Sure Took a While

Who knew?! Last week I earned my Jungle tab. Well, I actually earned it on August 7th or so, but only found out about it last week. 

Why? Well, it's a retroactive award. The statement from the Army says that: the Jungle tab is awarded to soldiers who completed unit-level training at the Jungle Operations Training Center at Fort Sherman, Panama, from 1990 until its closure in 1999. Guess who was there in 1996!

Actually, I received my first Army Achievement Medal (AAM) while training at Fort Sherman. 

Part of earning a Jungle Tab is surviving the Jungle Warfare Training, which includes a rather grueling land navigation course. We performed ours as a squad. I was the newest Ranger in the squad, so I pulled the short straw of having to carry the radio. 

I'm sure when I write "radio" you think of a car radio or a transistor radio,  maybe even a walkie-talkie type radio. Nope. We had to carry an AN PRC 77. This was basically a huge block of concrete that was painted green, had two knobs, several spare batteries that were also made of concrete, and was designed to drain the energy, motivation, and strength of whichever Ranger carried it. 

That sucker also has an antenna pack that was ridiculously heavy and awkward, plus all the other gear that Ranger privates carry. I think it was a 10 or 15-mile hike through the jungle. I carried the pack; everyone else had load-bearing vests only. Guess who had to carry everyone's chow as well, . . . you know, since he had the ruck. 

There are three squads per platoon. Four platoons per company. Assorted weapons-centered platoons and three companies of Rangers who stepped into the jungle that morning. Of all thirty-six Ranger squads who started that operation, only eight radio carriers completed it. Forty other Rangers were medevac'd out at different points due to heat exhaustion, heat stress, or almost heat stroke. 

Don't get me wrong, I came close too. At one point, I started stumbling, slipping, and tripping more than the mud, muck, and debris of the jungle seemed to demand. My team leader noticed and forced me to strip and jump into a pool of water we found. They also forced me to drink two full canteens of water AND take an electrolyte packet with another canteen of water. 

I think they were "testing" me. Seeing how far I could go without giving up. I didn't give up, which is good. Instead, I stumbled my way back to the barracks at Fort Sherman and earned a medal for my troubles. Still proud of that day. 

There was a lot more we did there, . . . SPIE extraction (which is extremely rare), waterborne operations, Helo Casting into Lake Gatun. Fun stuff. I'm glad I have another memory I can attach to it, . . . in the form of a Jungle Tab.