Basic Thinking

A post I'll link below leads to a good military blog dealing with a tour in Iraq, but the post itself reminded me of basic training and, at least in part, how it taught me to think. There is a practical reality to military thinking, which is perhaps why I like it so much. I can ruminate and theorize as much as the next person, but effective solutions where the proverbial rubber meets the road has incredible value, often deserving of more credit than it is given.

As an aside, a post I recently read at HOI touched upon a similar idea and I suspect I share Steve's experience in the sense of wanting to master things like tools, carpentry techniques, etc - though from a different experience, perhaps. Steve is a lawyer and author currently on a tool binge. I was a bright, even precocious child in a blue collar family. The value of manual labor and trade craft was never lost on me.

Aside from a college degree and professional accomplishment, many personal accomplishments of which I'm the most proud have to do with carpentry and electric wiring. Maybe it's sort of a man thing. But I digress.

In basic training we had a particular drawer, one of a few, but I'll address just the one here. Forgetting the precise measurements now, let's say it measured x inches wide. In that drawer were kept certain articles of clothing - clean, precisely folded to the inch and set in place from left to right. Inspections were carried out with a ruler. T-shirts had to be exactly say six inches across, briefs four inches, socks, ties, etc, all fitting exactly within the drawer and regularly checked with a ruler. Sound like a pain? It is unless you use basic thinking.

We had six pairs of T-shirts and briefs, four were always folded in the drawer, one was worn and one was permitted to be in the laundry bag at the foot of your bunk. The contents were laundered daily. Now, folding laundered T-shirts and briefs to absolute precision took ironing, starch, spit and a ton of time, not to mention consternation. But thinking practically, or smart, avoided all that nonsense.

You simply set up your drawer once with new and well-pressed items, then washed and wore the same two articles of a specific item of clothing throughout basic training. Believe it or not, for all the knocks of intellect some, often libruls, toss at the military - there's a great deal to be learned in thinking to get things done efficiently. The military doesn't have a monopoly on it, but it does have more than a claim.

Now ... lol, in one of those moments of candor I love to interject - and with what some might say is too much information, I'll share another lesson from my basic thinking. With your bunk, sheets, shorts and person almost always in full view of from forty to six other mostly 18 year olds - bathrooms which were guarded, let alone monitored, a young man of 18 might find it difficult to relieve certain, um, ... uh, seemingly unavoidable hormonally driven urges without discovery through the appearance of some remnant of his satisfactory endeavors on his person, clothing, or even sheets. What to do .. what to do ... what to do.

Well, let's just say I was always particularly mindful of the socks from that damned laundry bag whenever it came my turn for laundry duty. You never did know when some lonesome soldier would feel compelled to make a discreet night deposit, so to speak!

Thank God laundry duty was an assignment I didn't often have, as it did always seem to be a little low on the pecker order ... if you get my drift. LMAO

Check out Jeff's post on basic training and follow through to the link to 13 Months in Iraq.

Comments

[Phoenix]

So. Um. Do we call you The Tool Man now? :}

Being an army brat, I know all about the pecker order. Tough stuff.

Dating a Citadel cadet for two and a half years, I know all about pecker order. Shew! Hard stuff.

hmmm.. what was this post about? Oh. Yeah. Efficiency. Good job, Mr. Tool Man. Well done. Salute. OOO RAH !

[Kathleen]

Thank God that there are no males living in my house anymore...otherwise, they'd be thanking Dan Riehl for not having any clean socks ever again.

[Jennifer]

LOL! This one had me on the floor. A couple of years ago, when we were stationed at Offutt AFB, we had a Navy Submariner and his family living across the street on base housing. Most of the neighbors were great friends and we used to sit out front consuming malted beverages on most summer nights. One night he told all of us Air Force folks about the infamous "Patrol Sock." One in the same with your "basic" sock. He explained that it was a necessity for some on the long 6 month stint on the submarine...or any other navy vessel. That is just too funny! Thanks for the laugh!

[lwm]

Yes, nothing like a story about wearing the same two pairs of clothing for weeks in order to avoid arbitrary regulations to make you look intellectual. Cute.

[toolgrrl]

ha ha ha Heard the sock story last year. About the same time I taught my teen age son to do his own laundry......... LOL

[Phoenix]

This gives new meaning to 'toe jam'. hahahaha

lwm:

If you read carefully, laundry was done each night. CLEAN clothes every day. The point was - not to have to refold and measure in THE PERFECT DRAWER. D'oh. By the way, how do two-day-old socks lessen one's intellect?

[toolgrrl]

Gotta love a man that can handle tools........ :)

[AuntJ]

Wow, didn't realize we had being in the Army in common! Here's an inspection trick from the women's barracks (given to us by none other than our own female drill sergeants): keep the feminine hygiene articles up front in the drawer, the male CO/1Sgt takes one quick look and moves on to something else! No kidding, seen it with my own eyes. Worked a few years later with the IG inspection too ! Also, my mom was just amazed that I still had brand new t-shirts when I came home on leave after basic ! She thought I was afraid to dirty my t-shirts til I explained why I still had them !

[lwm]

Phoenix,

Yes, I understand the clothes were alternated. Thanks, Capt. Obvious ;)

I was poking fun of being so proud of avoiding an arbitrary regulation. And by doing so by having to wear the same clothes over and over. It was ironic . . . oh, nevermind.

[Phoenix]

lwm,

No,..no nevermind. Here is Tool Man Dan's boot camp theme song:

Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller
Got to be a joker he just do what he please
He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me
Got me a sock rocket and joo joo eyeball...

Come together, come together....... ha ha ha ha.

Okay. I am never commenting on this thread ever again. Ever.