4th Consecutive Generation of Service to our Nation

[bruce drake]

Hamish, who is a Facebook friend recently sent me a private note about a recent family event here in Indiana and said I was negligent on posting an update here.

My oldest son Daniel, who is 17 completed his High School early last week and is now enrolled in our local university as a freshman majoring in Physical Fitness and Sports Management decided he also wanted to service our nation so last week he also went down with our blessing and enlisted in the US Army Reserve.

He's going to go to basic training and then his specialized training in June and return to college next January with approximately 15 college credits worth of Army training to transfer in to his college transcript.

And this week, we are going down to talk to the ROTC office at the university to register him for his first Military Science class to prepare him to eventually become a Lieutenant in the Army in a few years.

And as the photos attached will show, I didn't let the moment slip away as I called the MEPS center commander and worked a little drug deal to allow me to swear Daniel into the service. He's now a Private in the US Army Reserve with duty at our local Reserve Center one weekend a month starting in January.
Mom and Maternal Granddad (Vietnam Era Air Force Vet) were present for the ceremony as well.

Daniel after raising his right hand became the 4th Consecutive generation of Drake's to serve our nation. His Great-Grandfather served in the Navy in WWII, His Paternal Grandfather (my Dad) served in Korea and Vietnam with the Marines, I served in Desert Storm, Somalia as a Marine and Iraq and Afghanistan with the Army and his future is wide open.

I know others on the forum have sons and daughters serving as I type this so I kept this event on the downlow until I was called out for not sharing the news.

[Spruce]

Thank you and your family's dedicated service to our country.

[BrassMagnet]

Some families have great traditions!

[shooter93]

Best of luck to him Bruce and I'm sure you're very proud. I wonder if this is becoming less of a sense of duty or if there are still many young people who will at least do a stint. My family came here before the Revolution and has had a member in the service at least in war time ever since. I do support a lottery draft because I think it's everyone's responsibility to have their name in the hat and to defend the Republic. Again....congratulations and I hope he does extremely well there.

[bruce drake]

We've served the nation since before the Revolutionary War with my first European ancestor arriving in 1680 and my native forebears of course fought with the Brits and the Americans...

But I also have a Great(x4) Uncle who fought and died at Antietam with the 2nd Maine Volunteer Cavalry and a Great (x2) Grandfather who fought in the Spanish American War. We gapped out the First World War and the Banana Wars of the 20-30's but returned to the nation's service in 1940.

The Draft was a great equalizer when properly applied. By the end of the Vietnam War, there were too many exceptions (I ain't no Senator's Son...) and it had to be scrapped.

If it ever comes back, it needs to be tacked out 100% to all men and women from 18-25 with no exceptions...But the current American citizen would never stand for an Armed Force that large and capable any more.

DJ (family nickname) will do just fine and our entire family is proud of his decision to serve as I made a point of never trying to sell them on the military as they would see it every day when I was serving. Long hours, low pay and miserable deployments away from the family but the honor of defending this great experiment in democracy from autocrats and despots.

Bruce

[jaysouth]

If Confederate service in the civil war or Loyalist service in the revolution counted, we would be up to 8 or 9, depending on who is counting.

[bruce drake]

technically that would be Confederate and British service ;)

[Hamish]

What a rare and wonderful thing to see, on so many levels. Thanks for sharing this family milestone with all of us Bruce!

[MaryB]

At least 1 member of the family has been in the military since Korea where I lost an uncle(before I was born). 2 of my other uncles were Air Force, my little brother was National Guard, and now 7 of my nieces and nephews are military. 2 of them are language experts so do spook stuff because they know Russian and Chinese.

[Bzcraig]

You've done a fine job raising your son Bruce and Hoo-Ah to him!

[starbits]

Congratulations. It is nice to see. From 1945 until I retired in 1994 either my Grandfather, my Dad or I were serving in the Army. Our fourth generation comes from my niece who is a first year cadet at West Point. My Dad graduated from West Point in 1949, it is too bad he didn't live to see Nicky put on the long gray coat.

Starbits

[mac266]

Good for you and for him! I am a prior enlisted, commissioned officer, formerly active duty, currently Reserves (mobilized). As to family, both my brother and my sister are serving, my dad was in Vietnam, both grandfathers in WW2, great-grandfather in WW1, 3 great-great-grandfathers in the Civil War (all three were Union), one in the War of 1812, and FOURTEEN in the Revolutionary War.

