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emmiee said:
Lol, I dunno that sounds pretty clever to me. Nice reversal,
What's the dumbest thing you heard said today?
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Lol, I dunno that sounds pretty clever to me. Nice reversal,
Haggis
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RHFC_piper
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So... I'm at a high school today, sitting in on a presentation the Brigade Recruiter (a good friend and colleague) was giving for a careers class. He asked me to tag along to answer questions about the infantry, specifically the local regiment (RHFC) as he wants to maintain an equal presence of both units in the area (RHFC and 31 Combat Engineer Regiment, Waterloo det... He's an engineer).
I generally have no problem coming out to these gigs, as it gets me out of the office for a while... And I don't mind answering questions about my trade; thats my job. But every time I go to a school, someone asks about Afghanistan, since it's the buzz topic for the military, and the question everyone has is; have you been there?.
Both the Brigade Recruiter and I were on TF 3-06... He and I have been friends for a while, and he knows what happened to me and C Coy during the tour... So when he gets asked that question, and I'm there, he replies with "yes. We've both done a tour... I was there for 7 months, but he came home a little early due to injury." Which is always followed by more questions... in the end, I end up reciting the chapter from outside the wire, or I summarize, as was the case today, with "I got shot up, I came home." (in my mind I'm thinking; "read the book".)
Anyway, once people know the details, more questions come up. Here are some of the classic ones and my response... all of these were asked today.
Q: You were injured? Where?
A: In Afghanistan.
Q: No... where were you hit?
A: (more persistent) In Afghanistan
(this goes on for a while like bad Laural and Hardy shtick)
Q: Were you scared?
The common (and more correct) answer: "anyone who says they're not scared in battle is a fool. You just have to rely on your training and instincts... deal with the fear later"
The answer I give depending on the attitude of the individual asking: "No... It was fun... Like paint ball with red paint and pain." (lots of sarcasm)
I don't use that answer much... only for the kids who ask the question to be a smart-ass.
Q: "What's it like over there?"
Real A: [insert long description]
Answer for smart-asses: "Well... it's a lot like Canada... only it's hotter. It's dustier. It has a lot less modern stuff, and a lot more blown up stuff... and there are a lot of people shooting at each other... So... it's not really like Canada at all."
And of course... the winner of all questions:
Q: "Have you ever killed anyone?"
I get this question a lot... and at first I got mad when people asked this, 'cause it seemed kinda personal to me. But I've come to understand where this comes from; its usually a fairly valid question, and I try to answer honestly but not directly... usually with; "the role of the infantry is to close with and destroy the enemy... I did my job and I have not regrets about anything I did on tour."
But every once in a while I get the Smart-ass version... which I got today.
Q: "You ever shot someone in the face?"
A: "What. Today? It's only 10 am... I do all my face-shooting in the afternoon."
I don't know who was more shocked; the student who asked the question, or his teacher. (His teacher thought it was a funny and appropriate answer to a stupid question...)
I really love my job some days.
I generally have no problem coming out to these gigs, as it gets me out of the office for a while... And I don't mind answering questions about my trade; thats my job. But every time I go to a school, someone asks about Afghanistan, since it's the buzz topic for the military, and the question everyone has is; have you been there?.
Both the Brigade Recruiter and I were on TF 3-06... He and I have been friends for a while, and he knows what happened to me and C Coy during the tour... So when he gets asked that question, and I'm there, he replies with "yes. We've both done a tour... I was there for 7 months, but he came home a little early due to injury." Which is always followed by more questions... in the end, I end up reciting the chapter from outside the wire, or I summarize, as was the case today, with "I got shot up, I came home." (in my mind I'm thinking; "read the book".)
Anyway, once people know the details, more questions come up. Here are some of the classic ones and my response... all of these were asked today.
Q: You were injured? Where?
A: In Afghanistan.
Q: No... where were you hit?
A: (more persistent) In Afghanistan
(this goes on for a while like bad Laural and Hardy shtick)
Q: Were you scared?
