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Old 07-23-2003, 03:44 PM
Beldan Beldan is offline
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Default Extended Tours in Vietnam

Have wondered about this. Was reading Lew Walt's book "Strange War,Strange Strategy" where I found an item .The book was written in 1970 but it is the only figure I have ever seen. General Walt says " 42,000 Marines and over 100,000 Army personnel " have extended or went back for another tour.
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  #2  
Old 07-23-2003, 05:39 PM
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Default Probably fairly accurate

Do you know if this number included military personnel with multiple tours that did not volunteer for them. Most career line officers and NCOs had two or more tours of duty just from being assigned there by their service branch.
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Old 07-24-2003, 01:20 PM
Andy Andy is offline
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At the very least four people from my first unit extended their tour of duty. The last infantry platoon I was in, all members had to have already spend at least one year as a grunt and had to have a purple heart, etc. None of those guys were particularly crazy or kill freaks or had a death wish. However, adrenaline is an addictive drug, thank God it's legal.

In large part, it was probably a combination of youthful vigor and a poorly developed sense of self-preservation but hell, we were young.

By the way, the first guy to answer you, PHO127 did, I believe, 4 tours in Vietnam. That's a bit much, a little unusual but there are some interesting people on this site.

Stay healthy,
Andy
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Old 07-24-2003, 01:36 PM
Beldan Beldan is offline
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That is a lot of tours but as Pho127 pointed out officers and staff ncos were often assigned back to the Nam.I know a recon type that went back twice and a Marine pilot that went three tours.

Stateside garrison did not appeal much after being in the bush.
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Old 07-24-2003, 04:24 PM
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Default Pretty Cute Andy

That comming from a guy with three tours and what was it 3 Purple Hearts. My SOG SGM did 6 tours, His first in 1956. He is now a gun dealer in Macon, GA.
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Old 07-24-2003, 06:56 PM
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Default TWO TOURS HERE

The first one was voluntary, the second wasn't. I got sent back with the 82nd ABN's 3rd Bde for TET68. 75-80% of us had already done a tour. I had 10mos. left to ETS. Stayed there the whole time. Well, they DID give me an 8day Early Out . As things escalated and more units were sent over, a lot of guys found themselves in this situation.

A rule was put in place that if you DEROS'd with less than 6mos. left to ETS, you could get an Early Out. This worked out REAL nice for draftees. Alot of guys extended for 3-6mos. to put themselves stateside within this time frame. Some guys would extend for specific jobs [Andy]. I knew a guy in the 82nd who volunteered to go back because he hated stateside duty. If he'd waited, he would have got sent anyway. He was also in the 3rd Bde.
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Old 07-24-2003, 07:28 PM
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Sid, when a guy who lives around Macon County Ga. Says, ?Pretty cute Andy? all I can hear is dueling banjoes. Plus, (you know my spelling sucks but) the word is spelled coming. The only time you see the word ?comming? is when the little soldier gets his helmet rubbed. Hey, I am getting nervous! Seriously, I?d like to meet that gun dealer. Wonder if he?d sell a hand gun to someone from Easthampton? We do have our own special laws.

Frisco, your story, doing a tour and then getting sent back for a second one was the nightmare that dogged a lot of us R.A.?s. That was one of the reasons I decided to just stay there and keep getting easier jobs. Of course only a grunt would think, ?I need an easy, safe job, I?ll be a door gunner.? But you, you do a year, go home, get married, then get orders to go back, that wasn?t right. Course it couldn?t have been that bad what with you doing a third tour this year and looking forward to a fourth. Trying to catch up with Sid, right?
I?m probably going to end up at Ft. Gordon in the fall. I?ll send you a hat, and some of that damn dirt.

Stay healthy,
Andy
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Old 07-24-2003, 10:50 PM
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Andy , your gun purchase question reminds me of when I was stationed in Tacoma, WA and I didn't want to pay 8.9% sales tax on my new computer. My room mate in the Barracks was from Oregon and was tax exempt from Washington State sales Taxes. So we used his card after the Computer Store Owner said " Of Course John is buying the Computer your just paying for it with your credit Card" soooo if you have a good friend or relative who trust you with his/her life they of course being residents of the State in question can fill out the paperwork you can pay for it and since the law doesn't require individuals to keep sales records for transferring personal weapons from one person to another "yet!" your covered (i.e. as in gifts).
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Old 07-25-2003, 05:08 AM
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Default You would like SGM Farrel

DMZ-LT has met him before, He was SGM of the Ranger School at Ft. Benning when he retired. He is about 6-4, shaved head and handlebar mustache. I am guessing he is in his mid to late 60s now but is one of those guys that when you look at him you know you don't want to get on his bad side. I hear tell that when he was at Ranger school there was a standing challenge to beat the SGM on the PT course. You ran it over and over until you collapsed or quit, The SGM never lost.
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Old 07-25-2003, 05:44 AM
Gunner Gunner is offline
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Default Multiple tours

I have no doubt that the figure quoted is approximately correct.

Many returned to Vietnam where they felt wanted, needed and appreciated. When a person goes from being responsible for other peoples' lives and/or complex, expensive equipment; comes home and finds out that he isn't "qualified" for such a responsible position in the civilian world, many went back.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, when the only resource for personnel are those on active duty; there are only two choices when called for another tour: 1) do not re-up or resign your commission or 2) do another tour. So many of the core NCOs' did this that time and time again, that they simply burned out and ended their careers after multiple tours of duty.

After all, you can ask only so much from a finite resource.
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