What was your most rewarding experience in the military?

DethNcarnate

Getting to live in a foreign country (Japan) for several years is the best experience I've had from the military.

Geoff C

Earning the title of United States Marine.

There were lots of things after that but without first obtaining that title none of the other experinces would have been possible.

I will have to say a close second is much like the poster above me. I was coming home from time in rehab. I was in uniform. Obviously wounded in an airport. A father brought his 2 sons over about 10 and 14 years old. He introduced them to me they all shook my hand then the dad knelt down to their level and said "Now this is why America is great sons, Becuase people like him are willing to fight for our country and alow us the freedom we enjoy always remember that" The youngest said "can I ask you if it hurt?" I told him a little (lol) he looked me up and down and said "Thank you" A very emotional moment

Least rewarding: Earning my purple heart as it ended my career in the Marine Corps.

Jimmy J

In a word, my retirement.

commanderbuck383

The day I graduated from USMC bootcamp. On that day I earned for all time the title of "United States Marine", and my family flew to San Diego to see my graduation. Considering how tight my dad was with even a nickle, and him being an ex POW :WW2}, it was something I will always find rewarding.

scottklajic

I love every day of it. I honestly don't care if it is Saturday or Monday.

0123456789

The chance to work with the most special people on Gods green earth.
Patriotic Americans

mAT2t

Cleansing the ship of slimy, disgusting wogs!!

Jim W

I was in the Navy in the early 70's and I think my most rewarding experience was a combination of things. The primary thing was handing out gifts of coins to some of the poor children on the waterfront in Singapore. Very rewarding indeed. Another was the city of Singapore itself and seeing first hand the diversity of culture and how peoples of different cultures really can get along. I live in LA area now and am hard pressed to see anything remotely close to that.

Kriston

My most rewarding was when i was traveling home for my R&R when i was deployed to Iraq. When i was going throgh the airports in the states i got so many "Thank you's" and handshakes. When i got in my plane to go back to Hawaii, the flight attendent made an anouncement over the intercom about me and the entire plane aplauded. It was truly the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my life.

WCSteel

Probably training new people the moment when they get it. You can see it in their eyes.

I had lots of great experiances in the military and wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

As You Were 85

honestly for me it was being able to shoot a weapon and qualify with it before i went to BCT i had never shot a weapon in my entire life so to be able to learn how to use a M-16 was pretty cool for me and also to be able to call myself an American soldier of the United States Army

AmericanPatriot

Since I retired, several of my troops have kept in touch with me over the years (since 1985). My wife is the one who pointed out that I must have made some impact on them for them to want to get in touch and keep in touch with me. Two actually come to visit me from time to time from out of town. Others email, send Christmas cards, birth cards, wedding announcements, and 4 send me a birthday card each year. One guy will get drunk and call me from Chicago in the middle of the night. My wife takes the phone and says, "John, get a cab, go home, go to bed and call tomorrow when you're sober." He does all of those things.
So, I guess my most rewarding experience is knowing somehow I made a difference with SOMEONE.
I did spend 13 months in Antarctica (which caused me to lose a geography spelling bee in 4th grade!), and have been to over 30 countries (stationed in 3).
(USN, retired)

Laura in North Carolina

All the true friends I made. Honestly I wasn't cut out for military life, at least not army, but I met some amazing people I won't have met otherwise. I still talk to a couple to this day and flew across the country last year to visit one. And I was went to 3 different bases. So seeing parts of America I wouldn't have otherwise was great too. Before joining I had never left the south.

Flyflinger

Becoming a United States Marine.

Stephanie Warrior Princess

My most rewarding time in the Army was when I was in an armored cavalry unit doing border patrol along the East German and Czech borders in the early to mid 1970â€™s. The US Army called it â€œFreedomâ€™s Frontier.â€ Keeping an eye on our adversary (and potential enemy across the border) was necessary to maintain the peace and was far more exciting than our routine garrison duties or training cycles.

