Going to army

Drop bear said:
Part of what people are not telling you is the biggest trick in the military is to not stand out.

You are better off if the senior officers can't even remember your name.

And so being the knife guy when you walk in will make people remember you.

But look. I get it. We all do new things and get excited and want to buy honking great big knives.

The military will punish you for that.
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I think this is the most important thing written here. Thank you for that.
 
Vlade said:
Pretty much the same story here. My son's still in, he's stationed in Okinawa. I've given him nothing but the best equipment that money could buy. I'm not going to let him trust his life on junk equipment.
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Ditto: In my case, my parental anxiety at our son's deployment to a hot combat zone drove me to spend a good bit on cutlery. He would not let me get him up-rated body armor or helmet liner pads because he wouldn't take gear that was better than the Marines under his command. He wouldn't let me get him a "combat modified" .45 built by a custome pistol shop. either.

I would have sold everything er owned to buy him a better tank if that were possible. A friend who was a Viet Nam Marine vet who had fought in Hue asked me what it was , sending him off as a father.Les Mis was touring at that time and this song says it excatly . . .and brought me to tears:


And that is my wish for the Op of this thread.
 
VorpelSword said:
Ditto: In my case, my parental anxiety at our son's deployment to a hot combat zone drove me to spend a good bit on cutlery. He would not let me get him up-rated body armor or helmet liner pads because he wouldn't take gear that was better than the Marines under his command. He wouldn't let me get him a "combat modified" .45 built by a custome pistol shop. either.

I would have sold everything er owned to buy him a better tank if that were possible. A friend who was a Viet Nam Marine vet who had fought in Hue asked me what it was , sending him off as a father.Les Mis was touring at that time and this song says it excatly . . .and brought me to tears:


And that is my wish for the Op of this thread.
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It's tough being a father of a Marine. You know in your heart that he's a full grown man and knows what he's doing. But being a dad I can't help but worry. As I'm writing this I don't know really where he is. I tried to Whatsapp him but I'm getting no answer. I know he went to the Philippines and from what I hear he's going somewhere else if he's not there already, but I can't say where. The op will do just fine I'm sure, we all joked and played a little with him. He took it like a man so I know he'll be okay. Getting back to my son he's not going anywhere until he gets his 20 years in. . He loves the Marines.
 
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Vlade said:
It's tough being a father of a Marine. You know in your heart that he's a full grown man and knows what he's doing. But being a dad I can't help but worry. As I'm writing this I don't know really where he is. I tried to Whatsapp him but I'm getting no answer. I know he went to the Philippines and from what I hear he's going somewhere else if he's not there already, but I can't say where. The op will do just fine I'm sure, we all joked and played a little with him. He took it like a man so I know he'll be okay. Getting back to my son he's not going anywhere until he gets his 20 years in. . He loves the Marines.
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I hope your son is alive and well. I also hope you'll soon get in touch with him.

Operational security is likely why he hasn't reply yet. Usage of your phone while on mission is discouraged as I heard from guys who were at middle east.


Also thanks for kind words.

As far as I know, retirement here is at 45yo. Used to be 40yo until some years back. I also think it was 40yo back in the time of Yugoslavia too.
 
LostCause said:
I hope your son is alive and well. I also hope you'll soon get in touch with him.

Operational security is likely why he hasn't reply yet. Usage of your phone while on mission is discouraged as I heard from guys who were at middle east.


Also thanks for kind words.

As far as I know, retirement here is at 45yo. Used to be 40yo until some years back. I also think it was 40yo back in the time of Yugoslavia too.
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They might even took his phone away from him for all I know ,you're probably right.
 
Vlade said:
They might even took his phone away from him for all I know ,you're probably right.
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Yeah. For example, Russians kept their phones so they got visit from HIMARS at New Years eve.

How?

Ukraine spotted increased activity of cell signal there and long story short - located their training facility that way.

So he maybe doesn't even have his phone with him at the moment.
 
Vlade said:
It's tough being a father of a Marine. You know in your heart that he's a full grown man and knows what he's doing. But being a dad I can't help but worry. As I'm writing this I don't know really where he is. I tried to Whatsapp him but I'm getting no answer. I know he went to the Philippines and from what I hear he's going somewhere else if he's not there already, but I can't say where. The op will do just fine I'm sure, we all joked and played a little with him. He took it like a man so I know he'll be okay. Getting back to my son he's not going anywhere until he gets his 20 years in. . He loves the Marines.
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OK, so now we are a bit off-topic for this thread. My apologies to the OP of this thread, who just wants knife recommendations for his situation.

Back in 2004, we were able to send off mail and packages to our son's deployed address. Stuff would get to him in the due course of time wherever his unit was. . . .but only at a firm base as they were often outside the wire for weeks. He had sporadic access to his Yahoo e-mail address and there was a way to sort of send a fax. Again, they got these at intervals. Once, our son was able to use a contractor's Sat Phone for a few minutes right after hid unit was released from the Second Battle of Fallujah. Sometimes he was able to e-mail a picture of himself holding a sign (Happy Birthday Merry Christmas etc).

Find out what your son's deployed address is.

Update: Our son has been out since 2010 or so. Married with two kids and a cat, he is pastor of a Baptist church in Texas. . . .andI sleep better.
 
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LostCause said:
All I'll carry is Spear Point CRKT Minimalist.

Why?
1. It's cheap. So I don't care if it gets lost or stolen. I paid only 30 for it.
2. I just need small utility knife.
3. If I'll need anything bigger - that'll be issued to me.

Thinking about SAK tho, but that is almost asking to get stolen.

Your opinions?
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LostCause: Please keep us informed on your situation as life goes on.
 
If/when you get to the point where you can carry a knife, it may be worth reaching out to Daado Daado , one of our bladesmiths here on the forum. Not only is he an excellent knife maker, he is a gentleman, and also Croatian.
 
The insane responses from TroopPoster “authority figures” turned a boring question into a fun thread. Well done.
 
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