Me and the Snake Eaters - I Report for Duty

Okay, there I was at the Fort Stewart NCO Academy at TAC-X training area. It was my first day on the job, and, as was common in the army, we were going to do PT.

I had been told that all the other cadre had been hand-picked by the Post Commander General Vaught, and the commandant, First Sergeant (P for Promotable) Julius W. Gates. I had also been told that, except for the cooks, the cadre was made up completely of people recruited from the Ranger Battalion in Savannah.

I was the member of the cadre who was NOT a Ranger. I was warned that expectations would be high as General Vaught had a personal interest in the 24th Infantry Division/Fort Stewart NCO Academy.

Rangers! Snake eaters!

Okay, they were tough and had one hell of a rep, but so what?

We were going to be running a school to train everybody....combat arms to typists. Why worry about how Rangers did things? I was an accountant/administrative specialist and was in pretty good shape. I could run a couple of miles and had no real problem with PT.

Not that this assignment was going to be a piece a cake, but I should do okay. Heck! With my background, education, training, and experience, I should turn out to be a pretty valuable part of the team.

Okay, let's get this PT session over with and get to work!

I am not sure that even the best explanation of the facts of life could have prepared me for what happened over the next hour, but I am almost glad that my day started in ignorance.

You see, this particular morning was what was known as "Commandant's PT". PHysical training was going to be led by 1SG(P) Gates...who was a Ranger...did I mention hand-picked by the General?

Maybe there was a reason he was selected....such as being one tough son-of-a-bitch.

"Commandant's PT" was another term for "Hell".