At least you get to play on the net. The only thing we had for entertainment was to polish the copper gutter with Brasso.

I used to put in a big chew and lean back in the chair.

When the spit built up enough it would run back in my throat and wake me up.

Ah, the memories. LOL.

Our staff duty has a cell phone and just comes in twice a day to do checks.   The CQ is a 24 hour manned position, but you take turns sleeping after duty hours.

On duty I do 25 pushups every hour, keeps up going and I end up doing 600 pushups on a shift.

Number one thing I do not miss.....God DAMN that made for one slow fucking day....specially after about 8 p.m. Then it just got ugly!!!  Can't read a book, my ass!!!



 

You could be on guard mount walking around a motor pool.

Worst was guarding Holder Complex at Knox. PRC77 and M16. In January. Start talking to the deer outside the fence after a while.
Cold weather gear was terrible in 1981.

I hope everything worked out for OP, and that he learns while he's in, and has a good time.

The last thread that I saw like this,  SgtAtethefuckup called SSGIhaveasmallpenis, and they Arocked the poor guy.

Mental note to self, look up SgtAtethefuckup on my ignore list and see if he still posts here. I might be back with an update.

Whenever I was the SD or CQ NCO, after midnight my runner(s) and I would take turns disappearing for naps.  Forcing people to sit awake at a desk for 24 hours is just incredibly retarded.  My ass would have gotten hammered for that if the 1SG or CSM happened to pop in on me

You poor fucking pussy.

Try pulling 24 hour shifts back to back, for a couple of weeks...or a MONTH.

(Actually, more like about 26 hours, with guard mount and inspection crap)

I only remember doing it once and I was the runner. It was on Clark AB in 66 or 67 President Johnson was coming through to Nam so the base was on lock down, in walks this guy hugging his pillow and stands there until the NCO says can we help you, he says "I can't take it any more" well I think we both new what was going on but the NCO wanted him to say it. he finally told us , he could not get to his drug supply. I took him over to the hospital and never saw him again.......... well that is another minute burnt.

I never understood why it had to be 24 hours & why neither one of us was allowed to sleep at all during that time.
It's not like they couldn't split it up to make it 12 hour shifts (you would just get it twice as often).

I guess you could look at the positive: it's only battalion staff duty & not brigade staff duty...

I had permanent staff duty the last 2-3 months I was in. The Staff Duty NCO would send me home to take a 3-4 hour nap and when I would come back he would take off for a few hours. He would be back before people started showing up.

We had a few BD's that couldn't go to the field - there were 2 NCO's & 2 lower enlisted.
They did 24 hours on, 24 hours off CQ duty for 6 weeks straight (although I'm pretty sure they did take turns sleeping).

We did that in the field while the tankers were out shooting gunnery.

Sux...

I hated the 24 hour "duty" shifts.  

Had to do it once at Division.  Played tetris on a gameboy (dated myself there) all.... night... long.  The next day I had to catch a flight and could see tetris shapes falling out of the sky and fitting into the land.  

One time during a CQ shift at the barracks.. I dragged in my PC (486!) and played Xwing vs TieFighter with one of the guys in the barracks most of the night over the cq phone line.  Not two minutes after I stopped and plugged the phone back in (must have been around 3am), the phone rings.. Battalion wanted to know why the line was busy for so long, lol.

You really don't want the phone to ring.  It means something bad has happened that will result in a massive amount of reports..

So how many different places have you pooped tonight?

I had duty NCO at Cubi Point in the PI.  Our unit was quartered at the old Sea Plane hanger and flight line. There wasn't any barracks available so we were living out of our aircraft. Well some time during the night a group of drunk Zeros took a tug on a joy ride down the ramp.  We realized it was missing at sunrise. Called it in and NIS shows up to take the report.  I was sitting at the desk looking out the window when I see the missing tug starting to stick out of the water. The tide had gone out.

Ah, the good old days.

Our Staff Duty in AIT was 12 hour shifts. I don't know what they did as I managed to skate through without drawing it.

