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http://www.duffelblog.com/2013/01/awol-private-returns-after-seven-years-with-box-of-grid-squares/
FORT BRAGG, NC - Army Private Steven Gerner disappeared seven years ago, officially listed as AWOL. His family, friends and Army buddies all assumed he’d had an accident or lost his nerve and no one ever expected to see him again. He returned yesterday, only to find himself arrested by Military Police. What happened in between is a tale too implausible to be disbelieved.
PVT Gerner joined the Army in 2004 out of Sangre de Cristo, AZ. He reached his first assignment, to the infantry, in 2005, eager to please and wanting to belong.
“Well, it was my first day, and I guess I was pretty nervous and not really sure of what to do,” said PVT Gerner. “Before I had even reported in to the First Sergeant, a Sergeant and two Specialists walked up to me. Of course, I did what I was trained to do, and immediately snapped to the position of parade rest and gave them all the greeting of the day.”
He continued, “After that, they started laughing and talking among themselves about ‘this gay-ass slick-sleeve saying good morning,’ whoever that was. Before I knew it, the Sergeant was in my face and told me to find a box of grid squares. I tried to explain I didn’t know where to find that! Hell, I didn’t even know where the unit supply office was, but he didn’t relent.”
Soldiers new to units often become the subject to pranks that are as old as the Army itself. Often, these pranks involve seasoned soldiers sending the new Private on a quest for objects that don’t exist. Chem light batteries, exhaust samples, frequency grease, and muzzle blast have been sought after by well-intended, yet unaware, junior soldiers.
Former SGT Zachary Willburn, who sent PVT Gerner to find the box of grid squares, took a break from “smoking flavored tobacco” to speak with The Duffel Blog by phone from his home in Boulder, CO.
“Yeah, Gerner. That guy went AWOL his first day after I told him to get some grid squares. I’ve never seen someone take off so fast. Me and the other guys had a pretty big laugh, but, uh, we kinda expected him to come back a few minutes later. I never saw him again after that,” said Willburn. “After a few days, they officially marked him as AWOL. We all though he deserted because we were heading to Iraq in a month.”
PVT Gerner claims to have found the elusive box of grid squares in a remote region in the Himalayan Mountains. “At first, I spent about a year traveling across the United States, Canada, and then South America. After I couldn’t find it in Colombia, I almost gave up hope–you can find anything in Colombia. That’s when I caught a flight to the Middle East. I figured, it’s the cradle of civilization; if this exists, it has to be there.”
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Read more: http://www.duffelblog.com/2013/01/awol-private-returns-after-seven-years-with-box-of-grid-squares/#ixzz2JyDTtKlM
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FORT BRAGG, NC - Army Private Steven Gerner disappeared seven years ago, officially listed as AWOL. His family, friends and Army buddies all assumed he’d had an accident or lost his nerve and no one ever expected to see him again. He returned yesterday, only to find himself arrested by Military Police. What happened in between is a tale too implausible to be disbelieved.
PVT Gerner joined the Army in 2004 out of Sangre de Cristo, AZ. He reached his first assignment, to the infantry, in 2005, eager to please and wanting to belong.
“Well, it was my first day, and I guess I was pretty nervous and not really sure of what to do,” said PVT Gerner. “Before I had even reported in to the First Sergeant, a Sergeant and two Specialists walked up to me. Of course, I did what I was trained to do, and immediately snapped to the position of parade rest and gave them all the greeting of the day.”
He continued, “After that, they started laughing and talking among themselves about ‘this gay-ass slick-sleeve saying good morning,’ whoever that was. Before I knew it, the Sergeant was in my face and told me to find a box of grid squares. I tried to explain I didn’t know where to find that! Hell, I didn’t even know where the unit supply office was, but he didn’t relent.”
Soldiers new to units often become the subject to pranks that are as old as the Army itself. Often, these pranks involve seasoned soldiers sending the new Private on a quest for objects that don’t exist. Chem light batteries, exhaust samples, frequency grease, and muzzle blast have been sought after by well-intended, yet unaware, junior soldiers.
Former SGT Zachary Willburn, who sent PVT Gerner to find the box of grid squares, took a break from “smoking flavored tobacco” to speak with The Duffel Blog by phone from his home in Boulder, CO.
“Yeah, Gerner. That guy went AWOL his first day after I told him to get some grid squares. I’ve never seen someone take off so fast. Me and the other guys had a pretty big laugh, but, uh, we kinda expected him to come back a few minutes later. I never saw him again after that,” said Willburn. “After a few days, they officially marked him as AWOL. We all though he deserted because we were heading to Iraq in a month.”
PVT Gerner claims to have found the elusive box of grid squares in a remote region in the Himalayan Mountains. “At first, I spent about a year traveling across the United States, Canada, and then South America. After I couldn’t find it in Colombia, I almost gave up hope–you can find anything in Colombia. That’s when I caught a flight to the Middle East. I figured, it’s the cradle of civilization; if this exists, it has to be there.”
more on link.
Read more: http://www.duffelblog.com/2013/01/awol-private-returns-after-seven-years-with-box-of-grid-squares/#ixzz2JyDTtKlM
Follow us: @theduffelblog on Twitter
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