US Army basic training Ft Leonard Wood, School at Ft Lee then at Ft Lewis waiting to ship to Alaska. I learned very early what some of the Cadre at Wood, used the US and RA letters before our serial numbers meant to them. US stood for and meant you were drafted into the military. RA stood for Regular Army which indicated that you enlisted on your own. The cadre would ask are you RA, and if you were and said Yes, he would give you some lousy rotten detail, and would say, you joined, you asked for it, here it is. If you answered that you were US sometimes it helped and you got better details, but sometimes the cadre asking was RA himself would give you crap detail. Well, I am at Ft Lewis, waiting to ship. Every morning a work formation would gather. One morning, a 1 1/2 ton army truck rolls up, and a little 5'5 black Sgt gets out, and is dressed in full dress with all kinds of ribbons and combat hash marks. He asked for three volunteers, well, we also learn quick not to volunteer for anything. Well, he then selects three, You, you and you, and one happened to be me. So we fall out and he loads us into the back of his truck and drives to some billeting area of buildings for officers. We get inside this big building and he lines us up and says, Ok which of you are RAs. Believe it or not, I am the US and they are the two RAs. but they don't tell him they are RAs. We all denied it but Jerry and Mike were and denied it and even said to him, we aren't but he is, meaning me. So I kinda look at his chevrons and medals, combat and years of service patches. I said, Ya, well ok ya, I am, so what crap detail you got for me, I've been taking this crap since I joined, getting use to it, and my chances of a career sure isn't good with all this crap. Well, it worked because the Sgt said, you sit down there by that desk, theres a pad and pencil on the desk, the other two RAs, went to some huge bins that are filled with dirty sheets, pillow cases and blankets. He tells them to take a sheet, spread it out on the floor, and then take 24 more sheets and put them inside the one on the floor, and tie it into a bundle, then carry them out and throw the bundle into the back of the truck, and he said to me, each time they walk by with a bundle, you mark 25 on the pad. lol That was my detail, and the other two were busy counting sheets. Never forget that day. lol Tom