At the time, the Seventh Army had four full divisions in Germany: the 3rd Armored and 8th Infantry (Mechanized) in V Corps up north and the 3rd Infantry (Mechanized), 1st Armored, and part of the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) in VII Corps to the southeast. These divisions were deployed a ways behind the border and comprised the main defensive belt. Each division had an armored cavalry squadron to perform reconnaissance for the division, but their main strength consisted of tank, infantry and artillery battalions and lots of battlefield nuclear weapons. Along the border itself, was the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment covering the Fulda Gap and the Grabenfeld Corridor on the East German border and the 3rd ACR coving the Hoff Corridor and the mountains along the Czech border. These were the invasion routes between the heavily wooded mountains that the Soviet army would have to use. Whenever a unit from one of the border regiments needed to go to the rear for tank gunnery or tactical training, they would be replaced by a divisional armored cavalry unit for about six to eight weeks at least twice a year.

The border camps only housed an armored cav troop, which is a company-sized unit, and these were located about a half hourâ€™s drive from the border. Each cav troop operated one or more observation posts along the main avenue of approach and also sent a jeep patrol along the entire border sector every day. These were in constant radio contact with the operations center at the camp. If the OP or patrol failed to report in, then a reaction force mounted in APCâ€™s was sent out to investigate, and the regimental operations center was notified. Scout helicopters flew the border trace every day, and air defense missile sites behind the border tracked everything on their radar. If more muscle was needed, then the entire cav troop mounted up and rolled to the border with all their tanks and other tracked vehicles, and attack helicopters would be sent in from the regimental air cav squadron.

Things got ugly at times, but it was never reported in the newspapers. There were occasional small firefights on the border whose story will never see the light of day. Most shots fired were simply East German watchtowers gunning down their own people trying to escape communist tyranny or a refugee stepping on a landmine. The nighttime could get really hairy. The East Germans constantly shot up flares to light up the border for their machinegun towers, and they took potshots at shadows. Foot patrols on both sides of the border stalked each other. Deer and wild boars moving through the woods sent many a heartbeat racing. Before every patrol, there was a thorough mission briefing and a debriefing when we returned. Every last detail of the land and enemy contact was noted and photographed to discern a possible change that could signify immediate preparations for World War III that went beyond the ordinary. The Big Question was, â€œIs the enemy attacking tomorrow morning?â€ Our mission was to discourage this by making a show of strength.

Assignments for our operations center, gate guards, OP, and patrols worked on rotating shifts. When the siren went off for daily practice alerts or a real unit rollout to the border, we reverted to our regular crew assignments. Unless there was something critical going on, about 10% of us could go to town at night for dinner, drinking, dancing, and romance. In most border sectors, the people were friendly, and how friendly was in direct proportion to how dangerous that border sector was. In the Grabenfeld Corridor, the ancient walled city of Bad Neustadt was noted for its lively nightlife, friendly girls, and great beer. The 10% quota also prevented the small towns from being swamped with too many horny GIs.

When I was guarding the Czech border, I was reading â€œLord of the Rings.â€ The wooded mountains were usually shrouded in mist, and at night, I could hear wolves howling and wild boars rooting around in the forest. It was easy to imagine Orcs lurking around. The Czech watchtowers were the Dark Towers of Mordor, and the Soviets really were a dark, evil force. Fortunately, our show of strength discouraged a Soviet invasion of Western Europe, and having a Polish pope encouraged the people of Eastern Europe to seek freedom without directly confronting the Soviets by force. The Berlin Wall and the entire Iron Curtain came down in 1989. Mission Accomplished!

DOOM

Mine was being promoted to Sergeant, but that was before I knew that I'm still not allowed to lead anything. Perhaps I'll have more luck with Staff Sergeant.

Devil Doc

All the countries i been to and learning how good we have it in the US. Serving alongside my Marines knowing that they had my back and if they got hurt i was there to help them. And having a blast at the Marine Corps Ball.
Semper Fi

itsalllg

In Anbar province we rounded up a bunch of old women and children the CO felt there were al quada elements in this group so we mowed them down.

nothin better then protecting America

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