Last Day !!

Well the day has arrived, tomorrow is my last day in the CF, 22 yrs 15 days, not the longest stretch by far, but long enuf fer this cat:smokin
Feels kinda strange already, no uniforms hangin up downstairs, no rucksack and kitbag packed and ready to roll out the door at a moments notice, and my hair is already gettin long:lol
I hope it is the right decision, I kinda have the urge to do something different, with the direction things were headin the future was more of the same with very little variety in there, and variety IS the spice of it all, Yes??? Got a good job lined up with Praxair, lots of new things to learn and steep curve, but it should be interesting. Big plus is that there should be waaaay more time to enjoy the great outdoors
See ya all up in the Patch !!!

Congradulations Scoot! As one grateful 'civy', I'd like to express a heartfelt thank you for serving and representing out great country with honor. The worldwide respect for our troops is due to guys like you. Thank you.

Do you have some stories that you are willing to post? If you have been in for 22+ years, I am going to assume that you have spent time in Cyprus, as well as (maybe) Bosnia, Somolia, Afghanaistan, and Desert Storm in Iraq. Please correct me if I have assumed incorrectly.

I know that I would like to hear some stories from some of your experiences if you are willing to share them. You could start a cool thread based on that one!

Although I have never served (would have loved to though), I know many who have. My family was very close to Nicolette Goddard and her family. It was a sad day when the word came in, but at the same time, a strangely proud day at the same time.

For your YEARS of service!!! Best of luck in your future.

Congratulations on your retirement and new job Scooter....you leaving town permanently?

I retired after 34+ years and guess what?......I'm back in uniform as full time reserve. You're gonna miss it...

Congrats Scooter! Are you having a mug-out? When/ where?

22 years is a long time, I'm almost at 6 and it feels like forever!

Congrats, may the transition seemless!

Best of luck

Morb!

Congrats scooter, I just got word last night that my brother in law is retiring in June from the Navy after 35 years. Your gonna miss it I am sure, but best of luck to you in the future.

Thanks for the kind words guys, I appreciate all the nice comments, kinda gives me the warm and fuzzy:rollin
I may miss it a bit down the road, but I am determined to hang up the green for good and make it a go in the Civilian world. It was a eye opener looking for a job, as I have been in since I was 18 yrs old and always had the security that the Mil offers you. But even in the last two months I have met tons of awesome people, and been offered so many jobs I lost count, hopefully I picked the right one. All in all I have figgered out that if you stick a smile on yer yap and keep a genuine good attitude, people will see that you are willing to work hard and learn what they want you to learn. I have a few good stories, but this being a family oriented board, they will have to wait for another time and place...:eek I would imagine tho a guy like Pappy and your brother Rustyguts Lil would have waaay more stories than me, heck Christ was still a corporal when you guys started and Centurion was a rank and not a tank...Pappy was No 1 on the Catapault...
Looking forward to meeting some of you guys for some hunting trips in the near future !!!!!

Thanks for a good laugh scooter. But your right I am sure my brother and brother-in-law have some good stories.
Again best of luck to you.

Scooter, you can't leave it at that man! You gotta have some stories that you can post up. Throw us a bone! That many years in, there has to be at least some humorous stuff.

So it's New years eve, 1987, I'm posted with 2 PPCLI in Baden, Germany. We held a shack party for all of us that couldn't go home, Boredom and a lack of anything better to do to blame, lots of killer Heinies and Kaiser Premium were consumed, and approaching midnight a large fire was constructed just outside the foyer, utilizing all furniture that could be found... At the stroke of midnight, all of us that had any type of firearm lined up in a somewhat disorderly line and faced towards France across the airfield. As the clock struck midnight, with Pte Vermuelen calling out the commands, we loaded and commenced what was supposed to be a 21 gun salute to Canada, but was somewhat hastily broken up when the lights and sirens of an approaching MP car were observed to be headed our way. Needless to say our party very quickly broke up, and the next day there was a lot of very sorry members of D company's shacks lined up outside the Battalion Orderly Sargent's Office waiting to get verbally tuned up for our actions...:rollin
I often wonder where those muzzleloader balls landed????

lol!

Thanks for that, be prepared for more requests!

My buddy served as an APC (armoured personal carrier....correct me if I,m wrong) For those that do not know, it was a tank on rubber tires (Scooter, are they not called 'Coyotes' now). He served in Winnipeg in the mid to late '80s. Anyway, there was a huge blizzard and the city was put into a state of emergency. They sent him out in his APC to support all of the cops stuck in snowbanks. Anyway, to run this machine, you have to look threw a small slot, with no mirrors. He told me that after this storm (3-4' of snow plus high winds), when he was driving (fast) he felt some 'bumps', they were parked cars! He said that they ran a road where every few seconds they felt a small bump....they were telephone poles. He said, thank God it was a state of emergency, otherwise he would've had some discliparian problems.

Hey Scooterj, I just left a year before your little salute, or else that might have been me who raced up in that MP car! Good times in CFE, I hope you had a great tour there.
I retired after my 20 years about 12 years ago, lots of down time for the outdoors, good money, but I missed the uniform and that way of life too much. Like Pappy I'm back in uniform now (not in the reserves though), happy as a pig in poo...kinda a good place for an ex Meathead.
I sincerly wish you all the best in your retirement.

Congrats ScooterJ and good luckin the future. I was also in Baden 83-86 and missed your 21 gun salute. Hope you didn't hit my old landlord in Stolhofen. Brings back memories of the Rod and Gun where I quaffed a few with the RCR's and probably some of your buds. I was probably one of those centurions you were referring to. Joined in 59. retired 93