In 1977 I pulled my last CQ duty. I lived in the barracks, of course. An IG inspection was scheduled in the morning. I turned the log book and keys over to Top at 6AM and told him I was going upstairs to get some sleep. "Not in my barracks, you ain't." was his reply. I just pulled 24 hour duty and had nowhere to sleep due to the inspection. That incident confirmed for me, that I was working for lunatics. That, and having to practice for the July 4th Division parade after telling them that I ETS'd June 30th.

Brigade was the worst.  I only did it once.  Damn phone seemed to ring every few minutes.  It was always people I had never heard of, asking if other people I had never heard of were around.  Then they'd get pissed when I had no idea or who they were even talking about.

I also had a burning hatred for the random NCOs and Officers who seemed to this SD/CQ was there to be the unit slaves for a day.

My worst CQ experience was when I was a hold over waiting to start RIP.

I did CQ or staff duty.. I forget.  The ancient barracks were insanely overcrowded.  We had 6-10 guys sleeping in rooms designed for 2.  Some poor SOBs like me didn't have space in a room to sleep, so we got to set up cots in the hallway at night.  Yeaaaahh... I was trying to sleep in the hallway.  Kept getting woke up by privates being jackasses, or random NCOs who thought they found the worlds biggest turd sleeping during duty.  Naturally they would come over yelling and screaming in the biggest baddest Ranger voice they could do.  They'd walk away even more pissed when I told them I was on CQ the day before.

I finally gave up and just left.  It was summer at Benning.. so hot as balls so I couldn't just sleep in my car.  I actually bought a ticket to the longest movie playing, with the intention of just sleeping in the theater.  I was broke as hell or I would have just gotten a hotel.. but E1 pay leaves a lot to be desired

BOO!

It's a small world.  I have 24 hour staff duty on Monday.

Yea, but it worked to my favor one time.  Just so happened to mention how I would love to get on a TDY to my CC as he was passing through and shooting the shit.  Got a call from SQ Super two days later, asking me if I wanted to go take a trip for upgrade training, instead of doing it in-house like everyone else since we had a certified trainer.  I obliged.

Dateline: 26Nov1975. This was my 18th birthday. I swapped for CQ the night before so I could have my birthday off. We were relieved of CQ at 0800. I went up to my room and went to bed. Sometime before 1200, my alcoholic PSG woke me up to inform me I had been assigned to Squadron guard duty. This consisted of being on guard duty for 30 days. Had to pull 8 hr shifts. I got the 0000 to 0800 guarding 22 old border jeeps awaiting turn in. After 48 days of this, I was sent to my platoon at Camp Rotz. You couldn't leave the border camp except on patrol or sick call. We were there til sometime in March, when we railheaded the tracks to Graf. We then did a Q service and an annual tank gunnery. That was my initiation into the 2d Armored Cavalry. Mike

 

BTDT.  No T-shirt issued.  Its part of the deal.  Suck it up and forget it.
To humor you - here are two stories of SDO daring at sleepy Fort Ritchie, MD:
The post Commander, a one star, had a wife that was in to every little detail on post.  During Christmas the procedures said I needed to drive over and turn off the post Christmas tree lights at midnight.  So one frozen, snowy night I start getting my stuff on to drive down there.  I tell the SDNCO that I'll be back in 2 minutes.  Phone rings and its the General's wife.  She is furious that the post Christmas tree lights are still on.  I look at the clock:  its 12:02.    Spend the next few minutes getting reamed on the phone about the importance of the task.





Next month (still very cold) the two lakes in the center of post are frozen over.  Phone rings on a Sunday early afternoon - its the General's wife again.  She is excited (seems a constant state) and says that a live duck is frozen into the ice near the middle of the lake.  Me:  "Yes ma'am".  Her:  "What are you going to do about it?"   Me:  "Ma'am - I'm not going out there on the ice."  Her:  "You will call the post Fire Department and order them to go save that duck".  Me: "Uh ma'am - I can't order the fire department to do anything".





