What are you talking about "Doc"? You go months without a story, and now this?
And so I begin. When I finished Marine boot camp I was sent to Twentynine Palms, California to attend Marine Corps Basic Electronics School (BES), afterwards my tech school as a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 2811, telephone and switchboard repairman. We were told how lucky we were as we could all get jobs with the telephone company (yeah right). Now there were other schools on base and one of them was for MOS 2531 Field Radio Operator. Now that's pretty much what it sounds like, the guy with the radio on his back. The school they attended was the
Field Radio Operators Course or FROC for short.
So as we went through school we were told if at anytime we failed two tests in a row we would get dropped to FROC. Although I never witnessed it I can see some truth to it as the Marine Corps wasn't going to pay to ship you off to some other school when they already had you there.
Now a popular song at the time was by a rock band called Def Leppard (sic), the song was "Rock Rock till you drop" During our physical training period we would go on a formation run. Someone would sing a chant and we would repeat back whatever that chant was. Something that was often sung during the runs was "Rock Rock till you FROC". Which we thought was funny.
Fast forward oh 30 years or so and here I am in Iraq. I have met several former Marine 2531 Field Radio Operators. These guys know radio like the back of their hands and paid well for it.
I on the other hand never did get a job with the telephone company, I work with computers now.
Life is funny.