That's since becoming a nation. Before that, I had a multi-great grandfather who was a Captain in the British army, and I've even traced one line back to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. I descend from the Norman conquerors, including Turold of Lincoln, who built the castle in Lincoln, England. I traced that same line back to the Viking era; William I Longsword, a Viking who conquered Normandy, was my forty-something-great-grandfather. He lived in the late 600s AD, and legend has it he descended from Rollo, the most famous Viking. There are statues of him all over the nordic countries.

So, yeah, I have a martial lineage :)

[bruce drake]

DJ toured West Point a few years back but he decided he'd rather have a local college experience since getting our local senators to sign off on him with us returning to Indiana right before he graduated would have made it difficult for him to get in right out of HS especially as an early graduate.

I think he'll be a better officer for having served as a Private first as well. humble leaders are safer leaders than one who has not been tested before.

Besides, the majority of the officers in the Army are ROTC grads so there will not be any good or bad stigma attached to the source of his commission. And becoming a 2LT at 21 will mean he'll potentially go farther than I did in 24 years (14 commissioned, 10 enlisted)

Bruce

[Bad Water Bill]

Not sure if it still holds true today but at one time it was almost impossible for a MUSTANG to ever rise above Major.

That from a cousin, mustang major in the USMC with all of his records sealed.

Congratulations to your entire family for your dedication to keeping our country free.

[jonp]

Congratulations for that fine young man who is keeping up the tradition of service to our nation. Ours go's back to The Battle Of Bennington in an unbroken line and my daughter is in the Sandbox now. It is nice to see stories like this of family lines that think something is worth fighting for. Despite the Liberals and Leftest's best attempts the spirit of the sheepdogs still runs deep in our country

Thank you and your family for what all of you have done and are doing.

[shdwlkr]

Bruce
Congratulation on a job well done
I had the chance to go to OCS but would have had to leave my guys, couldn't do that to much invested on my part. Some of us are best in the enlisted ranks were we get to see, enjoy and endure the real aspects of military service. Not saying some officers don't get to enjoy the same things but some never get out of the air conditioned space. I ran into a lot of the later and few of the former.

[starbits]

DJ toured West Point a few years back but he decided he'd rather have a local college experience since getting our local senators to sign off on him with us returning to Indiana right before he graduated would have made it difficult for him to get in right out of HS especially as an early graduate.

I wasn't trying to say West Point was better. I also toured West Point and decided to go to college and ROTC. Not that I would have made it through the selection process anyway, but college was better for me.


I think he'll be a better officer for having served as a Private first as well. humble leaders are safer leaders than one who has not been tested before.

I agree. My Dad was enlisted for 18 months before going to West Point. When I went in his 2 pieces of advice were 1. You don't know anything, and 2. Listen to your sergeants. I met a number of know-it-all officers, but only one who really did know it ALL.

Starbits

[jonp]

After being offered OCS a sergeant asked me if I was going to do it. My answer was that if you are going to lead you should first know how to be lead. NCO's are the heart and soul of our military.

[bruce drake]

Mustang officers usually have time against them when it comes to reaching ranks past Major. I was promoted to Major the same month I cleared 20 years total service. If I had been able to get the commission a few years earlier, I probably would have cleared the board for Lieutenant Colonel in my Functional Area but my body was worn down to much for me to continue.

DJ has a lot of time ahead of him to decide if he wants to make a career of it. I originally came in only for 4 and the GI Bill for college. 24 years later, the body said "you're done."

Bruce

[richhodg66]

Congrats, Bruce. Still looking good in uniform, by the way.

My oldest has been in the USMC a couple of years now and my youngest suprised us by quitting college and getting ready to join the Army recently. He never wanted anything to do with the military since I can remember, I guess a year spent with a bunch of Sociology professors changed his mind. It'll do him good.

I was two steps out the Army's door when my oldest son went to MEPS and I had a job interview in Wichita that day that kept me from going and swearing him in. Somehow, that seemed like where I needed to be, a decision I have been kicking myself for making ever since. It's good you didn't make the same mistake I did.

[bruce drake]

Thanks for the thoughts Rich,

And it seems like you may have a chance to rectify your earlier call. I'm swinging by the MEPS tomorrow with a little Christmas Cookie payback for the staff.

