Okay, how many folks here have been exposed to live gunfire? A gunfight?

[Captain Hilts]

Specify if you experienced this as a civilian or military person.

I experienced a gunfight, a couple of them, while I lived in Moscow in 1993.

I actually didn't realize what was going on at first as my parents live near a military base with a rifle range, then I realized it was closer and louder than that. I turned off the lights and - since Moscow had no light and no light bulbs - saw how the feuding sides would occasionally shoot of red flares to light up the area so they could see what they were shooting at. Mighty neighborly of 'em! I learned to sleep through these exchanges.

I heard live gunfire on other occasions and I won't go into all the shooting and fighting at the Parliament building other than to note that so many of my fellow United Statesians went down there to watch, as though it was for their entertainment.

I also had some experience there with some riots.

[Warpy]

1. Does that include drive bys a block away?

Oh, maybe a dozen times.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Why not? Tell us about it.

[Warpy]

11. What's to tell?

I hear the gunfire, I hit the floor and wait for them to go away. Since they're usually driving, they go away quickly.

[MADem]

2. Live gunfire in the military, often. A gunfight or two in southwest asia!

During the Iranian Revolution, the pasaradan would start shooting at troops and people they perceived as possibly "pro Shah" from the rooftops as the regime was winding down and melting away. I got trapped in the middle of that shit a few times, managed to escape by hauling ass in a rapid and undignified fashion.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Army or Marines?

Were you an embassy guard?

You seem to be a magnet for trouble! You must have been a Marine...

[MADem]

7. Naaah. Navy. Paperpusher, mostly. I caught plenty of live fire

from errant paperclips on the Hill!!! And the paper cuts! Oh, the horror!!

[Captain Hilts]

8. My brother fought Vietnam with a clipboard and forklift. nt

[HereSince1628]

15. Nothing at all wrong with that.

Other than a few noisey nights with the 8th RRFS I fought with a screw driver and a 1/4 inch wrench.
I kept those teletype in top commie killing readiness.




THE BALLAD OF THE ASA
Anonymous – Many sources

( To the tune of 'The Ballad of the Green Berets", by SSgt Barry Sadler. It is helpful to remember the colors of the old ASA shoulder patch for the first two verses. )

Black is for the night we fear
Blue is for the water we don't go near
White is for the flag we fly
Yellow is the reason why.

Red is for the blood we shed
As you see, there is no red
'Titless WACs', that's what they say
About the men of the ASA.

Fighting soldiers jump and die
We're the ones who sit and cry
One hundred men will jump today
But not a one from the ASA.

Drunken soldiers, always high
Dropouts from old Sigma Chi
Men who bullshit all the way
We're the men of the ASA.

We're not trained to fight or kill
But we'll always drink our fill
Men who drink can seldom fight
And ASA drinks through the night.

Trained to go from bar to bar
That's the life that's best by far
"Another round," someone proclaims,
"In another hour we'll start our swings."

On a mid, a trick chief waits
For his men are coming in late
Men who drink among the best
'Another round', our last request.

Headphones humming in our ears
We've been cleared, so we're not queers
One hundred men will test today
But only one makes the ASA.

A teal blue scarf 'round my son's neck
Would make my son a nervous wreck
One hundred men re-upped today
But not a one for the ASA.

[Captain Hilts]

19. Now THAT's funny! nt

[HereSince1628]

21. Funny but sort of true.

I think there is a sizable cadre of ASA alumn on DU.

[CRK7376]

27. What an Absolute Scream

your Ode to the ASA!

"In another hour we'll start our swings."

"On a mid, a trick chief waits"......

Oh so true! I spent time near FS Augsburg, FS Bad Aibling, was in one of the last USAR ASA Companys before we switched to the CEWI concept. But I was in an Airborne CEWI unit, and I still play in the Airborne world....

Oh yeah, plenty of AK fire and incoming rockets from the Taliban in Afghanistan.

[slackmaster]

4. I frequently hear the happy sound of gunfire from the San Diego Police Pistol Range

Especially when the wind is coming from a certain direction.

Last Saturday morning they must have been teaching a submachine gun class.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Well, just remember to notice when you hear gunfire and you're somewhere else.

This got me into trouble in Toronto - of all places - also.

Living in Norfolk and DC, I didn't notice all the low-flying helicopters, etc. I didn't take the time to realize, "Hey, I'm not in Norfolk or DC." It was Toronto's Rodney King riots.

[Dogmudgeon]

9. Yo. Civilian, by-stander.

Caught between two gangs in LA in 1985. I was parked next to a playground that was part of their turf.

I heard several popping noises and my friend told me to crouch behind the car.

At that moment, it wasn't frightening at all. Five minutes later, when it had sunk in, I was a wreck.

