On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 11:25:44 -0500, Russell Kent wrote:

Ron Wanttaja replied:

I was thinking more along the lines of, "Artillery adds dignity to what
otherwise would be a vulgar brawl." :-)

Oooh, much nicer. Actually, I mis-spoke. "On the way" is the gunner's response
on board a tank immediately after firing.

[SNIP]

Anyway, since tanks are *not* part of an artillery unit, "on the way" wouldn't
really be an appropriate artillery motto, official or otherwise.

Oddly enough, your post reminded me where I heard that unofficial artillery
motto. It was one of a series of posters in the Army ROTC department, all
cartoons depicting the various branches, their nicknames or unofficial
mottos) and their own mental image of themselves.

I remember the artillery's motto and the cartoon showing a gent in a
17-century uniform (all gold braid, epaulets, spangles etc.) getting ready
to fire a shining cannon at a bunch of dirty, unkempt infantry. I remember
the Infantry one, showing the clean-cut soldier fixing a steely-eyed stare
at the cowed enemy and a wicked-looking bayonet on his rifle (plus a
nickname which, fortunately, BOb hasn't found out yet). The Armor poster
was especially funny (tankers with champagne glasses and formal uniforms in
a devastated landscape, accepting the surrender of legions of the enemy)
but I don't remember what the motto was.

What was a true-blue Air Force type doing hanging around a bunch of Army
pukes? Well, back when I was in Air Force ROTC thirty (thirty? Gawd!)
years ago, I got invited to join the Army ROTC "Ranger" program. I never
was sure why I was invited; whether it was just lack of warm bodies or the
fact that I already owned a set of very worn combat boots.

But anyway, there I was. In deference to my exalted status as a "f**king
zoomie," (how times have changed...) I was not required to participate in
the usual initiation ceremony involving killing a chicken with your teeth.
I did overhear one of the cadre telling one of the less-fortunate newbies,
"Hell, going though the thin part is the EASY way...."

Their appreciation for me was expressed in other ways. Upon discovering I
was also a CAP cadet (and thus supposedly trained in SAVING lives as well
as taking them), I was handed a nice heavy first-aid bag (along with my
M-16, magazines full of blank ammunition, and occasionally a field radio)
and designated the group's medic. I was dubbed the "Combat Gynecologist"
long before changes in national policy have made the term slightly more
realistic.

Fortunately, my limited first-aid skills were never called upon. I got
some hand-to-hand combat training, learned more than was safe about
interesting Army toys, played grunt for some small-forces exercises, shot
off a bunch of blanks, and got to be on the aggressor squad one weekend
when the full Army ROTC group had their semester field training.

Our group was also called out as aggressors against the National Guard
during their annual training, but I never got picked for that...probably
due to my unfortunate tendency to giggle during night ambushes.

Anyway, back to the point (Point? There was a POINT?), those posters are
probably available online somewhere. Guess I'll have to look....

Ron Wanttaja