Ya gotta love "The Sarge"

[Softball]

That intro is SWEET!!

R. Lee Ermey is the shit, OOOORAH!

BTW, I found this ULTIMATE DEAR JOHN LETTER on the forums, freakin hilarious! LOL!

ULTIMATE DEAR JOHN LETTER

There was a Sailor deployed to Iraq. While he was there he received a
letter from his girlfriend. In the letter she explained that she had
slept with two guys while he had been gone and she wanted to break up AND she wants pictures of herself back.

So the Sailor does what any squared-away Sailor would do. He went around to his buddies and collected all the unwanted photos of women he could find. He then mailed about 25 pictures to his girlfriend with the
following note:

"I don't remember which one you are, please remove your picture and send
the rest back!"


I'm still laughing.....hehehehe

[Grifter]

now that's funny.

[Grifter]

Just out of curiousity, what does a staff seargent do?

[Softball]

Just out of curiousity, what does a staff seargent do?

Anything they want! Lol! Especially Ermey.


It depends on what their MOS is, infantry, supply, recon.... In an infantry role they might be a squad or platoon leader, depending on what is needed for a particular unit or duty station. Your rank doesn't necessarily mean you will be doing a specific job, just what billet is open and what your specialty is. All soldiers are "basic" infantry men, and a SSGT would usually be in some kind of leadership role.

BTW, in honor of R. Lee Ermey, I watched Full Metal Jacket again last night. I can never get enough of that movie. Love it!

[Hammer]

I think Ermey was higher rank that SSG, no?

A SSG will rarely, if ever be a platoon leader. Sometimes a E-7 SFC will be a platoon leader. Platoon leaders are officer positions, Lieutenants.

When I was in the Army, as an E-5 SGT I was both a squad leader and a platoon sergeant (very rare). As a E-6 SSG I was again both a squad leader and a platoon sergeant. There were times when I did both jobs at once as well. I also served as Range NCOIC and even OIC several times, which was a rare thing. As was stated, it depends upon the open slots, need for temp positions, and also your capabilities.

[Grifter]

Hmm. I was asking because, actually, according to the bio on his website, Ermey's highest rank during his tenure in the Marines was Staff Sarg. However, he was wounded in Vietnam, which summarily cut his career in the military short. The details of these events are not offered. When I hear the term Staff Sarg, I was thinking he was some sort of desk jockey. shrug.

[Softball]

If you read through his web page, it says that he was given GYSGT honorably, he was injured in Vietnam as a SSGT and had to retire.

When I was in the USMC I was the Platoon Sgt and squad leader for my platoon, I handled all muster calls, inspections, payroll, after action reports, classroom outlines, etc... The size and role of the platoon/unit also help determine what positions are needed in the rank structure. The unit I was in was so small (30+ people) that there were alot of people doing multiple jobs for areas that did not have a SNCO or NCO. I did the job of about 5 people while I was there, due to people leaving the unit and then those positions not being filled. I was also one of the only two drivers for my unit as well, so I was responsible for requesting vehicles, doing pre-checks on the vehicles, and then driving to where we were going for that day. Being one of the only drivers was GREAT, especially when we had a 20+ mile march to do, I was the safety vehicle driver.

I am sure that in Vietnam, SSGTs (and even SGTs) were involuntarily given Platoon leader responsibilities due to the COs and LTs getting killed on missions and such.

[Hammer]

was that killed or fragged??? ;)

[Softball]

They probably carried Health Packs too, how unrealistic! :roll:

[Madrus]

Was there an option to increase the size of the enemy soldiers in Vietnam like in Falcon 4 SP3? When I heard of that option, I wanted to barf.

But I digress - R. Lee Ermey is my idol. That intro was so cool.

[Grifter]

Softball,

That honorary Gunnery SGT promotion was given to him just days ago for his work with soldiers in the Iraqi theatre. You undoubtedly caught his live from the gulf episode? Anyway, I think you probably nailed it. Most likely the poor bastard was thrown right into the field. Most people were during that damned war.

[daofcmacg]

I would like to say to my shipmate, uphold the few traditions and honor we have left in this man's Navy. That was in fine fashion and it was his duty to let her know a sailor never keeps one or two but many. As the sayin goes "One in every port!"

DA