Regarding looking good in the uniform, the shirt and tie conceals the "half a Columbian necktie" scar from my Oct neck surgery! I still can't lift anything over 20lbs but I try to run 2-3 times a week since that is the only thing the doc lets me do for physical activity. As I counseled DJ regarding his military career, NO combat arms until he was an officer and was old enough to understand the long-term damage that it does to a soldier's body. He's going to be a 92F Fuel Handling Specialist at the nearby Reserve Center while he's attending college. Its a EAD Quartermaster Supply Company, and if he's crazy enough to branch Quartermaster later than I'll know he won't be climbing mountains with 100lbs of gear on his back or doing Air Assault missions with body armor and field rucks on a daily basis.

But then again, he'll probably go Airborne Ranger and screen for the 75th or Q Course...but only after I get him set for college.

[TCLouis]

Thank you young MAN for your service and sacrifice.

[richhodg66]

This is my third year out of the Army and into JROTC, so now this program and the kids are "mine" so to speak (You're always gonna be the new guy to the juniors and seniors who are there when you start). We don't get a lot of kids joining the military, fewer than you'd think, but have a couple of boys who I'd be darn proud to call my sons have and I really need to start making the connections with the people at MEPS to swear them in when kids like them sign up.

Bobby has to wait a few months before he can officially enlist, seems he got prescribed some meds for headaches he was having last summer that he has to be off for a year, but he's pretty excited about doing it and I am too, quite frankly. I was really getting uncomfortable about the influence that the Sociology and art departments at that college were having on him. I went to college at The Citadel, so I guess it never sunk in just what kind of Marxist indoctrination centers liberal arts colleges are nowadays. Funny for a man to be glad his son basically flunked out of college, but I am. He's always been more liberal thinking than me and always will be I suspect, but he was beginning to worry me at the beginning of the year. The Army will be good for him, and he'll get back to college some day.

[fatnhappy]

hoooah

[searcher4851]

Congratulations. Nice to see those kinds of family traditions carried on. You have much to be proud of. I remember when my son enlisted. One of the proudest moments in my life. My family has served in the military since helping to create this country, and in every conflict since it's creation.

[bruce drake]

I'm going to be going to my local school district this spring to see if they may be willing to potentially starting an Army JROTC at my local Highschool. I've got a couple of recently retired senior NCOs at my local Legion Post that I'd consider good candidates for senior ncoics and I'm interested in whatever information you could provide me (bmdrake71@gmail.com) on what to expect from the schools regarding finding funding for the unit. I'd like to have all my ducks in a row for the presentation.

[phonejack]

I'm the 3rd of 4 consecutive generations. Revolutionary War and both sides of the Civil War also

[mac266]

Not sure if it still holds true today but at one time it was almost impossible for a MUSTANG to ever rise above Major.

That from a cousin, mustang major in the USMC with all of his records sealed.

Congratulations to your entire family for your dedication to keeping our country free.

Total poppycock today.

[jcwit]

Best Wishes to your son, you did an excellent job of raising him.

[bruce drake]

We are heading to South Carolina next week to see him graduate from Basic Training at Fort Jackson. He shot Expert at Rifle Qual and has been doing well at basic. Mom has spoken to him on the phone 3 times during this training (amazing...25 years ago, I got 1 dime and 2 minutes on the phone with a Drill Instructor over my shoulder to tell my folks I made it to Parris Island and that a letter would be coming one day soon...)

I'll post photos of the graduation once we return.

[Love Life]

(amazing...25 years ago, I got 1 dime and 2 minutes on the phone with a Drill Instructor over my shoulder to tell my folks I made it to Parris Island and that a letter would be coming one day soon...)


Some things don't change. That's how it was in 2004, minus the whole dime thing. I think we called collect. We got a little yellow card with a script on it, when mom answered the phone you read the script and hung up.

Congratulations to your Son. Every time a Citizen voluntarily puts on a uniform of one of the Armed Forces is good thing.

[bruce drake]

The Marine Corps is very honest. When I graduated and prepared to receive my accumulated pay for the 3 months of training, I saw an itemized bill for my uniform tailoring, laundry services, weekly haircuts....and ten cents for a phone call...And walked out the door with about 1 month's pay...

[Bad Water Bill]

The Marines had laundry service in boot camp?

When I got my Navy Blues they had all of the greasy chalk marks on them.

That was the reason we were issued a scrub brush and a large bar of ?lye soap?.

