FossilTattoo
Strange, haunting feelings. I know everyone's first name who I was in Air Force BMT with. I can look them up, see their lives and families.
FossilTattoo
We were 14 years younger. So very different. I messaged a few of them. Let's see if they message back. Let's see if they want to remember.
FossilTattoo
I made it a point not to do that last name thing. I learned their first names too. I wanted to remember them as people, not personnel.
FossilTattoo
Some of them I don't remember their last names. Only their first. For example, Terry, who we called 'Junior Ghettochild'.
FossilTattoo
His own nickname was Junior... he arrived in a T-shirt that said 'GhettoChild'.
FossilTattoo
There's 'Meanest', called such not for his disposition (he was actually very nice), but because he boasted 'the meanest penis in Virginia'.
FossilTattoo
He and I were prayer leaders. We became 'Reverend Meanest and Reverend Marion'. I sang 'If We Hold On Together' every night. Yes, from LBT.
FossilTattoo
Jake Marsh, who looked like a bald DiCaprio and shared my love of the music of Beck.
FossilTattoo
Sid 'Chu' O'Kagu, who had an enormous afro going in. He was a singer. Crooned like Maxwell, very neo-soul. He's still singing.
FossilTattoo
Joe Plato was from Atlanta. We were the two southern boys. If someone was slacking, he'd say 'ay, hurry up, shawty'.
FossilTattoo
Joe Richardson was nice, but he always looked like he just got done fighting. His face was like the Russian 'I vill break you' guy in Rocky.
FossilTattoo
He and I worked on the T-shirt for our 'flight'. Typical grimdark skeleton training instructor in bdu's surrounded by flames, only 3 colors
FossilTattoo
Joey Carbone was full fledged badabing badaboom proscuitto rigatoni samattayou New York. He was usually called 'latrine queen'.
FossilTattoo
Mike Klemmensen slept right next to me. A total bro. He kept me in check a couple times. Was always happy for me when my then-wife wrote.
FossilTattoo
Martrail Robinson was my little buddy. We had good stories. We got recycled at two different times, and ended up together on the way out.
FossilTattoo
We got stopped once, while doing some menial task outside. They tried to get us, quiz us check us for "341's". We passed their test.
FossilTattoo
We walked away chuckling to ourselves.
FossilTattoo
My job was Chapel Guide. Every Sunday, all the people in our 'flight' had their church of choice. They had to be marched there and back.
FossilTattoo
About 3 or 4 different churches, all spread throughout the day. And I had to march them there and back. Disliked having to call cadence.
FossilTattoo
Enjoyed the silence and isolation between.
FossilTattoo
Saturday nights, by the 3rd week, we'd gotten this crazy Holocaust thing going. The chapel guide would walk up and down the aisles--
FossilTattoo
With a flashlight cone in the dark. I'd gently wake them.
FossilTattoo
"I know you've got letters to send. I do too. I'll get them there."
FossilTattoo
They'd silently, swiftly get out of bed, and get out their secret correspondence. Some would kiss the envelopes, some, little rituals.
FossilTattoo
See, everybody was writing home when they had a moment, but no way to send it. Until the chapel guides learned their route.
FossilTattoo
These letters weren't even supposed to be written yet. XD. If they'd found out, oh, man. This is part of why I enjoyed being the deliverer.
FossilTattoo
The two chapel guides marched alone at 5am to get people and march them to church. We walked a sidewalk that passed a blue US Mailbox.
FossilTattoo
I was covert. A ward of letters in my little black bag (we all had to carry them). Marched right past it in the dark.
FossilTattoo
Made the drop, didn't stop. It was glorious. I got my joys where I could.
jkat
This is sort of magical to read. Your remembrances are vivid and sweet.
FossilTattoo
I remember the full name of my instructor, prior to my recycling. Joel Kent Johnson. In 2000, he was a staff sergeant.
FossilTattoo
I know he was a nice guy. He was just doing a job. I remember how I know.
FossilTattoo
In the first 24 hours, we had to empty our wallets of all money. At that time, I had a half of a dollar bill. We'll get to that in a sec.
