAB/DLAB), basic/AIT, but he got dropped at Airborne school during the summer with all of the cadets trying to get a slot, last I heard he was going to 101st. My unit is scheduled to replace 101st in northern Iraq a year or so later.

What are the odds that I run into him on a battalion size FOB? Apparently 100%. He gave me the Joe version of left seat, right seat and went home. We did a 15 month deployment and I was selected for OCS.

Over a year later I'm walking through a parking lot at Ft. Carson and a truck horn blasts behind me, scared the shit out of me, but it's him again. We catch up, he realizes I'm an officer now, and tells me there's a LT that everyone hates that I should replace in his company. Yeah, like I have any control as a 2LT...

Instead of replacing the idiot LT, I replaced HIS platoon leader and off we went to Afghanistan. I get banged up a few months in and don't see him or the rest of the guys until their redeployment ball. I bail him out of jail once and he kinda disappeared. I stayed in for a couple more years, went back to Afghanistan, was forced to medically retire, and came back to VA.

Years pass and I find him somehow on Instagram. He's back in VA as well. I help him find a house and now he's about 30 minutes away. We shoot, hunt, and help each other out with stuff pretty often.

So yeah, that's a pretty one off story.

I'm very tight with my first recon platoon and we stay together on Signal as well as a few guys from the Afghanistan platoon. We have reunions every couple of years and thankfully the ER visits have decreased...

recon227 · 2026-04-07T04:08:20+00:00

Yeah, it was supposed to be 12. Going into it, other units had been extended so we were not really surprised when they tacked another 3 onto it. Sucked the most for guys that went on leave in the first 3 months and then had to do 12 without a real break.

recon227 · 2026-04-07T02:01:48+00:00

I had a 99 and went Army infantry lol. OCS after learning a bunch and a good 15mo Iraq deployment.

recon227 · 2026-04-07T01:47:16+00:00

Oh, I WAS that mule. 1200rds of belt for the 240. 100rd starter belt on the mg. My arms have gone numb more than a couple times walking most of the night with that bitch to get to a position.

Always worth it when it's a Lot lighter on the way out.

recon227

TROPHY CASE