Her:  "I'm going to get the General to discipline you on Monday".


Me: "Let me call you back"  (I'm hoping said duck might die if I can get some delay into this process)





I call the fire Dept.  They think the general's wife is crazy.  NFW they are going out on the ice for a duck.  I point out that might be the case - but she is the general's wife.  Fire Dept. tells me to FO.





Never say die - I drive 2 blocks to Fire Department.  Its warm in there.  Talk some guys to take the little rescue truck to drive down to the lake and put on a little show for the General's wife.  We take some ladders. stretch them out on the ice.  Get a rope out, throw it towards duck.  Have a meeting to discuss.  Throw rope again.  We know the old lady is watching.  Pack everything up.





Ride FD truck to General's quarters.  Knock on door.  General's wife answers.  Explain we did all we could but its too risky.  General appears and asks WTF is going on.  I explain.  General asks wife if she has lost her mind.  Thanks us and closes the front door.





I tell FD guys I owe them one.  They tell me they have dealt with this crap long before I arrived.
 

Why in the world is duty 24 hours?
Especially since sleeping on duty is such a serious offense, 12 hour shifts would seem like a much better arrangement.

Kharn

I would have told him I was on the way, just running a little late and would be there in 10-15 minutes. Then turned off my phone! I bet the voicemails would be awesome entertainment for the next several years!

If you think people don't kick back and sleep a little on SD - your perception is more noble than the reality.  Some places are far tighter/busier than others.



 

I swear that is The Official Card Game of the US Military.

As for CQ Duty: There was a time there was a phone call for a Private Love. (Real Name)  I couldn't hear it too well; it sounded like Private Lum.  I never heard of either name before that night.  Eventually he DID get to talk with her.  Just don't ask how long it took before they were able to connect.

I didn't even have THIS until I got my Wings and was stationed in Italy.

The Very First Five (5) Times I ever had Guard Duty in the Motor Pool I was rained on.
It wasn't that cold or anything, but being rained on isn't ever comfortable.
I was lucky that I was never snowed on.

I can top that.  For a month I was part of a detail that had us doing CQ Duty one out of every Three Days.  One day on, two days off.  Repeat for an entire month.  Include One day where the Barracks had themselves a Room Inspection right after a Duty Night.  On the Other Hand we lucked out: That month the rest of the company got to Play Soldier in some Very Cold and Wet Weather.
During that Duty I had both the Very Best followed by the Very Worst CQ Duties ever: The Best Duty went so quickly and quietly that it became the Gold Standard for CQ Duty.  The Very Next Time the Duty went so agonizingly Slow!  I thought it would never end.

Get yourself a Tank Icon for your Avatar and All will be explained.

We didn't

Please post of so said chair

Just Fucking with the sentry



On Peleliu, Japs would cut the sleeper throats.  





 

I remember those days.  I had E5 stripes without the pay (Acting Jack, they called it in those days) and I got stuck with CQ duty when it came around in rotation.

I'd pick my buddy for the CQ runner and we pull the duty, get off the next morning (to sleep) and instead we'd head out to Clark Brothers in Warrenton, VA and go shooting.

No way I could do that now.  Hell, I can barely stay up 16 or 18 hours let alone 30+.

The worst duty is spending 15 hours staring out of a window in Baghdad during the summertime by yourself.  Nothing but the gentle green glow of your nods and 100 degree air to keep you awake at night.

More recollections.
It was supposed to be a 4hr shift. It was so cold they broke it down in to two 2 hour shifts. Between the deuce ride and getting your gear on etc, you got about an hours sleep. It was in some old wooden barracks with a wood stove for heat. If you had an upper bunk you got smoked out.
The SOG carried a fucking Ruger Redhawk. Big square jawed moustschiod sumbitch.
Pre mount inspection was important. The best looking troop got supernumerary
6 guys got it every mount. It was like being on call if somebody got sick. So i fucking got smart. I ironed my field jacket and field pants, and get this, spit shined my black rubber over boots. I got it the last mount the company had. It's the best duty. You're restricted to barracks, no CQ, no one is there. You sleep in uniform and no body fucks with you. Fucking awesome.

