UConn WBB spends day at West Point

[msf22b]

Made a weekly trip to West Point starting in 1965 to take private lessons on trumpet. Saw many a concert there. Absolute;y a beautiful place with so much history.

But the journey didn't end there. In the early 90's, as a Boy Scout leader in Danbury, CT, we would get tickets for Scout Day at Michie Stadium. Our troop teasurer was a graduate of the Point. First year we went we saw the cadets on parade. The band leads the parade. The announcer announced the band being led by the Sargent Major, aka drum major. It was my fraternity big brother from college! I did get to meet him that day and we met for the next few years as the troop and pack continued to go.

It is a small world out there.

It wasn't Tom Stephens by any chance, was it ?

 

[MSGRET]

The Army does not back down! What you describe is a Colonel (singular)
changing his mind. A Colonel (singular) does not make an Army.
You describe the LTC as the idiot for call your buddy on the carpet for playing the wrong notes "on purpose"? What do you call your buddy?

As an Army retiree with 24 years of faithful service I can attest to your statement for the majority of the officers and enlisted in the U.S. Army, as with the other services, but there are some bad apples in all of the services and sometimes you had to do things that others would call idiotic just to get those bad apples to either change their ways or leave. By playing the wrong notes on purpose might have been the Bassoon players way of getting the idiot LTC to rethink his way of doing things. By the way if the case is presented correctly to the higher brass, they do sometimes back down!

 

[CocoHusky]

As an Army retiree with 24 years of faithful service I can attest to your statement for the majority of the officers and enlisted in the U.S. Army, as with the other services, but there are some bad apples in all of the services and sometimes you had to do things that others would call idiotic just to get those bad apples to either change their ways or leave. By playing the wrong notes on purpose might have been the Bassoon players way of getting the idiot LTC to rethink his way of doing things. By the way if the case is presented correctly to the higher brass, they do sometimes back down!

Thank you for your faithful service to this nation. There are idiots in all walks of life including some in the US Army. There are leaders in all walks of life that occasionally reverse themselves. My original point is the The US Army as an institution does not "back down". Backing down means walking away from a fight or a confrontation and that is different than changing your mind.
Your Army (and mine) doesn't do that. We go towards the sound of the guns, we stand and fight.

 

[MSGRET]

Thank you for your faithful service to this nation. There are idiots in all walks of life including some in the US Army. There are leaders in all walks of life that occasionally reverse themselves. My original point is the The US Army as an institution does not "back down". Backing down means walking away from a fight or a confrontation and that is different than changing your mind.
Your Army (and mine) doesn't do that. We go towards the sound of the guns, we stand and fight.

Coco, thank you for your service as well. Unfortunately during my time in the service the Military has backed down, to include the Army! Most of the time it was due to lets say political reasons to save "someone's" face.

 

[CocoHusky]

Coco, thank you for your service as well. Unfortunately during my time in the service the Military has backed down, to include the Army! Most of the time it was due to lets say political reasons to save "someone's" face.

" Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war guardians, as its lifeguards from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiators in the arena of battle. "
Gen Douglas MacArthur
USMA Class of 1903.

 

[huskeynut]

It wasn't Tom Stephens by any chance, was it ?

No it wasn't. It was Art Lund.

 

[huskeynut]

To CocoHusky, MSRRET and others, thank you for your service. Our youngest son, age 32, is presently serving in the Navy as a submariner. Hence my avatar. He has told us stories of the stupidity and arrogance that exist. Without getting into specifics, he has had to face down enlisted personal of a higher rank, he's a PO2, from entering his area because they did not have the security clearences needed. Fortunately his chief of the boat and captain had his back.

 

[MSGRET]

To CocoHusky, MSRRET and others, thank you for your service. Our youngest son, age 32, is presently serving in the Navy as a submariner. Hence my avatar. He has told us stories of the stupidity and arrogance that exist. Without getting into specifics, he has had to face down enlisted personal of a higher rank, he's a PO2, from entering his area because they did not have the security clearences needed. Fortunately his chief of the boat and captain had his back.

Thanks and well wishes and thanks to your son. My oldest brother was also a submariner at first, then became a Navy Seal and was part of the team that mined the Hanoi harbor during the Vietnam war. Unfortunately he passed away while he was still on active duty, he was a Master Chief at the time of his passing.

 

[TWG236]

msf22b, I spent four of my seven year army career as a MP at the point. Remember sharing our mess hall with you zoomies. We referred to you as zoomies because you arrived a private and within months you were s Sergeant or higher. But, I must admit my first room was in the band barracks and it was sometimes difficult to sleep when you all rehearsed. But many a good friendships were started and my wife was able to reunite with a high school classmate who was a band member. Also attended a lot of funerals, as the MP'S were the Honor Guard Company.

 

[HopJim]

Army has a decent women’s team that is generally competitive vs mid-major opponents. But in their one game vs an upper tier D1 team last season (Marquette), they lost by 30. I don’t think Geno would want to be part of a game where his Huskies blew out an institution he has great respect for by 50+ pts.