You scrubbed each and every item clean every week and hung them up in a steam room using clothes stops.

In a day or so you took them down and folded them according to instructions found in your very own "BLUE JACKETS MANUAL" and stowed them in your locker.

The next day the company commander held "locker inspection" and god help you if your clothes did not pass muster.

Yes ALL of your clothes all over the deck and you got to scrub them all over again after training was finished that evening.

[Love Life]

Mmmmm. Final bill. I was ready to buy that new Cadillac after boot camp with the my 3 months pay as the down payment. Then we went and paid final bill. I had enough left over for a pair of earrings for my girlfriend and tattoos.

[Love Life]

The Marines had laundry service in boot camp?

When I got my Navy Blues they had all of the greasy chalk marks on them.

That was the reason we were issued a scrub brush and a large bar of ?lye soap?.

You scrubbed each and every item clean every week and hung them up in a steam room using clothes stops.

In a day or so you took them down and folded them according to instructions found in your very own "BLUE JACKETS MANUAL" and stowed them in your locker.

The next day the company commander held "locker inspection" and god help you if your clothes did not pass muster.

Yes ALL of your clothes all over the deck and you got to scrub them all over again after training was finished that evening.

By deck, BWB means the deck of the U.S.S. Constitution (when she entered Naval service).

[Bad Water Bill]

Actually the captain was called NOAH and the ship was commissioned "THE ARC":bigsmyl2:

[jonp]

We are heading to South Carolina next week to see him graduate from Basic Training at Fort Jackson. He shot Expert at Rifle Qual and has been doing well at basic. Mom has spoken to him on the phone 3 times during this training (amazing...25 years ago, I got 1 dime and 2 minutes on the phone with a Drill Instructor over my shoulder to tell my folks I made it to Parris Island and that a letter would be coming one day soon...)

I'll post photos of the graduation once we return.

Beautiful Ft. Jackson. I remember basic there and Tank Hill. My daughter did her basic there too. As for Combat Arms I can tell you my knees remember the jumps I did with full battle rattle. Fun at the time and I wouldn't trade Airborne for anything but I feel it sometimes now as a reminder

[bruce drake]

I'm unfortunately reminded everyday of the cost of being "the best of the best" for more than 2 decades. I told DJ that if he was going to do a Combat Arms branch he would have to understand that it takes a toll on your body you may not recognize until it is too late. Esprit De Corps is one thing. My taking pills every morning to be mobile during the day and then taking more pills at night to sleep despite the end of the day pain is a telling indicator of too many jumps, climbs, drops and rucks...

[xs11jack]

BWBill, I thought you said one time your captain was named J.P. Jones and the ship was the something Richard!
Ole Jack

[RugerFan]

That's awesome Bruce, congrats!!!

[Bad Water Bill]

BWBill, I thought you said one time your captain was named J.P. Jones and the ship was the something Richard!
Ole Jack

Just because one cruise was done a sailor just moves on to the next ship available.[smilie=s:

[pmeisel]

Congratulation to him and to you Bruce. This post made me think -- my son is presently a SSGT in the USAF. My generation was limited to my brief service in the USMCR; my dad was a USAAC/USAAF/USAF veteran of WW2 and Korea (invited back for Vietnam but declined the honor); my mother's dad was an Army veteran of WW1. So that's four generations, but not linear....

[bruce drake]

Graduation for Private Daniel Drake from Army Basic Training was yesterday at Fort Jackson SC. He shot Expert with the M4 Carbine and received his National Defense Service Medal. He'll get an Army Service Ribbon at the conclusion of his Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Lee VA. He will be a 92F Bulk Fuel Handler in the Army Reserves out of Franklin IN while he attends college at Indiana University or my alma mater, IUPUI. He also plans to sign up for ROTC when he returns to Indiana in November.
He already intends to go to Airborne Training once he is done with his MOS schools. I told him to do it as an ROTC Cadet as his Reserve Unit probably doesn't have any P-coded positions to fund his training.

He's also 18 as of two days ago so he's got a lot of good things ahead of him. He'll probably out-rank me one day and I'm fine with that. Every Generation has gone forward a little bit more each time. Perhaps there will be a Colonel Drake in 2035 seeing his son (or my grand-daughter) graduate from their choice of military service for the 5th generation in a row.

Bruce

PS - yes, I have a lot of grey hair...but my American Legion shirt makes me quite handsome...