Moatengator memories
About a year ago, I vacationed in Panama and made my brother-in-law take me out to the old drop zone we used on Howard Air Force Base and, of course I blogged about it. Several people from the unit, nicknamed Moatengators, found the post and commented. One of them sent me a load of pictures this week that he wanted me to share. Here’s a picture of our donor waiting for the chopper behind our barracks;
He must’ve been a newbie, because this is a picture of our barracks after we got air conditioning. When I arrived, we just had screens;
Here are our mascots, a couple of caymans. When I was there they both had five actual parachute jumps. I remember the first sergeant built the new pit with “volunteer” labor from the Art. 15 extra duty troops.
We had a lot of helicopter jumps. This one is from a Chinook;
Here’s a view of Venado DZ no one will ever get again. It must’ve been right after the dry season, because during the wet season, all you’d see is the top of the 12′ elephant grass;
Of course, once we were on the ground, we were all grunts;
I can’t count the hours I spent at this bus station on “the morning after” waiting for the bus back to Fort Kobbe;
Old timers will remember sharing seats on these chiva-chiva buses with crates of chickens headed to market. Sadly, the chiva-chivas are no longer in service;
He sent us a whole pile of pictures and I can’t post them all, so you can go see them at My Photostream on Flickr.
Thanks, Terry.
Category: Military issues
I spent a few weeks at Howard while flying recon missions over Nicaragua, back in ’78, I believe.
It was a GREAT liberty spot for us airdale types. The AF General about had a coniption fit when he found we’d already been to almost every place on the off-limits list 🙂
They housed us in these old barracks up in the jungle. I remember monkeys howling and banging on the walls, and spiders as big as your hand in the trees outside. That whole howling monkey thing might have been alcohol-fueled dreams, too. Hard to say.
Seeing as you keep getting hits on your old post, I’ll bet these photos draw them in for awhile. Neat memories of a place a tanker wouldn’t get to go! I recently re-connected with a bunch of old Gulf War buddies on facebook. We started our own little group and the photos are flying in from everywhere, lots of memories….
Hello All! This is Terry Trotti. I was stationed at A 3/5 between 1978 to 1981 and was in Kool-Aid Platoon. How many of you remember our t-shirts, “Kol-Aid Platoon: You bag’em, we drag’em?” I hope you all like the photos I sent John. If any gators would like to contact me, please do.
Motengator 1972-75 with the Mad Mex (Plt Sgt)
email tburger@austin.rr.com
I DIDN’T REALIZE UNTIL I LEFT HOW MUCH I MISSED IT 76-78.DOES ANYONE HAVE THE PHOTO OF THE PLATOON RUNNING W/CAYMEN IN PARADE?
Greeting all: I was at the A 3/5 in 71-72. Our Platoon was great but the moral was bad and the senior NCO’s were draftees, leftover’s from their time in Viet Nam, with no place else to go, so they stayed. Quality leadership was non-existent. Capt. James T. Borreson was not much of a leader either. I have no good memories of this place so it is with surprise that I read about the “good times” others experienced.
I guess things improved with time, new officers and RA NCO’s.
Does anyone know how to get a hold of Johnny Tate from 1980 or Steve Econamo?
bobby@theradagency.com
To Guy: In 71-72 I was assigned to B 3/5. Your point about moral might be a bit off. The way I saw it was that there was no moral. We were mostly draftees biding our time. Not to say we didn’t have our stuff together, but it was late in the Vietnam era when the Army wasn’t a good place to be.
Panama could be hell, black palm, ringworm, absolutely soaking rain, not to mention those ants, wow. How interesting was the operations of the Panama Canal, never forget it. Kobbe beach didn’t suck along with some welcoming Panamanian women.
I also remember a guidon and guidon carrier knocked to the ground on a Bn PT run, could’ve been A or C company
A 3/5 1st platoon 3rd squad 1976 – 1978.
Remember running pt “up the hill” then to Kobbe beach and back? After giving the zoomies their wake up call by running around their barracks calling cadence?
Was in A Co Airborne 1981-1983 great times saw some of the guys on other posts.
Remember the roadmarch acrooss the zone to dump atlantic water into the pacific?? HOORAH!!! How about the time we jumped back into Venada from PR and everyone was smelling like Don Q rum from the bottles breaking on the jump and we marched right into the general and the 113th army band What a Hoot!!
I enjoy reading all the old-timer’s stories on these threads. Makes me even more proud to have served. You guys paved the way for us and everything we do today is in hopes you all are proud of what we are doing. That is the feeling in the USMC, anyways, and I suspect it is that way everywhere. Semper Fi
AWW Maaan! This so cool 78-80 A3/5 2nd platoon Nichols,Benett,Dunkley,West,Sgt-Kelcy Rio Hato , breaking bush, I remember all that good stuff.Canal Zone,kickin back with all the Zonians, 18 yrs old just out of high school.This was the place to be. Was on the USS Siapan Nigaugua good to know someone thinks of us once in awhile.
Anyone go to the Jump school at Ft Sherman run by the Special Forces….7th or 8th Special Forces Group. I was there in 1968
and I remember sometimes on Saturdays we would have free jumps
down at the drop zone. Mess hall would bring chow. Helicopter
pilots needing flight hours and riggers having a truck load of T-10s that had to be used and we all made a day of it. Grab a chute..get in line…go up….jump out. land.. get some chow…made for a great afternoon….Airborne. Anyone have any info about the jump school let me know.