Life As A Cadet: How To Find Humor With A Black Stripe Down Your Leg

By Gregory P. Robertson

A collection of humorous memoir-based anecdotes revolving around the Cadets at the Staunton Military Academy and in situations after graduation where the knowledge gained while attending the school came in handy.
For those of you that never had the opportunity to attend a military academy, it is a sub-culture on to itself. Life in a military academy is like having a hundred older brothers that closely resembled Wayne on the Wonder Years or Eddie Haskell on Leave It to Beaver, while, at the same time, providing a feeling of belonging to something greater than yourself long before that feeling instills itself in those outside the gates of the academy. You live so closely with every other cadet that, as you grow up with them, the relationship becomes a cross between a family and a team. Like a family, you may have liked some of those around you better than others, but you always share a common theme in your lives. Like a team, you shared experiences together that you carry with you forever.

Chapter titles include The 1966 raid on the Augusta Military Academy, The Mess Hall Break-in, and The Charge of The First Battalion.

This is Volume 1 of a three-volume set.

Gregory P Robertson

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gregory P. Robertson
• Release date: Sep 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311685988

Gregory P. Robertson

Soldier in the 60’s, Rock&Roll Roadie in the 70’s, Skydiving Instructor in the 80’s, Pilot in the 90’s, and Writer in the new millennium, Gregory P Robertson brings a wide and varied wealth of experience with him. Along the way, he found time to acquire an Electrical Engineering Degree, obtain Professional Engineering Certification in multiple states, and have a 27-year career with AT&T.His past writing works include the nonfiction history of the Staunton Military Academy and the first volume of a collection of humorous memoirs entitled “Life As A Cadet – How To Find Humor With A Black Stripe Down Your Leg.”His first Novel, a military based thriller entitled Southern Roadie, will be available soon.You can view his entire collection of writings at his website, www.gregoryprobertson.com.

Book preview

Life As A Cadet

Volume 1

How To Find Humor

With A Black Stripe

Down Your Leg

By Gregory P Robertson

Copyright 2014 Gregory P Robertson

Smashwords Edition

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 - The 1966 AMA Raid

Chapter 2 - The First Time

Chapter 3 - Parades

Chapter 4 - The Steam Tunnels

Chapter 5 - Charge of the First Battalion

Chapter 6 - The Mess Hall Break-in

Chapter 7 - Roommates

Chapter 8 - Rank

Chapter 9 - Basic Training

About The Author

Introduction

From September 1966 until June 1970, I had the honor of and, at times, the burden of attending one of the nation’s premier military academies, The Staunton Military Academy. The Staunton Military Academy was located in Staunton, VA, but closed its doors in 1976.

This is a collection of humorous memoir-based anecdotes of both my time at the Academy and in situations after graduation where I used the knowledge gained while attending the school. These stories are not in any particular order other than how my mind decided to recall the events described.

For those of you that never had the opportunity to attend a military academy, it is a sub-culture on to itself. Life in a military academy is like having a hundred older brothers that closely resembled Wayne on the Wonder Years or Eddie Haskell on Leave It to Beaver, while, at the same time, providing a feeling of belonging to something greater than yourself long before that feeling instills itself in those outside the gates of the academy. You live so closely with every other cadet that, as you grow up with them, the relationship becomes a cross between a family and a team. Like a family, you may have liked some of those around you better than others, but you always share a common theme in your lives. Like a team, you shared experiences together that you carry with you forever.

I thrived in that closed environment and gained a sense of belonging that I never had in public school. I went there as a C & D student with several sessions of summer school under my belt. I almost immediately rose to an A & B student and graduated with honors. Though I was born and raised in Richmond, VA, I have always considered the City of Staunton as my hometown. When I walk the streets of the downtown, a feeling of belonging still invades my soul and the years roll back to my adolescence.

This is Volume 1 of a three-volume set. Volume 2 is underway and should be out in late 2014 or early 2015. Volume 3 will follow in short order.

I hope you enjoy these stories. If you would like to learn more about the Staunton Military Academy, please visit my website (www.gregoryprobertson.com) and check out the SMA History Project. You will find the history of the academy, yearbooks, catalogs, postcards, ads, videos, and old panoramas of the grounds and Cadet Corps.

Truth, Duty, Honor

Gregory P Robertson

Chapter 1 - The 1966 AMA Raid

In the mid 1900’s, many military academies existed in or near the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Two of these schools, the Staunton Military Academy (SMA) and the Augusta Military Academy (AMA) in nearby Fort Defiance, shared the City of Staunton as the place that cadets would go see movies, purchase personal supplies, mingle with the opposite sex, and experience life outside their own individual campuses. The cadets of SMA had an easier time getting to these amenities and festivities as their school sat perched on a hilltop near the northern edge of the city and downtown was only blocks away. AMA cadets, on the other hand, would have to ride a bus provided by their school or take a taxi the 9 miles down Highway 11 into town.

Inevitably, the cadets of the two schools developed a friendly (and sometimes not so friendly) rivalry as to which school was the best. The administrations of the two schools did their best to keep the two sets cadets separated by staggering the nights that all but the senior cadets could go into town. SMA Cadets had the town on Friday nights while AMA invaded the town