Two points:
-On any given night, UConn women's basketball has the potential to blow a large percentage of the competition out. IF this was a criteria for who we play, there it would be a 5-10 schedule (i.e. those with high chance of close game).
-I believe Army women's basketball team won the Patriot League several times that past few years. Yes, they are a true mid-major but have seen them play several times recently and their defense and physical approach to game would make Geno proud.

 

[oldude]

Two points:
-On any given night, UConn women's basketball has the potential to blow a large percentage of the competition out. IF this was a criteria for who we play, there it would be a 5-10 schedule (i.e. those with high chance of close game).
-I believe Army women's basketball team won the Patriot League several times that past few years. Yes, they are a true mid-major but have seen them play several times recently and their defense and physical approach to game would make Geno proud.

I’m sure Geno has great respect and admiration for Army WBB, which is why he is unlikely to play them. The last time UConn scheduled a lower level mid-major was vs Colgate for Stewie’s homecoming game, after Syracuse refused to play the Huskies.

UConn made the trip to Hamilton, NY. Colgate’s small arena was filled with Stewie’s friends and family. Soon after the 1st qtr, Geno took his foot off the gas pedal, so the Huskies only won by 44 pts, and at the end of the season Colgate fired their coach.

Not saying that UConn was the reason the coach was fired, but there’s nothing good that comes from scheduling an obviously overmatched opponent.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Not saying that UConn was the reason the coach was fired, but there’s nothing good that comes from scheduling an obviously overmatched opponent.

Yes, definitely not a reason the coach was fired. That may have been the best Colgate played all season. She was fired because the program was awful and had shown no improvement.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Thanks, corrections made. I was drawing from my own personal experience in the service in the late 60's during the Viet Nam war era which included the draft. That was over 50 years ago. Times have changed. I was in an environment that you could not walk away from. Once you stepped forward and took the oath, you were in...all the way for the entire duration of your commitment. There was no quitting, giving up or walking away (going over the wall).

Scoop, from your post it appears that you may have enlisted during Viet Nam War, in which case, you would have signed an "enlistment contract" with an obligation to serve a specific period of time, likely 2, 3, or 4 years. A "contract" you could not walk away from; at least not easily... remember Corporal Klinger on MASH? The difference between that and the Service Academies (Army at West Point, NY, Navy at Annapolis, MD, Air Force at Colorado Springs, CO, and Coast Guard at New London, CT), is that the "obligation" starts on the 1st day of the Junior Year. Up till then they can leave, and frankly the Services expect attrition during the first 2 years; a "weeding out process" if you will. If you check the College Board/Entrance stats you will find that the Service Academies are among the absolutely most difficult to get accepted; some of the most outstanding Students, Student-Athletes, Student-leaders, and Community servants get in, but not all. It is extremely competitive! The first 2 years give the Students the opportunity to see if they are up to the rigors of military life, the academic demands, the honor code, they get exposed to the missions of the Service during summer training, and so on. It's a much different life than their High School Classmates and Friends experience at other Colleges and Universities. It's true, not all are successful, not all stay in to graduation. I am a Coast Guard Academy Graduate (just a few years ago...). In my class, 417 reported in to form the class on June 25 (of "Year 1"). Four days later, 367 were sworn in...a drop of 50 people in 4 days... some due to home sickness, others due to the rigors of the "boot camp" life during the first summer, others failing key elements of the physical exam, etc. There were only 297 who completed the Freshman ("Swab") year, again, a drop of 70...due largely to the academics, home sickness, and the rigors of life at a Military Academy. When we graduated ("Year 4"), there were only 208 of us (50% attrition), 207 Commissioned as Coast Guard Officers and one as a Philippine Navy Officer. I suspect our Huskies saw how structured life is at West Point, how many demands are placed on the Students and Student-Athletes, and that when they graduate, they could easily end up in a war zone.

 

[msf22b]

msf22b, I spent four of my seven year army career as a MP at the point. Remember sharing our mess hall with you zoomies. We referred to you as zoomies because you arrived a private and within months you were s Sergeant or higher. But, I must admit my first room was in the band barracks and it was sometimes difficult to sleep when you all rehearsed. But many a good friendships were started and my wife was able to reunite with a high school classmate who was a band member. Also attended a lot of funerals, as the MP'S were the Honor Guard Company.

Great story and coincidence.
I never heard the "zoomie" name for us
And I forgot to mention that automatic rank came with the gig.
During our time there was a fierce rivalry in inter-mural sports with the other (small) band of enlisted groups; the engineers and the MP's. I participated in tennis and softball. We usually lost.
One of the many times I got into trouble was for starting a mini-riot during a softball game.
Must have been "63.
MP's had a semi-pro pitcher who was really remarkable.
I never could touch him, but bunted my way on a few times.
lots of memories from those days.

 

[CocoHusky]