A Can of Man
Je suis aware
This is not your typical military story.
It covers my Republic of Korea Marine Corps story from September 28th, 2005 until now, late January 2006.
Hope you enjoy it.
Every bit you read is real.
[FONT=바탕]A RoK Marine Corps Story.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] [/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] [/FONT]“[FONT=바탕]Is that the way you learned it?[/FONT]”[FONT=바탕] asked Corporal Moon, all pissed off. I just stood there looking at the MOPP suit, unable to remember just how the **** I was supposed to open and fold the damn thing. I[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ve always been bad with clothing and in a way, the MOPP suit is exactly that, clothing, and at this moment, we were going over the MOPP suit. The MOPP suit, for those not familiar, is that anti-chemical suit that you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ve seen a million times on TV[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] that suit that GIs wear during wartime when a chemical attack is suspected. The one with the hood and the gas mask and all. This wasn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t my first mistake on the MOPP suit. It was probably my seventh or something like that. [/FONT]“[FONT=바탕]I think you need to ask yourself why you volunteered for the Corps.[/FONT]”
[FONT=바탕] So why did I volunteer for the Corps? Sometimes it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s hard to tell you why I did something, but it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s easy to tell you why I didn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t do something. After all, it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s easier to say what it isn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t while referring to things which are familiar, than try to explain something completely new. At least that[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s how the Hindus seem to explain things. It[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s not this, but it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s not that[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] eventually you figure out what the hell they[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]re talking about. Getting straight to the point, it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s piss easy to tell you what I didn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t volunteer for.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] You start in a harbor in Incheon. There are a few ferries that you can take[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] the Mugunghwa and the Democracy and there[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s probably another I don[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t know about. Then you go on a boat ride for 4 or 5 hours and you arrive at a pier on an island. The pier is on the east side of the island. From there you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll be faced with MPs who will check your papers. Going past that, you go on the main road and head west and you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll go through the main town of Jincheon. Go past that and you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll find yourself another town which is much much smaller called Bukpori. Bukpori is where the headquarters element of the 6th Marine Brigade is. If you drive in, you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll see a statue of the star and anchor of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. You turn right here and you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll be stopped by MPs who again will check your papers. Then you go through the check point and turn right again. You keep going straight until the cement road ends and you have mud. Make the first left turn on the muddy road and head uphill. You will see a brand new building. You can stop the car somewhere, get off and no doubt get mud all over your shoes. You can enter through the main door or the side doors[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] but let[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s say you took the left most entrance. Go up to the 3rd floor. Get out of the stairway and into the main building. You have just arrived at the most screwed up unit in the RoKMC. Welcome to Chemical Support Company, 6th Marine Brigade.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] I arrived at my unit on September the 28th, 2005, motivated, well trained and looking to be the best Private the unit has ever seen. A sacking of a Sergeant Major, a sacking of a Gunnery Sergeant, a sacking of three Staff Sergeants and the court martial of two enlistedmen later I could barely give a ****. And it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s not just me. I can see it in every new guy. They show up all alert and eager to be the best Private any one of us has seen. But it goes away soon. In every new Private I see the path I walked and in every Corporal I see the path I will walk.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] It[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s not just the junior enlistedmen. I could see it in the new NCOs as well. They first show up not knowing what to expect, perhaps with a few thoughts on ringing up changes. However, their start always included this remark, [/FONT]“[FONT=바탕]Man, this unit is weird[/FONT]…”[FONT=바탕] almost as if someone wrote a script about it. The new Sergeant Major said it, the new Gunny said it, and one of the more senior Staff Sergeants said it too. Weird as in it doesn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t seem like a military unit.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] [/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] Whatever. I[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]m not sure how to tell the damn story so I[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll just go on telling it in small little topics. After all, what happened first, what happened last[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] it doesn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t matter.[/FONT]
It covers my Republic of Korea Marine Corps story from September 28th, 2005 until now, late January 2006.
Hope you enjoy it.
Every bit you read is real.
[FONT=바탕]A RoK Marine Corps Story.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] [/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] [/FONT]“[FONT=바탕]Is that the way you learned it?[/FONT]”[FONT=바탕] asked Corporal Moon, all pissed off. I just stood there looking at the MOPP suit, unable to remember just how the **** I was supposed to open and fold the damn thing. I[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ve always been bad with clothing and in a way, the MOPP suit is exactly that, clothing, and at this moment, we were going over the MOPP suit. The MOPP suit, for those not familiar, is that anti-chemical suit that you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ve seen a million times on TV[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] that suit that GIs wear during wartime when a chemical attack is suspected. The one with the hood and the gas mask and all. This wasn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t my first mistake on the MOPP suit. It was probably my seventh or something like that. [/FONT]“[FONT=바탕]I think you need to ask yourself why you volunteered for the Corps.[/FONT]”
[FONT=바탕] So why did I volunteer for the Corps? Sometimes it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s hard to tell you why I did something, but it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s easy to tell you why I didn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t do something. After all, it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s easier to say what it isn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t while referring to things which are familiar, than try to explain something completely new. At least that[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s how the Hindus seem to explain things. It[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s not this, but it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s not that[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] eventually you figure out what the hell they[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]re talking about. Getting straight to the point, it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s piss easy to tell you what I didn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t volunteer for.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] You start in a harbor in Incheon. There are a few ferries that you can take[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] the Mugunghwa and the Democracy and there[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s probably another I don[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t know about. Then you go on a boat ride for 4 or 5 hours and you arrive at a pier on an island. The pier is on the east side of the island. From there you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll be faced with MPs who will check your papers. Going past that, you go on the main road and head west and you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll go through the main town of Jincheon. Go past that and you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll find yourself another town which is much much smaller called Bukpori. Bukpori is where the headquarters element of the 6th Marine Brigade is. If you drive in, you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll see a statue of the star and anchor of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. You turn right here and you[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll be stopped by MPs who again will check your papers. Then you go through the check point and turn right again. You keep going straight until the cement road ends and you have mud. Make the first left turn on the muddy road and head uphill. You will see a brand new building. You can stop the car somewhere, get off and no doubt get mud all over your shoes. You can enter through the main door or the side doors[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] but let[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s say you took the left most entrance. Go up to the 3rd floor. Get out of the stairway and into the main building. You have just arrived at the most screwed up unit in the RoKMC. Welcome to Chemical Support Company, 6th Marine Brigade.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] I arrived at my unit on September the 28th, 2005, motivated, well trained and looking to be the best Private the unit has ever seen. A sacking of a Sergeant Major, a sacking of a Gunnery Sergeant, a sacking of three Staff Sergeants and the court martial of two enlistedmen later I could barely give a ****. And it[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s not just me. I can see it in every new guy. They show up all alert and eager to be the best Private any one of us has seen. But it goes away soon. In every new Private I see the path I walked and in every Corporal I see the path I will walk.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] It[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]s not just the junior enlistedmen. I could see it in the new NCOs as well. They first show up not knowing what to expect, perhaps with a few thoughts on ringing up changes. However, their start always included this remark, [/FONT]“[FONT=바탕]Man, this unit is weird[/FONT]…”[FONT=바탕] almost as if someone wrote a script about it. The new Sergeant Major said it, the new Gunny said it, and one of the more senior Staff Sergeants said it too. Weird as in it doesn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t seem like a military unit.[/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] [/FONT]
[FONT=바탕] Whatever. I[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]m not sure how to tell the damn story so I[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]ll just go on telling it in small little topics. After all, what happened first, what happened last[/FONT]…[FONT=바탕] it doesn[/FONT]’[FONT=바탕]t matter.[/FONT]