President's Comments

Chapter Kudos

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Info from Previous Meetings

Fourth Quarter 2008 Meeting
Third Quarter 2008 Meeting
Second Quarter 2009 Meeting
First Quarter 2009 Meeting

Chapter Membership List

Airborne Video Clips
Pictures from February meeting in San Antonio
Links to other sites:

173rd Airborne Association

173rd Airborne Brigade

Texas Veteran's Land Board

Request Copies of Military Personnel Records


Misc. Forms

Active Duty Application Form

Vietnam Era Application Form

Scholarship Application Form

Gold Star Join Form







Chapter Officer Login

Information on Auguest Chapter Meeting in Waco


WHEN:
August 15th, 2009

TIME:
Doors open at 11:30
Luncheon at 12:00
Meeting at 13:00

LOCATION: American Legion Post 121
300 Tennessee Street
Waco, TX 76707
[254] 754-8840

CONTACTS:
Scott & Tina Smith
[254] 753-4870
[254] 424-1432 [cell]
Take Exit 335A [5th-4th Street]
Turn NORTH on 4th Street toward downtown.
Go approximately 1.8 miles
Turn RIGHT onto Tennessee Avenue.
At end of pavement on far right is white building
A map is available by clicking on the Chapter 13 Calendar in the upper right handcorner.


Motorcyle Raffle Flyer

When you click on the link above you will be able to print or save a copy of the flyer.

Rules of the Rucksack


1. No matter how carefully you pack, a rucksack is always too small.
2. No matter how small, a rucksack is always too heavy.
3. No matter how heavy, a rucksack will never contain what you want.
4. No matter what you need, it's always at the bottom.

Excerpt No. 1 From the chapter, "Murphy's Laws of Combat for Infantry"
. . . they are of primary interest to the elite population control specialists, the supremely skilled corps of government assassins, the Magnificent Grunts. Warriors, handed down through the ages, here are your laws of combat. These are your time-tested axioms and principles for winning in battle. If staying alive is important to you, ignore them at your own peril:

Speak softly, but forget the big stick. Carry a belt-fed weapon.
In combat, always kill as many bad guys as you can. The ones you miss today may not miss you tomorrow.
On the keyboard of combat, always keep one finger on the escape key.
Once you are in the fight, it is too late to ponder whether or not it was a good idea.
A warrior who thinks small bad guys can not be lethal in combat has never been in bed with a small rattlesnake.
On patrol and ambush, (1) never stand when you can sit, (2) never sit when you can lie down, (3) never stay awake when you can sleep, and (4) get in a good bowel movement whenever you can.
Ammo is cheap. Your life is not. In combat you never hump too much ammo.
Remember that the "hey-diddle-diddle" tactic works only in the movies. Be sneaky, always cheat, always win.

Excerpt No. 2
From the chapter, "Murphy's Laws of Combat for Aviation"
. . . aviation has gotten ever higher and higher, ever more complex and more dangerous. Today, flying machines of incredible lethality can swoop down into combat. Unfortunately, warriors have to ride or fly in these flimsy contraptions. For pilots and aircrewmen, the trick is to stay alive long enough to get the experience to enable them to stay alive a little longer. You Grunts are just along for the ride, think about it. Maybe humping the hills on foot is not so bad after all:
Gravity never loses. The best you can hope for is a draw.
Flying is not dangerous. Crashing is what is dangerous.
Combat flying is not like a video game. When flying in combat, you can not push a button and start over.
Aerial combat is the perfect vocation for men who want to feel like boys, but not for men who still are.
Plan ahead. Keep checking. If you find yourself on the ground or sitting in your rubber raft -- looking up in the sky where your aircraft used to be -- it is too late to check your fuel gauge.
Before takeoff, always pause and ponder: "How much does all that 'grunt stuff' in the cabin really weigh?"
In an aircraft in flight, if something is (1) red, (2) yellow, or (3) dusty, never touch it without a lot of forethought.
When flying, pilots should try to stay in the middle of the air. The edges of the air can be recognized by the appearance of trees, buildings, telephone poles, the ground, sea, and mountains. It is very difficult to fly beyond the edges of the air.

Advice and instructions taken from actual military sources. Some of these guys must have had a sense of humor
"Aim towards the enemy." --Instruction printed on U.S. Rocket Launcher
"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend."
"Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground." --USAF Ammo Troop
"If the enemy is in range, so are you." --Infantry Journal
"A slipping gear could let your m203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." --Army's magazine of prevention maintenance
"It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed." --U.S. Air Force manual
"Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo." --Infantry Journal
"Tracers work both ways." --U.S. Army Ordnance
"Five-second fuses only last three seconds." --Infantry Journal
"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid." --David Hackworth
"If your attack is going too well, you're walking into an ambush." --Infantry Journal
"No combat-ready unit has ever passed inspection." --Joe Gay
"Any ship can be a minesweeper....once." --Anon
"Never tell the platoon sergeant you have nothing to do." --Unknown Marine Recruit
"Don't draw fire; it irritates the people around you." --Infantry Journal
"If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him." --USAF Ammo Troop

Chapter 13 Calendar


Chapter Officers

President: Scott Smith

Vice-President: Augustin Soto

Secretary/Treasurer: Harold Brent

Newsletter Editor: John Rolfe

Chapter Historian: Dan Ramirez

Sergeant at Arms: Robert Gonzales


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Monday, April 20, 2009

The In Memory program honors those who died as a result of the Vietnam War, but whose deaths do not fit the Department of Defense criteria for inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. Every year on the third Monday in April, the names of the honorees are read aloud and certificates bearing the honorees' names are placed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The In Memory ceremony is generously supported annually by the Non-Commissioned Officers Association.