--d!

[Captain Hilts]

10. You've brought up a Good Point. Gunfire in Real Life doesn't sound the way it does on TV/movies....

hence, some of the surprise.

I remember walking down Tverskaia St. in Moscow - their 'Fifth Ave.' - and a car backfired. These were tense times and everybody - myself included - ducked. Tense times.

[tosh]

13. Similar reaction here...

mr tosh and I drove up at home one night after working late. We were sitting in the car with the doors open finishing a conversation and heard an argument break out across the street and one house over. They brought it out into the street and as we gazed on the scene, one guy pulled a gun and we heard the pop. The other guy fell in the street. It was a father who shot a suitor of his daughter. We laid low while the police and ambulance arrived. We heard our neighbor tell the officers "I shot him."

When it finally sunk in, I shed a few tears. This was my neighborhood!

[county worker]

12. In Vietnam in the Army . Why this tread?

[Captain Hilts]

14. Just curious. I think a lot of people take political stability and personal safety

for granted.

Living in a state of chaos - and the gunfights were an important part of that - has made me understand why some people tolerate absolutism - such as how they do in Russia - etc. Living with crap like that makes a lot of people want a 'strong hand' whether it's Rudy Guilliani or Vladimir Putin.

[county worker]

16. There are kids on the streets of Los Angeles who face the possibility of getting shot

daily. I use to live in Highland Park in LA and it was bad then, that was in the 80's. It is worse now.

[Captain Hilts]

17. I'm very sorry to hear that. This kind of thing should not be 'normal'. nt

[mzteris]

18. in 1977

I was sitting by the pool at my apartment complex in Lexington, KY.

I could see the pool at the complex next door (it was about 30 yds away) and some kids starting arguing. It got louder and louder, some shoves and flailing around, then one kid ran off. A few minutes he was back holding - what looked like a 38 - and started shooting.

I was in such shock I actually sat there for far too long of seconds thinking " WTF?????? " Then it dawned on me - everyone was running and screaming and this kid was shooting and I was in danger of getting hit by a stray bullet! I jumped up ran into the clubhouse/laundry room and hid until the police and ambulance came. . . then I ran to my apartment closed and locked tghe door and closed and locked my bedroom door and sat there shivering and shaking for what seemed like hours before my roomie came home.

[corpseratemedia]

20. a couple of buildings of the school I went to (as a grad student) were in a high crime neighborhood

.....drug-turf wars

We would all get out (night class) at the same time. So when the popping sound started we'd all duck. That happened a couple times. Nobody was shot..there.

We did have students (and a teacher) robbed and shot (and one student killed in a drive-by) during the time I attended.

Plus at the other building someone near had what I guess would be a semi-automatic. That was more often and I noticed you'd hear it closer to sunset.

[old mark]

22. Was shot at as a civilian by a civilian after serving 3 years

in the Airborne infantry in the late 1960's.
Also once drew a gun to repel car jackers. They went away.

mark

[Yunomi]

23. A drive-by across the street

in the 1980's, and a shoot-out in a parking lot as I was passing by in the late 70's. Both in Austin, our peaceful hippie city. My neighborhood hasn't always been as yuppified as it is now. I am well aware of gunfire, though it's been a while since I heard it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. Both in uniform and as a civilian

That does not count the times that simply wearing one or showing one has been the catalyst to stop matters that would have otherwise unfolded

[TahitiNut]

25. Yes. Of course.

In the Army ... practice and for real. In the city ... for real. I'm not typically inclined to play "show and tell" or cater to morbid curiosity. It's not something that one can comprehend by hearsay.
:shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

26. I think that's exactly right. It's something that reading about doesn't prepare you for, but

experiencing it changes you.

[Crowman1979]

28. I've expierienced rocket attacks at a Bomb Dump, does that count?

Can't get more dangerous than that. To have a rocket hit an area containing several hundred TONS of explosives. Luckily it missed me by about 100 feet. It happened about 1-2 times a month over at Al-Asad while I was there.

[Captain Hilts]

29. Yeah, that fits. That would be very scary.

Three cheers for those that work with ordnance!

[Lowell]

30. Too many times

My career in the Army spanned several conflicts. Then my career in law enforcement post military brought more.

[jody]

31. Yes, military. n/t

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

32. way many more times than

i would have preferred, hopefully that shiznit is behind me

[Captain Hilts]

33. In the military? Police Force? Unlucky tourist?

I guess I'm technically an 'unlucky tourist'.

I don't need that kind of stuff any more.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

34. military, federal law enforcement

EMT... never as a tourist, I hope to miss that

[Captain Hilts]

35. Thanks for your service in both fields. nt