I used to actually like to pull motor pool guard for money. I was a tank mechanic, so when some would offer up cash to pull their duty, I'd take it. When it was my shift for roving, I'd go to maint office and sit upstairs in the dark with a cup of coffee. If I saw the SDO or someone come in the motor pool, I'd go out the back door of the office and meet them.

Easy money and the next day off.

I dunno, it seems to be a rite of passage or something. Like hospital interns serving 48 to 72 hour shifts. This is supposed to let them observe a patient over a long period.

I'm one of the last generation of those, and my opinion is definitely colored by "back in my day." There is some learning that happens when you're given the opportunity to watch events unfold continuously. You observe what happens and also get to hopefully have a chance to correct minor errors before they get out of hand. The new duty hour limitations are probably a good idea, but some of it is when I read the rules and talk to current residents. They do seem less burned out than students and residents of my era. I'm currently in a stretch of call shifts as an attending nearly a decade out of training that would get an ACGME sanction against residents.

Then again, sleep deprivation is a technique for breaking resistance for interrogation and reeducation. I probably just have Stockholm Syndrome for old-style medical programs.

I am glad i don't stand duty anymore!

I stood a bunch of Command/Staff Duty/Crisis Action Team Leader watches in my day.  Had a few go to shit, generally just needed to start making phone calls and start getting stuff ready for the CO or Commodore to see and fly off the handle about.  My Reserve Unit mobilized to Military Sealift Command SouthEastAsia, during the late summer and most of fall 1990, CO MSC SEA fleeted up and was CO MSC Far East and CO MSC SEA for several months, including when Saddam invaded Kuwait and the first big mobilization in a long time hit the fan.  He hadn't been overly impressed by the COMSCFE, so he had us mobilized to the higher level command and was going to distribute us as needed.  (Which pissed the hell out of the units that got publicly found wanting in the eyes of the hierarchy.)  So I'm in the Command Center preparing for the Daily Briefing, and I get a call from Evy the CO's Secretary in Subic, we exchange pleasantries, and pleasant young lady to exchange anything with, and then she says, "Can you let the boss know, the XO ran into an old man on his bicyce this morning coming it to work and killed him."  "A few more details please,"  "Well the XO lives up byCubi and was riding his bike, and this old man stepped out in front of him.  They think he was trying to get hurt so he could sue, but he got killed."    So I started making the calls, first to the Commodore, and then to the Chief Staff Officer and Ops Officer.  I also got the Op Immediate when one of our tankers supporting one of the PhibGrus ran into an uncharted underwater pinnacle off Al Masirah.  Nobody laughed about that one, again phone calls, and a lot of people coming in to confirm that it was uncharted and they hadn't been amiss in keeping charts updated.  They found a buch when surveying after the fact and think one one of the gator freighters hit it with their propellor but only tinged it.

Then I had to call the screamer.  THAT'S for another time.

One night I got a 0300 call from the SDNCO.

"Sir, there's a call for you."

"Who is it?"

"He says he's a Secret Service agent."

"What does he want?"

"He won't tell me, sir.  He says he'll only talk to you."

"Get his number and tell him I'll call."

"I tried sir.  He won't tell me."

Fuck!  So I get dressed and drive across post.

"Lieutenant PSI."

"Do you have a Sergeant Johnson in your command?"

"A couple of them."

"He says he's the dining facility NCO."

"What the hell is this about?"

"We have him in custody in Wichita Falls."

"What?"

"He's been arrested for attempting to assassinate the Vice President of the United States."

Short story - SSG goes out whoring, gets drunk, comes upon a road block, panics, drives up on the sidewalk and into the intersection where he t-bones the car immediately ahead of VP Bush's limo.

Good times

Division staff duty was the worst.  Brigade sucked, Squadron we just watched movies and played Xbox after the brass left.  CQ duty was movies and videogames for 24 hours on weekends and after duty hours during the week.