FossilTattoo
So he's going around from person to person, checking things. He gets to me, sees a bit of a dollar in the wallet pocket, starts screaming.
FossilTattoo
I just said 'sir, it's a half of a dollar. My wife and I each have one half so no matter how broke we are, we've got a dollar between us.'
FossilTattoo
He stopped the toughguy shpiel for just a second, blinked, and fought a smile. He said 'just fold it up so no one sees it.'
jkat
Oh my effing god, Foss, that is simultaneously adorable and fricking hilarious.
jkat
The cutest pun
jkat
Do you still have that half-dollar?
MamaTurk
Oh my god, half-dollar pun
MamaTurk
This plurk is beautiful. And as a military brat, thank you for your service!
MamaTurk
Hell, not as a military brat. As a person, thank you for your service.
FossilTattoo
jkat
: No. I no longer have mine. My then-spouse got rid of hers quite a time earlier.
FossilTattoo
MamaTurk
: Heh. Thanks. I don't often even talk about it. This was somewhat cathartic.
FossilTattoo
I remember there was some guy who was higher ranking, not a "stripe", but a "shiny" as I called them (brass rank, versus patch rank.) He wasn't an instructor.
FossilTattoo
He was so above it all. He was like "big long fancy name commander", and he showed up in a green flightsuit, like he just got out of a cockpit.
FossilTattoo
He would just appear sometimes during those couple months in basic/bootcamp/whatever. Just to check up on things.
FossilTattoo
Shorter in height than me, with a normal haircut. Dark hair, bangs, even. I always thought that was weird.
FossilTattoo
He never yelled, he never even seemed that interested. He was just... casual. But he was in charge, all the instructors would get super-finnicky when he was there.
FossilTattoo
Anyway, there were two big connected rooms full of beds, 30 in each. They were connected by a door on one side, a hall on the other. At one end of the hall, the study room, the other end, the way out.
FossilTattoo
Air Force Basic Training Dorm Lackland AFB San Anton...
)
FossilTattoo
Anyway.
FossilTattoo
ONE DAY we were all having to sit in the study room or whatever it was called. (We couldn't sit on the furniture until the end.) I was sent to go get something, I forget what.
FossilTattoo
When I walked out into the hall, there was the commander.
FossilTattoo
He quizzed me on some stuff, then just hung around.
FossilTattoo
Keep in mind, this was 14 years ago. I was just married, young, and cracking up because I was actually starting to think I'd never get out of there, never talk to my then-spouse.
FossilTattoo
I forget how many weeks it'd been that I was there at this point.
FossilTattoo
The commander/colonel/guy says "oh, Sgt. Johnson... give this one a 30 minute patio break." Then he leaves.
FossilTattoo
There was a little wall outside the building with a little patio and soda/snack machines. I didn't care about any of that.
FossilTattoo
There was isolation. To me, it was like this. 
FossilTattoo
NOTHING COULD TOUCH YOU IN THERE.
FossilTattoo
But even more... there was a payphone.
FossilTattoo
I called my then-wife.
FossilTattoo
She wasn't there.
FossilTattoo
So I sat and enjoyed the silence and isolation.
FossilTattoo
I think I earned 3 patio breaks total during my stay there.
FossilTattoo
Heh. A few times the instructor would have what I called "crazy days" where for no reason (other than to keep us on our toes, I guess), he would come in and just fuck everyone's stuff up.
FossilTattoo
The usual kind of behavior that if you saw/heard it on the street, you'd say "ok, here is a literal mentally retarded person. Alright then."
FossilTattoo
An angry, irrational person causing damage on the street in rags? Call the cops. In a uniform? SUDDENLY HE'S RIGHT.
FossilTattoo
Moving on.
FossilTattoo
He played Marilyn Manson's "Antichrist Superstar" album on full blast while tossing clothes and flipping beds.
FossilTattoo
We all kind of looked at each other and nodded, a little impressed at his music choice. 
FossilTattoo
It was a very Bill Murray moment. Stuff is flying past our heads, and we look across at each other, and our expressions are like "...good jams, at least."