We are all guilty of it , a new guy gets in the unit and he is all high speed and gung ho . Then about a hour after the first formation he is wandering around the drill hall looking for a box of grid squares for Sgt. Adams . This does serve a purpose though , he knows his way around the armory after getting the run arround . I had to find a left handed squelch wrench , so I to have been a victim of this . The good old days of being the low man on the totem pole .

in the depot reg RCT we used to get recurits (mongs) sent down to the guard room for long stands which we did in the exercise square also tins of elbow grease,bubbles for a spirt level, tartan paint happy days

We would either send them to the commo sgt to get some squelch fluid for the radio or the motor sgt for 100 feet of deadline.

In the mortar platoon, we got the new guys with:
1. Jump on top of the tracks to check the shocks.
2. Walk around the track with a hammer and bang on it looking for soft spots.
3. Go to the CP to get some range fans.

And once while we were up early on alert and a little slap happy, we got one of the commo guys(who wasn't a newbie) to run to the maint building for some high speed missile wax for the mortar rounds.

Paul

P.S. I did fall for the atomic situp trick myself but luckily there is no photographic proof.

We would send our "nukes" to get RF grease or send them up our 180 ft tower to apply "static arrestor fluid" usually window cleaner to the antenna elements. We would even convince them it worked by showing them the difference on our video display ( noise level ), so we would even get them more than once ( sometimes ).

Ergo my reason for not joining the military: I'm very gullible. Just kidding (though I am very gullible)

In the air force we do have the same kinda stuff...Go get a 100 feet of flight line, or go down to the cop shack for some K9-P.....(canine pee...heh) I worked construction before the AF, someone always had me lookin for a sky hook or a board stretcher....

One of the favourites in our medical units is to send the new guys to the QM for a metre of falopian tube.

Hmm hope you dont work in a graves registration or patholgy unit :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

We always had rotor wash, bottle of squelch, 100 yards of flight line, A.S.H. receiver (ash tray), I.D.10T. boxes, etc.

You are all so cruel!!

And you made me laugh for the first time in a long time.

Thanks!!

hehe

now that my friends is funny, i too (not in the military but in the scouts) have asked newer scouts to go in the trailor and get elbow grease, a bacon strecher and a left handed smoke shifter

We used to tell cruits to got to the Mech Sgt. and get a box of reticles or crosshairs!

JB

The new guys got back blast bags for the 90mm recoiless rifle. Left handed smoke shifters for the stoves. And in the field were sent to supply for ST ones and T R double E's (trees and stones).
brian

We once sent a new kid to the Quartermaster for a gallon of checkered paint. He sent him back to ask if we wanted black on white, or white on black.

We used to tell the new guy to get chem light batteries from the supply sergeant. Also, we would tell the new guy to go ask a Sergant First Class (E-7) for a PRC-E7 (ex. a PRC-77 was a radio).

As an armor soldier we would have our guys take exhaust samples when we did our oils samples. Also have FNG's check the air pressure in the roadwheels.. (solid rubber mind you) or rotate the air from summer to winter or vise versa. Metric screwdrivers, bolt stretchers, canopy lights, keys to the drop zone, batteries for the range fans, chem lite batteries...oh the list goes on and on.... I smile when I think of how many I was hit with. :-) "Q"

Lots of good ones here and I've heard of most of them.

When I was in the Guard, we pulled one on a couple guys without even trying. It was the beginning of Annual Training at Fort McCoy and we were headed for the field. There are lots of loose ends to tie up and we were all to gather in an Assembly Area before we convoyed out to our first tactical positions.

On a map, an Assembly Area is drawn as a big circle -- you move your vehicle within that circled area and find your unit and cover. I had a section with two vehicles -- a humvee with radios and a deuce without. When I briefed my troops early in the day, I told everyone that we had supplies to pick up and other missions to perform before we linked up again at the "Alpha Alpha" -- phonetic alphabet for "AA" (short for Assembly Area). Questions? None. We split up to take care of business and I was soon in the Alpha Alpha with the humvee.

We waited for the deuce ... and waited ... and waited ... where the heck were they? I had no way to contact them and couldn't leave the Alpha Alpha to look for them.

Just before the convoy was to pull out, here comes my wayward deuce and the two troopies.

"Where the **** have you been?" I ask.

"Looking for the alfalfa," the driver answers.

Two of my favorites were sending a new guy for a 12 inch ground guide when we needed to move our tanks or when punching gun tubes we'd send him over to maintenance or the armory to get a can of muzzle blast. lol

Out new troops were usually at the store looking for Long Weights (long wait!), Artillery targets or boot lifts (kick up the rear). We had a very obliging Quartermaster. :-)

Have to add my 2 cents worth: Many US Marine recruits can recall being sent to a rival platoon to fetch just about anything, or else. How cooperative is the rival platoons Drill Instructor? Sweet as roses as usual... Let the games begin! When a fresh "boot" checked into my unit in Okinawa, he was often tasked with delivering a very important, HIGHLY explosive material to another unit. You must walk verrrry slowly and not shake the stuff or boom! Nothing like a 100 degree walk in 100% humidity across base with explosive water - Welcome FNG!

Over my 21 years in the US Army I've either used or heard of many such as "Jump on the top of the track (M113A1), to check the track tension, Can of squelch from Commo; Box of grid squares used until a private returned with a box of grid squares (cut up map, his dad turned out to be a retired CSM).

But the best one I ever pulled on was back around 1979, with a 2nd LT (O-1) right out of school. I was in the motor pool, it rained all night and I had to drain the engine oil of a M113A1, when I loosened the bolts of the belly plate, I got a soaking of water mixed with oil, ruining my set of starched fatigues. Up comes this new LT asking what he can do and before I know it I sent him looking for a Fallopian Tube. Around 3 Hours later, after visiting our Battalion and brigade Motor Officer, and even our Divisional maintainance sections, he returned Red Faced and spitting daggers :-) :-)

M151 Jeep mired in the wet red clay mud of Benning long ago...

Sent a PV1 back to the motor pool Sgt. for a can of Traction to get it freed... you shoulda seen him trot off at double time...

I too was in the Marine Corps.

Here's a few:

1. Go to weapons platoon SGT and get a can of back blast.
2. Go to the com shack and get a tube of freq (Frequency) grease.
3. Tell them to go to Arty and get a Sling for a one niner eight. (M198 155 howitzer) :-)
4. Go to the Company Gunny and tell him you need a BFA for a .45 / 9mil
5. Go to the PLT Sgt and get 100ft of skyline or chow line.
5. On deployment at sea we would have "Mail Buoy Watch" or "International Date Line Watch".

We had E-Tool qualification. You have the newbie open up his E-Tool used as a pick. Blind fold the guy and have him try to strike a dime/quarter etc with the point of the E-Tool. Just before he starts you "make it a little easier" by removing his cover (hat). You then toss the cover down in front of him and watch him beat the crap out of it with his E-Tool.

I have a ton of these ... they were always fun.

When on the rifle range, we'd send a newby to the range shack for 100 yards of firing line, or, when on the map and compass course, dispatch a squad out to police up all the dead azimuths we'd shot.