No walking on Ardennes between 0630 and 0730, if you did, you heard about it. Ardennes was a proving ground for us. We ran Area J, we ran Longstreet for the Division run but for the most part we ran Ardennes. I grew up on Ardennes. There we times when we brawled with our brothersContinue reading “Ardennes was a proving ground……. An essay by William Marshall”
Category Archives: army
Whose to blame (Your life matters to me)………… An essay by William Marshall
Most of us have been touched by suicide. If you haven’t, it will come. It is particularly confusing to us when we watch our mentors, our leaders succumb to some crazy call to end their lives. It always makes me look at myself. Look inward. Try to place blame on……. On……… I guess I haveContinue reading “Whose to blame (Your life matters to me)………… An essay by William Marshall”
Sergeant’s Time……. An essay by William Marshall
I remember the first time I heard the term, I think I was a SSG. I thought, this is kinda silly, isn’t every day SGTs time. Turns out, looking back, SGTs time was a great program. It made you stop, prepare for, and conduct training at a level that previously was overlooked. SGTs time allowedContinue reading “Sergeant’s Time……. An essay by William Marshall”
The cousin issue………. An essay by William Marshall
The cousin issue………. An essay by William Marshall Stopping this rampant gun violence will be in part lead by cousins. If we really want to stop this stuff, we have to make sure that our mentally ill “cousin” doesn’t get access to weapons. We have to begin to turn in our cousins for being tooContinue reading “The cousin issue………. An essay by William Marshall”
Poor is a legend……….. An essay by William Marshall
Poor is a legend……….. An essay by William Marshall Did you ever meet someone that was obviously meant to be doing what they are doing? SSG Poor was that guy for me. I was the new 1SG of HHB 5-52 ADA. I wasn’t even wearing the diamond yet, I was still a nonpromotable SFC. SSGContinue reading “Poor is a legend……….. An essay by William Marshall”
Rookie Numbers…….. An essay by William Marshall
Dan tells the story about how when they got back from Desert Storm, we had so many new TURDs(Trainee Under Rigorous Development) that they couldn’t remember their names. One of the old school hats, may have been Tim Bingham, started giving them numbers, those number became the Rookie numbers we all know and love now……..
I wrote the book ……… An essay by William Marshall
In January of 1995 Edition V of the 82nd Airborne’s Airborne Standing Operating Procedures was published. For all intents, I wrote that book. It started as manilla folders at the old school at Green Ramp. As I was promoted in the organization to deputy committee chief, Dan Bennett also gave me the project as myContinue reading “I wrote the book ……… An essay by William Marshall”
18 hours away…… An essay by William Marshall
I spent a significant portion of my life 18 hours away from death. If not mine, someones. Someone was dying if I got the call. When I was in the 82nd Airborne Division, I spent years of my life 18 hours away from somebody’s death. Maybe it was mine. Maybe I had to kill someoneContinue reading “18 hours away…… An essay by William Marshall”
Wall Locker Ops C-9349………… An essay by William Marshall
It was a big ruckus in the latrine, somebody had opened the door to the other side, I walked through to the Charlie side. There were Soldiers everywhere. I think it was a Sunday and we were off the next day for some reason. It was still daylight but not much longer. The day drinkingContinue reading “Wall Locker Ops C-9349………… An essay by William Marshall”
My vision for Heroes I Know…….. An essay by William Marshall
My vision for Heroes I Know………. An essay by William Marshall My generation is beginning to schedule doctor’s appointments more often than we schedule date nights. We are starting to feel the hurts, the pains, the cancers, the tumors, the results of all our hard falls and sudden stupidity.Because of this, we have realized thatContinue reading “My vision for Heroes I Know…….. An essay by William Marshall”