Comments on: Aviation Officer Candidate School, Pensacola, FL

By: Gary J. Grindstaff

Gary J. Grindstaff — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:17:19 +0000

I was in class 03-73. My drill instructor was SSGT J.K. Kellerman USMC. Our battalion chief drill instructor was Gunnery Sergeant Elijah Watkins USMC. The chief drill instructor (both battalions) was Gunnery Sergeant Nestor-don’t remember his initials. We were also drilled and had contact with SGT Perry, SGT Weeks and SGT Beattle (sp?). There were others including a Captain Maddox USMC who was one of our PT instructors. Capt. “Mad-Dog” Maddox was recovering from an ejection that broke his wrists so he did push-ups with us with a closed fist. I think he had been a star quarterback at U of Florida or FSU.
I can email you everything I remember & have from those days plus I bought the “stock” photo of SSGT Kellerman and may have a few more from commissioning day after VT-1.
Let me know,
Gary Grindstaff
gjg8@cableone.net

By: Jeff Bay 20-84

Jeff Bay 20-84 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:29:35 +0000

One more note – a true story that earned Navy respect for the USMC. MSGT Pflieger, true to form at Evelyn’s Grunge Bar, Sept 1984, planted one serious lip locking kiss on Evelyn herself – to the dismay of all candidates present and one Gunny Hawks, who deemed the act as the highest measure of a true Marine (even he was speechless).

By: Jeff Bay 20-84

Jeff Bay 20-84 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:05:59 +0000

This is a great memory – anyone else form the class please send a note, where are we today?
For my part, I just wrapped up 26 wonderful years.

By: Jim Clark

Jim Clark — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:39:35 +0000

Hey Bone!

Another from AVROC Class 547-75 ( we started with over 100 and ended 10 wks with 52).

Remember the favorite expletive of our DI, SSGT W.D. Perry, USMC…”You’d rather jack-off a Bobcat in a phonebooth with a barbed-wire glove than mess with me.” (or more colloquially expressed). I’ve often wondered where SSGT Perry went from AOCS.

I remember the night before we were supposed to report to AOCS, four of us showed up in a Cab at the Regimental Headquarters and three of us stayed in the Cab (You, Ferguson and I) and went back to the San Carlos Hotel. You and I ended up in the Bar celebrating our last night as a civilian and Ferguson stayed in his room studying his AOCR’s. Only the first of many memories in our careers. I remember one encounter with SSGT Penn where we were all lined up in formation outside the Chow Hall when he came out to survey his domain and made a bee-line for someone and proceeded to blast out their eardrums and crease their forehead. Didn’t make them hit the Deck until SSGT Perry agreed and then all hades broke loose. Son of a gun spotted a toothpick just sticking out. What Eagle Eyes! Was that you?

I came back the next year in Class 02-76 (started with 12 ended with 12) under GYSGT Witstruck, USMC (force recon). Soft-spoken, but tough as nails. I have absolutely the greatest respect for all the AOCS DI’s. Your integrity, professionalism and attention to detail helped us to realize what we were capable of and made us who we are today.

John – You say you’ve found the original Pressure Point with SSGT Penn? Would die to see that again.

Jim Clark

By: Brad Huotari

Brad Huotari — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:33:24 +0000

Class 20-83, 3rd class with LDO’s and I was one. We started the first week or two with 1stSgt Thixton, but he didn’t finish with us. I wish he had. Greatest honor for me was earning the coveted “Snowflake”. MSgt Pflieger story: Nearing graduation we were practicing for it on the field and I was 2nd Battalion Commander standing on one of those plywood boards out there. MSgt just got done reading us the riot act about discipline when at attention. Well I’m out there like a rock and all of a sudden my legs are on fire. But I don’t move a fricken muscle. Finally I’m starting to feel it in my crotch area and I can’t stand it and yell out MASTER SARGEANT! He yells back…WTF and I yell “RED ANTS”! He laughed so loud both battalions cracked up as I stripped to my skivvies right there and took care of the problem. Oooh Rah! One more memory, poopie moving day, Thixton is screaming at me asking me if I’m angry with him…..I was just trying to be totally intense! Anyway he screams get my gear and haul ass and I grab on of my shirts from the hanger and yank and the dang hanger rebounds and hits me right in the eye. Almost washed out before it got fun. Great site!

By: Rick Jordan

Rick Jordan — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:28:28 +0000

In the DI photo, that is GYSGT Goforth to MSGT Pfleiger’s left. I would never forget that face.

By: Scott Bosecker

Scott Bosecker — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:29:08 +0000

We had a few gals in AOCS during my tenure and that would have been almost a year before 21-80. I think there were a couple of gals in 24-79 (Batt II) and there were a couple of gals in Batt III just behind my class (01-80?). I remember the DI’s being appalled by the Batt III gal’s submissions to the Hog Board.

By: FSGT John Crouch

FSGT John Crouch — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:14:01 +0000

Warriors, I am writing a book about AOCS. In it will be a collection of photographs and a tremendous amount of submitted comments and short stories about the AOCS experience. My intent is to organize the book by years. If you send me information on a drill instructor, I will group it with all the other information on that drill instructor. My intent is to have a chapter or page for each DI. I will put their photograph at the front of the chapter or page and then all the comments relating to stories about that DI beneath it. If possible I will have their military bio after the submitted comments and then if possible to tell the story of what they did after they left the military.

When you E-mail me, please indicate your class number and DI name. This will help me organize the names to the DI in my records for follow up questions. My goal is to have a book ready for first editing in five months so don’t delay getting your stories to me.

I also have virtually all the DI team photos and Class photos from 1976 thru 1994 regarding AOCS. Contact me and I will send you a high resolution digital file. If you contact me I will also forward you a very helpful list of triggers for story recollection. Sometimes the trauma of surviving a Marine Drill Instructor experience can be suppressed by the subconscious so that you don’t have insomnia awaiting the return of your DI.

I also need everyone’s help in getting all the DI names. I have about 98% of the names from 1980 thru 1994 but need your help on the earlier generations of AOCS DI’s.

The book is titled:

NAVY A.O.C.S.
THE PRESSURE COOKER
1955 – 1994

A COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND STORIES FROM THE MARINE CORPS DRILL INSTRUCTORS & THE AVIATION OFFICER CANDIDATES THEY TRAINED

John Crouch
First Sergeant, USMC retired
423 – 620 – 5399 Cell
Call 0800 – 2200 EST

Please send all your thoughts that you would like printed in the collection of AOCS stories to the following E-mail account

aocs.stories@gmail.com

By: Steve "H3Driver" Monroe

Steve "H3Driver" Monroe — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:20:11 +0000

Greetings All,
I survived Gunny Holtry, USMC NCOIC back in the summer of ‘86. It was amazing how one could be terrified and yet laughing at the same time. Those Gunnies were great.

My favorite line from Gunny Holtry, spoken with utter disgust at fellow AOC Bill Gromme was, “Boy, if your brains was gasoline, you couldn’t power a piss-ant’s moped around a Cheerio!”

Just try to stand at attention with the Thousand Yard Stare and maintain your composure when that comment slips forth from Satan’s lips. We all “owed” him. Those were definately good times.
Congrats to all who made it through.

Honor Class 25-86
Holtry’s Hedonists
Commissioned 01 Aug86

By: CDR Steve Monroe

CDR Steve Monroe — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:08:56 +0000

MSgt. Sosa! Howdy. I was in Gunny Holtry’s Honor Class 25-86 way back when, but I remember you. Do you know what ever became of him? Drop me a line when you get a chance.
Thanks.
PS.
I didn’t eat any armadillos during survival week, it was the other guys!