17-8-5 M14 Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

Basic training at Fort Ord during the Vietnam War.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[browningautorifle]

Fort Ord

That would have been a lot of boys...

[Bill Hollinger]

Where are all those M14s now

I've done SWAT training at Fort Ord's MOUT facility, "Impossible City". We were there when some feds were there training with some Spec Ops guys. Boy they sure know how to play! They had all the cool toys too

[browningautorifle]

I picture the size of the machine back then, we have Ft Lewis here and I recall it just after the heyday of all that training and the massive size the training machine must have been. Not much in the way of human comforts, and all those boys at once. It took my breath away even back then.

[Paul S.]

I copy and pasted that picture to a mate who was US Army in Vietnam. He emailed back that he went through Fort Ord for his basic combat training in July to September 1967. He said Fort Ord was a major training base then having basic training, and advanced training for infantry, cooks, signals and clericals. He said there were at least 5 basic training brigades each with at least 3 battalions of 4 coys. He said that picture was probably taken the year before since the troops have white name tags and the white (meningitis) quarantine tags on the shirts.

He said it was a soldier mill and not much more.

[browningautorifle]

a soldier mill

I believe you, then off to the battalions to finish the training.

the troops have white name tags and the white (meningitis) quarantine tags on the shirts.

Excellent info, obviously from guys that were there...crap you don't forget.

[13Echo]

In Class A Greens. Getting ready to graduate from Basic.

Looks a lot like Ft. Polk where I did BCT fifty years ago.

[browningautorifle]

In Class A Greens. Getting ready to graduate from Basic.

That was my take too, meantime there's some week three or fours behind them...

[BEAR]

Oh Yeah! Fort Ord, California.
Arrived there in July and left in December. Basic training: B/4/2 Infantry AIT: B/2/2
Memories: Freezing in the morning and frying in the afternoon. Morning runs to the beach ranges with field jackets on, taking off the field jackets at the range and sitting in the freezing temperatures then running back to the barracks in the afternoon under the hot sun. Ice plants and jack rabbits. The DI's mirror aviator sunglasses (Drill Sgt. Gitchell for basic and Drill Sgt. Oguma for AIT). Favorite song: "It never rains in Southern Calfornia" as we stood in waist deep water in our foxholes during our AIT FTX.
As Bob Hope sang "Thanks for the memories..."

BEAR(BDY)

[fjruple]

That was my take too, meantime there's some week three or fours behind them...

Jim-- The guys behind the "grads" looks like they are setting up for a field inspection of equipment. Those pup tents do bring back memories.

--fjruple