February 1, 2008
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The person featured in this “Interview of the Month” is a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier stationed in Afghanistan. This provides us with a great opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made by the men and women in the U.S. military to protect our way of life. They dedicate their lives to keeping the United States a beacon of freedom and democracy in the world. Words are inadequate to express how much the American people appreciate all that they do.
Special Forces soldier’s hobby leads him to overthehillcarpeople.com
Andy, whose last name is being withheld for security reasons, is an active duty soldier in the U.S. military stationed in Afghanistan. He is originally from California but has lived in North Carolina for the last several years. “Lately, I have more time away from my home state than actually living in it,” he points out. Andy adds that, as you read this article, please keep in mind that, “Any opinions I share are my own and not related to or representative of the U.S military or government in any way.
“I am currently a senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) and have 23 years of military service,” says Andy. “I joined the Army in late 1984.” After basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., Andy was initially stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, as an 11C, infantry mortarman. “I arrived at Fort Hood in January 1985 and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion 66th Armored – which is not the best place for an infantry guy,” he notes. “The unit went COHORT in 1987, and after deciding to reenlist I remained with the unit as cadre for the new COHORT soldiers who were coming in.” As cadre, Andy was responsible for the training and development of new soldiers into a functional unit.
For those not familiar with COHORT, it stands for Cohesion Operational Readiness and Training. In COHORT divisions, first-term soldiers were trained together as a group and then assigned as a group to infantry, armor and artillery companies. They were kept together for three-year cycles. Although COHORT stabilized first-termer turbulence, it did not stabilize NCO or officer turbulence, so units often saw several changes in leadership during a three-year-cycle. COHORT was adopted by the Army in 1981, and by 1990 it had largely been abandoned as a failure.
“In 1988, my unit received orders to rotate to Garlstadt, which is in northern Germany,” continues Andy. “Just prior to the move to Germany, I read an article about Special Forces (SF) and became interested in it. However, I could not change jobs due to being in a COHORT unit. Once we rotated to Germany, and my required station time for COHORT was over, I applied for SF training and left Germany for Fort Bragg, N.C. I became SF qualified in early 1991, and I continue to do that job today.
“I have worked at many levels of command and traveled to many countries most people only see in the news,” notes Andy. “Examples of some of the countries I’ve been to are: Haiti, Grenada, St. Lucia, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Antigua, Bosnia, Iceland, Mexico, Liberia, Canada, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mauritania, Tchad (also known as the Republic of Chad), Nigeria, Republic of Georgia, Armenia, Israel, Morocco, and now Afghanistan. This list may not include all the locations since there are so many. In addition to my travels around the world, I’ve had many training operations throughout the United States during my time in the service.”
So what set Andy on the path to a career in the military? He says this question is an easy one to answer yet at the same time tough. “The bottom line reason,” he explains, “is that I wanted to get the hell out of town. I was your typical rebel youth and enjoyed running around at all hours. Looking around town, things were the same, always the same; and I desired to be challenged – although many would call it something else. One day I decided to check out the military. Having grown up with the military in mind, the Army seemed to be the best bet.
“You have to understand,” points out Andy, “I dropped out of high school and worked until I made this decision. Before I could join the military, I had to obtain my GED (General Educational Development) certification, and that started the rest of my life. Looking back, I always ask myself what would I do differently – and why. The main turning point I keep coming back to is school. I'm no dummy as some would believe GED recipients are these days. I was an unchallenged young mind who thirsted for more, and the school system at that time didn't offer the challenge. I currently promote that all kids should finish high school with decent grades and then be allowed to decide what they want. Graduating from high school should not be neglected because it could change your life – it might have changed mine.
“Would it have been for the best for me to finish high school? I could never tell you, since I am happy with where I am and how I have gotten here. Although we all have our moments in time we'd like to influence, I seriously doubt anyone, if asked, would truly change where they are. So my decision to join the military has made me a GED achieving statesman who can interact with ambassadors and foreign governments to support the freedom and peace we enjoy that many take for granted. That's why I do what I do.”
Although he has spent much of his life serving his country in the military, Andy has made some time for his personal life. He is the father of two teenage girls who live with their mother in Fort Worth, Texas. “I do not get to see them as much as I'd like,” notes Andy, “but there is no doubt they are my life. It’s another of life’s choices that we make along the path – but with no regrets. I'd like to be able to do more with and for them, but what person with a family doesn't think the same thing every day?”
While in the military, Andy has managed to find a hobby that he truly enjoys and one that he can pursue from about any location the U.S. Army may send him – as long as he has Internet access. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, his hobby had its beginnings before he joined the Army when he bought a car. But, Andy didn’t buy just any car – he bought a Chevelle!
“I owned a 1969 Chevelle that I hot rodded with my close friend Robert,” says Andy, “and that Chevelle hooked me on the 1969 body style. At that point, the identifying numbers weren’t a concern to me. Since joining the Army, I have owned three other 1969 Chevelles – but it is my current Chevelle that is responsible for initiating my research on some of the unique codes and numbers related to all 1969 Chevelles.”
Andy explains that, “I began working on some 1969 Chevelle information. Using some of my skills learned in the military for organization and analysis, I began a trek to determine some number and letter codes on the GM body or trim tags. This has become a serious hobby for me that I work on daily, adding information to my lists. It started out as a method to possibly determine if a 1969 Chevelle was a true original super sport without the usual documentation since in the 1969 model year the super sport became an option. It has grown into a large project with my lists including all the assembly plants in operation in 1969.
“Then I found the Team Chevelle Web site and joined (http://www.chevelles.com/),” he continues. “It helped to provide direction and input to many unknowns. There are a great number of people who use that site to research their own Chevelles of all years. The thing I noticed was that many people would post their information singularly and get the basic responses for decoding. I decided to capture the information and compile it into the current ongoing research lists I maintain. I have been able to assist in identifying potential fraud attempts by people changing tags and helping people to understand their information. I have also identified many trends and unusual factors with the letter and number codes that led me to the overthehillcarpeople site. Many believe the history and information I seek about the codes is gone and unknown, which may be true. However, I believe it is possible that someone has the information out there and just hasn't had the chance to share it. The sharing of information is a double-edged sword, but it is one that we have to deal with to keep the hobby alive. The stories of working the car assembly line in 1969 are just as interesting as today’s stories, and there is a greater chance of those stories being lost as time goes on.”
In closing, Andy leaves us with these thoughts: “As a soldier deployed, I say thank you for your daily support. Even if you don't fully agree with the reasons soldiers are used, I thank you anyway and continue to do my job so you can maintain that difference of opinion and express it openly without the fear of reprisal. Just keep in mind that many of the countries in the world today do not provide their people with the freedom of expression that Americans enjoy.”
Andy can be reached at: andrew710@aol.com
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