A story that I have to tell.

langston302

langston302

Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
990
I have to tell you all this story...

In 1998 I joined the Army and headed of to Basic Training at Ft. Knox. My dad was proud of my decision and so was my mom. It was a dream I had to be a soldier just like my dad and my great great grandfather who was gassed in WWI....but i digress.
My dad gave me a spyderco ladybug in green with a ps blade. Now we were told we could have NO KNIVES of any kind..including multitools.(weird huh, here is an automatic rifle and ammo but you cant carry a knife). well I said screw it, I carried a Jess Horn maroon micarta all through high school and i wasnt going to stop now...
on the day we get there we go through all the bs of de bussing and stuff and we go through a shake down. I cant tell you how many dudes lost their SAKS and Leatherman's and the like...but I slipped under the radar....even though our DS saw it...he just laughed and said it was so small that he didnt care. I was so relieved. I used that thing EVERY day for just all the mundane things a private in basic can use it for. Opening what mail i got to string trimming to cutting 100mph tape, and once we were in the field I was the go to guy for everything almost...." can you cut open my MRE?" "can you cut this Paracord?" just about an everyday thing....that little knife stayed with me through all my training including the confidence and assault courses and even graduation. It was dummy corded to my left pocket, I wasnt going to lose that little gem.
After graduation I went home for a few days to rest up and get ready for AIT and my dad gave me a new endura for a gift....While I loved it, it stayed home and the ladybug went to Ft. Sill/Ft. Lewis/Ft. Knox with me instead. Were I went, it did too. I carried the little fella for somewhere close to 4 years before giving it back to my dad when I got out.....We still own it and in a collection of close to 300 spydercos, it means the most to us.

Thanks Spyderco, thanks for everything.
 
Iv got heaps of ladybugs and jesters, they are great little knives :thumbup:
 
Nice story. :) No knives at basic training? Is there a particular reason for that?
 
Great Story. i have a pe black ladybug and it has now left my side since the day i got it. My girlfriend liked it so much (the only knife she does like) that i gave her one just like it when she went off to college. Great little knife from a great American Co.
 
Cool story, have you got a pic? I' d really like to see how that Ladybug looks after 4 years of EDC use:cool:
 
Nice story and glad your Spydie served you well.

However...as soon as I got done thrashing you on the quarterdeck, I would have written your drill sergeant up. Knives have no place in basic training. Rules are rules, the drill sergeants are there to set the example, and neither one of them should be flexible. If your story is true, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, I think your DS did you a great disservice.
 
Good grief, Debbie Downer.

Any reason as to WHY knives have no place in basic? Are they afraid the troops will cut each other?
 
<< Any reason as to WHY knives have no place in basic? >>

Newly inducted "Basic Trainees" are generally undiscipined and used to making decisions based on self interest. Place that young man in a very stressed, sometimes scary environment, with a bunch of strangers; and make all of them responsible for the actions/inactions of each other and emotions can take control over judgement.

When I was in Basic (1967), we had few fights, but one day in the bayonet pit, one man did perform a perfect forward thrust, with an M-14 (thankfully sans bayonet), into the teeth of the Trainee Platoon Leader.

After initial training, when the men have aclimated to the military and begun to acquire a sense of unit cohesiveness they are allowed more lattitude.

Red
U.S. Army
(11B, 13E, 13A)
 
Excellent! I love the Ladybug. I have one FRN LBK3 on my keychain and old #081 SS LBK3 in my pocket. These two get the bulk of my daily cutting chores by far.
 
I did. Still don't get it. These men are given loaded weapons
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In boot camp the access to weapons is highly supervised. There is no keeping weapons around the barracks, or access to them untill it's time to train with the instructors.

It's too stressfull for some of the people. Everyone has basic training stories to tell but I saw a guy jump out a 2nd story window in a silly attempt to kill himself. Another guy I saw get his arm broken in 3 places during horseplay.

When they are all grown up and real soldiers they can have their knives with them in most occasions. There are still exceptions, just like in civilian life.

Privately owned firearms are strictly controlled on base, where allowed also.

That's just the way it is. Most folks can handle owning a knife in basic training but they have others that are gonna crack under stress, mess up, be stupid etc.

Military training can be dangerous even when well supervised by mature, well trained troops. When people get to boot camp they often are near panic, feeling like their world is ending, tired, etc. Others are trying to show how hard they are gonna be.

Untill they instill a little military bearing in the kids it's best to watch them closely and keep em safe. Joe
 
Great story ,now I am getting a LadyBug for sure.

I know the no knives rule seems silly but it is one of those rules that came about as a result of someone doing something irresponsible and not just because someone decided that knives were scary.
 
langston,

Great story. A knife comes in handy in the field, doesn't it?

After a four year sprint in the Navy, I joined the Army in 1987 as a Pfc. Got out in 1995 as a SSgt. I carried a SAK through my Basic "Retrain" and 11B AIT at Benning. Never had a single word said about it.

I think your Drill Sergeant perhaps saw that you were a responsible young soldier and weren't gonna' go berzerk with your Spyderco "Ladybug."

I wouldn't take some of the reponses here very seriously. Some folks, even some who post on knife forums and should know better, are sometimes too tight assed to see a knife as a very useful tool, and only see it as a "weapon"......and people who tote badges are particularly bad at this.

TR Graham
The Glocksmith
 
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Hi Langston,

Thanx for the great story.

I rarely go anywhere without a Labybug tucked in a pocket somewhere on my body.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Langston,

Thanx for the great story.

I rarely go anywhere without a Labybug tucked in a pocket somewhere on my body.

sal
Click to expand...

Mine is Orange:D

I think it is the only knife I have that everyone just think is cute:thumbup:

Sverre
 
i still carry one to this day....

now in a different light....I have a second job with the federal goverment working in an extreme high risk enviorment....and the ladybug makes absolutely the most sense for that type of work....and yes, i still use a dummy cord
 
Can you describe your dummy cord setup. I'm pretty sure it's a long lanyard attached to the knife and belt loop but could use some specifics.
 
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