The common (and more correct) answer: "anyone who says they're not scared in battle is a fool. You just have to rely on your training and instincts... deal with the fear later"
The answer I give depending on the attitude of the individual asking: "No... It was fun... Like paint ball with red paint and pain." (lots of sarcasm)
I don't use that answer much... only for the kids who ask the question to be a smart-ass.
Q: "What's it like over there?"
Real A: [insert long description]
Answer for smart-asses: "Well... it's a lot like Canada... only it's hotter. It's dustier. It has a lot less modern stuff, and a lot more blown up stuff... and there are a lot of people shooting at each other... So... it's not really like Canada at all."
And of course... the winner of all questions:
Q: "Have you ever killed anyone?"
I get this question a lot... and at first I got mad when people asked this, 'cause it seemed kinda personal to me. But I've come to understand where this comes from; its usually a fairly valid question, and I try to answer honestly but not directly... usually with; "the role of the infantry is to close with and destroy the enemy... I did my job and I have not regrets about anything I did on tour."
But every once in a while I get the Smart-ass version... which I got today.
Q: "You ever shot someone in the face?"
A: "What. Today? It's only 10 am... I do all my face-shooting in the afternoon."
I don't know who was more shocked; the student who asked the question, or his teacher. (His teacher thought it was a funny and appropriate answer to a stupid question...)
I really love my job some days.
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ArmyVern said:WE are normal.
Pfft speak for yourself, I've got issues. ;D
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RHFC_piper said:
Ahahahahahaha!! :rofl:
Night made, can pack it up and hit the hay now!
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:crybaby:ArmyVern said:You do have issues.
We Loggies do not. WE are normal.
NL_engineer
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Shiraz said:
Mine is, too, Shiraz. Hmmm...perhaps we need to define "normal". ;D
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You know what would be just a kicker, if Shiraz turned out to be the Captain from CFRC Toronto who did my interview. Just based on the very similar screen name vs. last name. 8)
Sorry just had to throw that out there..
Sorry just had to throw that out there..
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Sigger said:Isnt Shiraz a wine?
I hope so or else I've been drinking my Captain at dinner.
His name just is that name minus one missing letter, as a staff member at CFRC Toronto.
Scratch_043
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Dumbest thing today was one of the fellows on my course while eating box lunches in the field.
troop 1: anyone want to trade me their butterscotch pudding? it's my favorite.
troop gets the trade.
troop 2: anybody have the white one, I like that one, but I don't know what kind it is.
silence......
.
.
.
troop 1: You mean vanilla?
Laughter ensues
troop 1: anyone want to trade me their butterscotch pudding? it's my favorite.
troop gets the trade.
troop 2: anybody have the white one, I like that one, but I don't know what kind it is.
silence......
.
.
.
troop 1: You mean vanilla?
Laughter ensues
RHFC_piper
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I don't know if this qualifies as the "dumbest" statement, but it sure made me laugh.
I'm in physiotherapy with a new therapist and shes asking about the nature of my injuries;
Physio: "So, how did this all happen... how did you get shrapnel wounds?"
Me: (not wanting to get into a big long conversation about it) "It was a friendly-fire incident involving an aircraft."
Physio: "Okay... I gotta ask... Why do you call it friendly-fire? 'cause it doesn't seem all that friendly."
Me: "Well... Because it involves our friends, in this case the Americans, shooting at us by accident."
Physio: "If you have friends who shoot at you, maybe it's time to make better friends."
???
I'm in physiotherapy with a new therapist and shes asking about the nature of my injuries;
Physio: "So, how did this all happen... how did you get shrapnel wounds?"
Me: (not wanting to get into a big long conversation about it) "It was a friendly-fire incident involving an aircraft."
Physio: "Okay... I gotta ask... Why do you call it friendly-fire? 'cause it doesn't seem all that friendly."
Me: "Well... Because it involves our friends, in this case the Americans, shooting at us by accident."
Physio: "If you have friends who shoot at you, maybe it's time to make better friends."
???
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