Feel Good Story of the Day

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11 years 7 months ago #22652 by LebbenB
Feel Good Story of the Day was created by LebbenB
This is a story of an NCO graduating from the US Army's Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, KY. "Big deal," you say? Thousands of Soldiers graduate from it every year. What's special about SFC Robinson is he lost a leg in Afghanistan back in 2006.

Air Assault School teaches a Soldier how to conduct helicopter assaults, rig landing zones and pick-up zones, sling load heavy equipment, rapelling and fast roping.

The final "exam," if you will, is a 12 mile foot march with weapon and rucksack to be completed in 3 hours or less. SFC Robinson completed this task while having to stop and repair his prostheses.

Good on him for making the standard. May he wear his "Bullwinkle Badge" with pride.

Link to the story: www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/...mpletes_gruelin.html

"I am a Noncommissioned Officer, NO ONE is more professional than I..."

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11 years 7 months ago - 11 years 7 months ago #22653 by OleCowboy
Replied by OleCowboy on topic Feel Good Story of the Day

LebbenB wrote: This is a story of an NCO graduating from the US Army's Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, KY. "Big deal," you say? Thousands of Soldiers graduate from it every year. What's special about SFC Robinson is he lost a leg in Afghanistan back in 2006.

Air Assault School teaches a Soldier how to conduct helicopter assaults, rig landing zones and pick-up zones, sling load heavy equipment, rapelling and fast roping.

The final "exam," if you will, is a 12 mile foot march with weapon and rucksack to be completed in 3 hours or less. SFC Robinson completed this task while having to stop and repair his prostheses.

Good on him for making the standard. May he wear his "Bullwinkle Badge" with pride.

Link to the story: www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/...mpletes_gruelin.html

"I am a Noncommissioned Officer, NO ONE is more professional than I..."

Not taking anything away form him here...I see the standard has been lowered, its was 15 miles in 3 hrs back in my day. BRUTAL, really brutal. Not going to be last of lowered standards now that women are in the Infantry. Glad I am retired.


FYI: When I was in if you have a perm injury like this guy, you could not stay in, made no diff if you could perform to standard or no. I perm profile was a board action. An old Vietnam injury caught up with me as age did and they wanted to give me a perm profile which would have resulted in a board action for retirement (medial). As luck would have it the Surgeon General and I were friends, BIG friends. I would take him TDY with me to Boston to an annual IT conference and show, he happened to be a Harvard med school grad and his other interest was computers. That and I think the poor guy needed some man time time in life...wife, 7 kids, ALL girls, LOL. He helped me out, but this was not rare for guys approaching retirement.

Lot of folks don't know this but there is an option to not medically retire but separate you and IIRC the pay out is about $75k and its all over then. Not much for someone who spends 12 years on AD...
Last edit: 11 years 7 months ago by OleCowboy.

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11 years 7 months ago #22655 by LebbenB
Replied by LebbenB on topic Feel Good Story of the Day

...I see the standard has been lowered, its was 15 miles in 3 hrs back in my day.

Throughout my career, (1983-2008) the standard for AAS was 12 miles in 3 hours, same as the EIB standard.

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11 years 7 months ago #22657 by Siscowet
Replied by Siscowet on topic Feel Good Story of the Day

LebbenB wrote: This is a story of an NCO graduating from the US Army's Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, KY. "Big deal," you say? Thousands of Soldiers graduate from it every year. What's special about SFC Robinson is he lost a leg in Afghanistan back in 2006.

Air Assault School teaches a Soldier how to conduct helicopter assaults, rig landing zones and pick-up zones, sling load heavy equipment, rapelling and fast roping.

The final "exam," if you will, is a 12 mile foot march with weapon and rucksack to be completed in 3 hours or less. SFC Robinson completed this task while having to stop and repair his prostheses.

Good on him for making the standard. May he wear his "Bullwinkle Badge" with pride.

Link to the story: www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/...mpletes_gruelin.html

"I am a Noncommissioned Officer, NO ONE is more professional than I..."

:thumbs:
The Man has what it takes. He doesn't have to prove a thing to anybody, he already has twice over.

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11 years 7 months ago #22659 by OleCowboy
Replied by OleCowboy on topic Feel Good Story of the Day

LebbenB wrote:

...I see the standard has been lowered, its was 15 miles in 3 hrs back in my day.

Throughout my career, (1983-2008) the standard for AAS was 12 miles in 3 hours, same as the EIB standard.

IIRC that came with the centralization of the AAS at Ft Campbell. Prior to that there were schools scattered across the US.

I am sure you saw in your career many changes and often thinking that was X later became Y, then X again. This is the result of the GOBI's...General Officer Bright Ideas.

Spend 10 years at a 4 star MACOM and you would be stunned at how the GOBI's shift the entire Army.

I remember when the Inf standard was NOT the 2 mile run, but it was 5 miles in 50 min, I forgot when GO pushed that. He retired it changed back to 2 mi run. Then another time for us 11b it was a 2 mi run AND a 15 mi/3hr cross country with full gear and ruck (not more than 2 miles of which could be on pavement). I personally feel that is the best standard IMO. I am sure you know, if you can go 15/3 full ruck out running 2 mi at PT test standards is easy. In fact in those days I was WALKING the 2 mi run in about 9 min.

But NO MATTER how fast you can run the 2 mi run it does NOT translate into 15mi in 3 hrs with full gear. In fact I really am not sure why we run at all in the Infantry, you don't run in combat, you may sprint a lot, but running is not a part of it...

Gotta go folks, Houston NRA show, see you next week, I will miss all of you...

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