2nd Lt. FM Tinseth, First Row - Far Right, Ft Bragg (?)"Keep the rear sights focused and the target fuzzy. Only Joe Shit the Rag Man needs to focus on the target. Always focus on the sights." FMT, 1973
He competed for a time. Tried for the Olympics but didn't make it. "Shot shitty that day." He'd tell you it was, "Murphy's Law." Whatever could go wrong -- would go wrong. He liked to remind me that, "When everything is going well, your plan is obviously faulty."
Years later, when something he was working on went terribly wrong he'd whine in a high pitch, "Why me, God?" He'd lower his voice to a dark rumble, "Because Phred, you piss me off." They were old gags based on older jokes. His father did this. So do I.
What made him unique was his odd take on almost everything. In the early '70s, he planned a new army at CONARC Command that was split in two. One half was admin and all that went went with it including parades, dress uniforms and other 'REMF' paraphernalia. The other half was only concerned with killing and winning wars. These men would be better paid, advance more rapidly and be spared the 'horse shit' of the paper pushers.
40 years later, special operations in all branches look similar to his vision. Sadly, the horse shit element is still pervasive. "Oh, well..." he'd say. Something for the, 'My Ass' file. As in, "Here, stick this document in My Ass."
Posts
5 comments:
Tin:
Quite a beautiful series of posts thus far. Your talent as a consummate storyteller and eloquent writer shine. Yet, it's bittersweet. Suppose it would be foolish to expect anything less.
--Matthew
Wonerful stuff....I sincerely wish I had met the man.
loved my time under FORSCOM hated it under TRADOC. makes sense after reading this post.
I keep wanting to go work with SOCOM or NSW. I'm a supply officer though, the ultimate REMF except if we volunteer we can get sent out into the middle of nowhere too. I keep volunteering.
Ive always enjoyed being in the middle of nowhere.
Post a Comment