The military class is over... here's a bedtime story

It was very intimidating at the graduation I went to last night. There were so many high-ranking people. The most memorable part of the evening was taking a piss right beside a General and blocking a Colonel from putting his paper towels in the trash can while I was washing my hands. The bathroom was crowded. In the ball room, the temperature was around 98 degrees indoors and I was wearing my military coat, which I could not take off. I was so exhausted. We got to eat an American meal: mashed potatoes, large slab of beef, and mixed vegetables. We had German chocolate cake too. I paid $22 a ticket for myself and my wife. That was $44 for dinner, a required (that means MANDATORY) dinner that I had to attend to. We don't have a choice. Basically, not paying and/or attending this graduation ceremony is a bad military career move.

I was part of the POW/MIA ceremony at graduation, giving honour to all soldiers who've been POWs or missing in action. It's a sad thing. Remember them. I got to meet a POW from the Viet Nam war last Friday; retired Colonel Leroy Stutz. He was a POW for almost 7 years. How horrible. It's funny hearing these ex-military guys insult our civilian leaders. About 86% of the U.S.'s civilian leaders have no idea what it is like to be a soldier. I heard of one of his fellow POWs was a crew chief in the late 1940s. The enlisted man (a mechanic) was bet $20 by one of his buddies to fly a helicopter across the ramp. He flew the jet across the ramp without any damage, got court martialed, and got kicked out. Then he tried to come back in the military as a pilot, his paperwork got messed up, and they let him train to be a fighter pilot. He was ordered to fly on a Friday, when Fridays were normally down days (no flying). He went to taxi his jet, ended up taxiing across the ramp to the Officer Club to have some beer, and as punishment he was sent to fight in Viet Nam. He got shot down and became a POW. He was passed promotion so many times before he was sent to Viet Nam. But as a POW he gained a lot of rank and retired as a Colonel. Very interesting true story.