Army Reserve Page
During the 1990s I re-enlisted for 6 years, this time in the reserves (Army National Guard).
As a radio operator and signal systems specialist,
I was the person primarily responsible for the smooth flow of communications,
from my unit to the next higher level of command. I was promoted to
sargent &
served with three types of units during my reserve service;
mechanized infantry brigade, a light infantry
company
in an
air assault
(helicopter insertion)
battalion and the
66th aviation Brigade
Washington Army National Guard.
My reserve duty required me to go to 'drills' on weekends (sometimes Thursday
nights through Sunday evenings) and for a 21/2 to 3 week period once a year, as well as
occasional special assignments or training. My duty assignments included
training in
Hawaii,
Japan,
Korea,
and these active duty (regular army) posts -
Ft. Lewis, Washington for
PLDC
and rotations at the NTC at Fort Irwin,
CA. and for
JRTC at Fort Polk,
Louisiana as well as the
Combat Maneuver
Center in Hohenfels, Germany.
Some of the places I trained at during my drills were at Camp Roberts, Fort Ord, CA. (Ft. Ord was closed in 1994)
, Camp San Luis Obispo,
Fort Hunter Liggett, and Camp Parks which are all in California .
I was assisting with loading of the 50cal machine gun at Camp Roberts, CA.
This is at Camp Roberts. We were receiving instruction on how to fire the 50 caliber machine gun, here I'm aiming it. I scored well higher than any f the other personnel but one, including a mechanized infantryman and two armored scouts.
This is me at Camp Asaka.
That's Mt. Fuji in the background
I had the opportunity to work with the 31st inf regt. of the
JGSDF
This is me with Major Aikoh of the 1st airborne brigade with whom I worked at Camp Asaka. 
Here I'm operating the SINCGARS B series radio at Fort Hunger Ligget, which is a very damp
place (during winter) near the central coast of California.
Aloha! Here I am at my unit's headquarters on the windward side of Oahu.
Here's a picture of me and Specialist Ramirez, the FSO's (the guys
who direct artillery fire) RTO, with whom I worked alot near
Shugart Village
(JRTC) Ft. Polk, LA. We performed LP/OP
duties together, sat in the same foxhole a couple times and I
provided assistance and support to his superior Lt. Bradley with
whom we had fun b.sing at night during radio watch etc. At JRTC
I also worked with some FO's (artillary observers) from the Indiana
National Gaurd's 38th infantry Division, Specialist 4 Jason Wilson
and SSgt. Cokely in 'the box'. Except for that MRE (food) mess they
left on the last day in the field, I really enjoyed working with them.
You can barely make out the antenna, in my rucksack, behind me.
Here's me with the battalion communications communication section of my battalion
headquarters. SSgt Bartee (the bn commo chief) is the one holding the Jack Daniels.
This was the last month they were all together beacuse spec Cooper was transfering, SSgt.
Bartee moved to another state and specialist Nichol's service contract would
expire in a couple months. Sgt Anaya would also leave the service the following year.
Because commanders need to communicate to command their units, 'commo' positions
are very stressfull to be in. When everything is working and conditions are optimal no one
even notices you're existence but whenver they're down, it's your head even
if it's because of weather conditions or malfunctioning equipment. I was given an award
for being the best communications chief (and only one not killed) of my battalion.
Though to be fair Charlie company & Delta Company had good commo guys and Alpha did
alright considering none of their guys were signal qualified.
This is a shot of the group I attended PLDC (the academy soldiers must complete to become
promoted to sargent) with at Fort Lewis, WA. To my right is, Sgt. Bautista the
academy honor grad. Our squad, 2-2, was the best of the 6 at the academy, with the highest
test scores, 3 participants for the honor grad slot (Sgt. Toupal, second row to my left
and Sgt Flores to Sgt Bautista's right were the other two), the most soldiers to complete
the course and two of our members sang the national anthem during the graduation ceremony.
All largely due to the ability of our group to tap into each other's talents, cooperate
despite some personal animosities and our instructors SFC Paul Hardage and SSgt. Arnette
Hardage.
The Ft. Lewis NCO Academy was rated as the best in the entire Army.
It trains corporals in
the duties of a sargent. Only those who graduate can be promoted.
For those who were involved in Operation Just Cause or have visited Panama, doesn't this
look eerily familiar to you? Well, this is the
view to Ft. Ord's 'Impossible City'
Mout (urban warfare) training site. That's Captain
Seipmann, my commander, on the right and General Ames helicopter in the sky above the 'city'.
