Iron Gump

A place for ACers to come and hang out after a hard day of escape-and-evade or survival training.

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Post by Spanky »

Living in the Habatraz was like living in the FRIENDS world.
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Post by Sandrat »

Nah, more like a bad WB or CW sitcom. You know, the kind where everybody "knows exactly" what you do when you're not doing anything!

Ah, but we shan't go there, lad...
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Post by Spanky »

Well we never really "lived" in the hab....I think I stayed there for a few weeks at the end of my first summer.....but that's about it...:) Then we always have Christmas camps...:)
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

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Post by Sandrat »

Spanky wrote:Well we never really "lived" in the hab....I think I stayed there for a few weeks at the end of my first summer.....but that's about it...:) Then we always have Christmas camps...:)
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Post by Spyder »

These stories are amazing. I miss AC!
Last edited by Spyder on Tue Aug 18, 2020 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Spanky »

I miss AC too.....SNIFF SNIFF!!!
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

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Post by Sandrat »

Another weather story...

Since there's a big storm system coming my way this weekend, I thought I'd share another one of those classic stories about weather related phenomena, and somehow restrain myself from mentioning Huntsville meteorologist Dan Satterfield.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Sorry, minor Dan moment there....

But I digress.

Living with Spanky was a very fortunate thing, as every single time the tornado warning sirens would go off for Madison County, he and I would dash from the apartment, get into his car and literally race to the AC compound. We arrive one night with the report of an F1 tornado on the ground on the far western portion of Redstone Arsenal (which is MUCH bigger than many of you think, by the way). The storm is moving on a line that could bring it near AC, and there are about 180 trainees in camp that week.

Not even acknowleding the security guard as we scream through the gate, skidding to a stop at the volleyball court, we're instantly out and running down to the Barn.

Only to find that a good portion of the trainees are standing outside! We get them into the bathrooms in the Barn, manage to wake up the rest of the trainees who were still sleeping with the sirens going off, and then Gump the counselor (name changed to protect the guilty) comes out screaming at us.

"What's the *#&$)#&$#@ deal? It's 2am, why the #)(*)#(*@#$)(* are you here messing with us?" And he continues to rant.

Spanky calmly says, "There's a tornado on the ground nearby. Didn't your weather radio go off?" (There was always one counselor who kept the weather radio in their room - for a long time it was Bones, but not this time).

"Nah, I unplugged that weeks ago. You don't get tornadoes here, man."

Spanky puts his arm around the counselor's shoulder and walks him outside. I'm out there with the Security radio in hand watching the clouds in between sheets of rain. I should point out that Storm Spotting training was part of an offseason activity a few of us engaged in.

The situation is bad. There is no tornado right now, but the very tail end of the thunderstorm's southwest side is directly over head. There is a very pronounced bow, or hook, in the clouds and literally a funnel could drop any second. (And yes, you could see that in the dark with the ambient light from Huntsville's street lights and the occasional sheet of lightning)

Spanky asks the counselor. "Do you know what that is?" Pointing at the clouds, "Tornado central, amigo. Why would you think that we didn't get tornadoes in Alabama?"

"Not in Alabama, I meant here at Space Camp."

Perplexed, another nearby counselor asks, "Why the hell not?"

Gump shrugs as we go into the bathrooms for shelter. "There's not a trailer park nearby."

Spanky stops and points across the lake. "Do you know what's right over there across Sparkman Road?"

"No."

"A trailer park."

:D

Note: The tornado held off until across Monte Sano and then it touched down and did a little bit of damage, nothing major and no injuries or fatalities. That summer, we made ten or eleven midnight trips for tornado warnings.
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Post by Boomerang »

Boy i'd love to know the real name of some of the Gump counselors oin these stories. Always good for a laugh keep them coming.
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Post by Spyder »

Theres no trailerp ark nearby... oh man, they told us that most of the time when there was a tornado that it never made it past the freeway? The one time that I did have to take cover at AC, when the sirens went off, we though it was the ready five until we looked over and saw the air raid siren sitting against the Barn. As our counselor was yelling to get inside, we saw some other mach threes hightail it out of the woods at the boyscout area. I must say it was most impressive how fast they were moving.
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Post by monkeynautt »

On my last trip, during the middle of the night, a counselor came running in and told us to get downstairs right away. There was a storm and we all had to go into the bottom Hab 2. It was crowded and hot down there. We were stuck there for about 30 mins before we were able to go back to Hab 1.
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Post by Sandrat »

Spyder wrote:Theres no trailerp ark nearby...

You can't see it from AC, but less than 3/4 of a mile away, directly ESE from the Barn is a trailer park. It's almost directly across from the entrance to the Botanical Gardens and comes really close to the apartments where Spanky spent his first summer on the Dino Bed.
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Post by Spanky »

Actually spent my first two summers there, before I moved in with you. BOY WAS THAT A MISTAKE!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

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Post by Sandrat »

"Spanky's gonna break the Dino Bed, doo daa doo daa...."

:D

I wish we had pictures of that thing. The only picture I have of you guys in that apartment is of Gordo sleeping (imagine that) on the couch with a publication of ill-repute draped across him...

I wonder who did that??
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Post by Spanky »

Actually I think I have some images of the unmade dino bed. I'll have to go back and look. I have photos of both of those apts. The Black Knight's lair...complete with Round Table......and the infamous "Julian" pad.....complete with a Scooter action figure.
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

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Post by Sandrat »

Another story, albeit a short one:

So if you've ever been up to the B-52 trailers, for years the decking between the trailers was approached by a nice wooden stair set on the Barnside and a flimsy metal crew ladder on the road side (boy I hope it's not there any more).

It's an early summer morning in 1996, and we've had a few short rain showers - enough to soak the ground and send the humidity rocketing upward. A counselor comes in to the office and I'm at my makeshift desk in front of the window overlooking the deck. She bounces in and grabs something and heads out to meet the bus at the road.

She says, "See ya later"

I say over my shoulder, "Be careful, it's wet out there."

She bounces out the door, takes a right towards the flimsy stairs and the next thing I see is a streak of blonde hair flying through the air. I look up and see the counselor laying on her back in the mud laughing.

I open the door, "You okay?"

She laughs, still laying in the mud. "Yeah. Did you hear what I said when I closed the door?"

"No."

"You said 'Be Careful, it's wet out there' and I mumbled 'No (expletive), what am I a dumbass? Then I fall down the stairs. What a way to start this day, huh?"
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Post by Spyder »

I think that ladder is still there if I remember correctly
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Post by Sandrat »

Top Ten Things Not To Ask The Sergeant Major:

Items 6-10.

10. Why do I have to do that?

9. What do you mean I have to be on the Zip Line for four hours today?

8. Wasn't George Custer justified in pursuing the Battle of Little Bighorn? (I did this one day, got lectured for FOUR DAYS)

7. Aren't weird French artists the only ones to wear Green Berets? (Heard from a trainee....once)

6. Can I ride with you in the Gamma Goat?


More later. So say we all.
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Post by Sandrat »

Top Ten Things Not To Ask The Sergeant Major

Numbers 1-5

5. What do you mean "No?"

4. Anything starting with.."The security guys said we need to....."

3. Are you deaf or something? (Heard from a supervisor....Once)

2. Have you seen my team?

1. From the Boss, "Will you sit down and shut up for a minute?"
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Post by Sandrat »

There Can Be Only One

So after another harrowing Theater Ops mis-adventure, our faithful trainees are flying their priority mission over the hostile coast of Kosan when they sight an enemy aircraft.

Our intrepid trainees quickly organize themselves in flight and move to pursue the enemy with their fangs out and salivating. Their closure (rate of velocity between the aircraft) is very positive - they are gaining ground quickly as the aircraft glides low to the ground just to the east of the main Kosan airport.

The aircraft veers into the mountainous terrain, perilously low to the ground, and our trainees dive in pursuit.

Smack! One aircraft lost in a severe deceleration caused by impact.

Smack! A second aircraft goes down. There are three aircraft remaining in pursuit.

Suddenly a realization dawns on our intrepid trainees.

"Hey! That's a 747!"

A Black Knight, number and callsign withheld, with the throttle pushed against the firewall of the simulator is jinking the 747 through the mountains at 400 knots.

Smack! Another aircraft impacts the ground. There are two remaining aircraft.

The trainees close to the 5.0 mile mark and immediately lock onto the target.

"Alpha Whiskey?" comes the request to engage.

The USS Stennis responds "Negative at this time. Need visual confirmation of the aircraft and its intentions. Believed hijack situation developing."

The trainees accelerate toward the 747, closing the gap quickly. Approaching historic and scenic Mt. Fuji (dubbed because it was the only mountain in the original software with a snow cap), the 747 begins to climb - streaking directly up the face of the mountain!

At the top of the mountain, the 747 executes a beautiful roll and dives down the opposite side of the mountain. Unfortunately for the pursuit aircraft, one runs out of airspeed trying to turn quickly over the face of Mt. Fuji. The second aircraft runs out of altitude at the bottom of the dive.

The 747 flies away and lands safely. Theater Operations is over without a shot fired in anger.

Nice flying, Spanky!
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Post by Spanky »

I had forgotten about that one. How about the mission when the team (forgot which one) takes off from the carrier (old M3 sims in the bubble), one crew crashes off the deck, Black Knigth steps in and flys in formation with the team as they begin their CAP.

Flight lead calls out for a check and ALL aircarft check in. 1-6.....hummmm..."did'nt we lose # 5 on take off?"......."$&%^# $%^&#$" (points off for professionalism) we've got a Black Knight flying in our formation. Without requesting Alpha Whiskey they all start shooting missles....and then shoot each other down.....with our Knight flying over the carrier shoooting rockets as the intrepid warriors watch from the AWACS consoles in the old M3 sims.
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