An Autobiography and Then Some

By Travis L Hough

This autobiography covers important educational aspects that allow insight into what I was doing and where I was. Most incidents include others, but it is not all the incidents by far. It also has religious points, but all of what I show is my opinion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 18, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984528797

Travis L Hough

TRAVIS L. HOUGH SSG, USA (ret) Travis Hough is a Published Author (Kari), and has written or co-wrote Army Regulations during his Military Career. He contributed to the High Speed and Pursuit Policy for Military Installations which was adapted by several Police Departments, and his research in Army affairs was invaluable in writing articles, Regulations, and reports. He is a retired Staff Sergeant of the U.S. Army Military Police Corps, and a retired Police Officer in the State of Oklahoma. As a Security Specialist he carried on with this part of his profession after retiring for a few years before settling down on the Farm. He and his wife Freda lives in the northern part of the State of Oklahoma where he helps on a Wheat Farm.

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COPYRIGHT © 2018 BY TRAVIS L. HOUGH.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER:   2018905976

       ISBN:                 HARDCOVER                 978-1-9845-2877-3

                                  SOFTCOVER                    978-1-9845-2878-0

                                  EBOOK                             978-1-9845-2879-7

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Rev. date: 05/17/2018

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TRAVIS L. HOUGH

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND THEN SOME

A FOREWORD: While reading this, you might consider that most of the information I relate is true, but there are also parts related by others that I have known. With respect to them, I can allow their parts to be as they were told about them. I can say most of my colleagues, and friends are mentioned here with the greatest respect, and intentions. I am telling our stories to inform our friends and family of the many things that happened to us.

If any of my former friends or colleagues read this and differ in their opinion, please read it and use the tongue in cheek ideology, and smile. We have wonderful memories and we had a great time. Further it was my privilege to have known and/or to have worked with most of you.

Some of the people I worked with was simply amazing, and were great teachers, instructors, and friends plus there were some I would have rather not have known at all. I accumulated some knowledge of at least five Commanders/Leaders that were not supposed to have been there. I have seen and known supervisors that were great administrators but should have never been in charge of people. I mention these only as my opinion and that is all.

I can say this because I was a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), and a leader along with being a Drill Sergeant for three years in the Army Reserves. My job was to train, teach and show a soldier what to do in any situation. The third year I was Commandant of the Drill Sergeants Academy of the 95th Infantry Division in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and that was when I was teaching Sergeants how to be a Leader. I put Drill Sergeants hats on Sergeants along with the Pumpkin on his pocket. The Drill Sergeants Badge was a symbol of honor and pride. This was a job that I was very proud of and I did it well.

It was during this tenure that I had a Drill Sergeants hat removed, and the Commander stood with me to remove the pumpkin off his pocket. He did not Deserve the status and was told to drive a lawn mower for the duration.

Some Supervisors or Commanders were self-centered, and one Captain that I knew almost got a friend of mine killed along with his Platoon Sergeant, and their Lieutenant. You don’t send a Humvee into a zone with unexploded Mortars without considerable hazard to them. The Vehicle set one off detaching the trailer from the vehicle, lifting the rear of the vehicle off the ground, and ruining their hearing for a several hours. This Captain should have been relieved of his Command during Operation Desert Storm, but we had no such luck. As a matter of fact, even though he never got near the front lines of Operation Desert Storm, he received the Silver Star. Welcome to the US Army.

Can you imagine going through all the operations to go to war. Storing things and shipping things to the area of conflict. Setting up and then finding out the Commander had left the Conex with all the ammunition in Germany? We had to go to a higher Command and get our ammunition so we could do our jobs.

I learned in the 193rd MP Company (Germany) a phrase we all use, and I still use it today. Anytime we wanted to tell a story, or brag about something, we had to say this first. No, Shit, this really happened, there I was knee deep in Grenade pins.

Whether the story was true, or not, that phrase would get our attention. War Stories was not always about War, as no one really wanted to tell about actual war, but sometimes it did happen. So, bear with me, and take this book as it was meant to be. Informative, and/or entertaining.

Now, here Is something to consider, they are out there. A whole variety of former soldiers, that knows stuff. They have skills and capabilities that most people, even the Government doesn’t take into consideration. There are Special Forces guys, Navy Seals along with the Delta guys who are highly trained, in so many ways. Then there are the Marines, who no one wants to leave out. I have known some, trained with some, and I have trained some in my specialties in this aspect.

I know this as I have had some of their training, just not on paper (records ETC). As a matter of fact, there are no records, or anything on some of my training, as it was done unofficially, so we would have the skill sets to do our job. It is called Train the Trainer, and we used it so very much. The perfect example was we would send a Military Police soldier (MP) to a traffic school, and he would come back to the Post and train the other MP’s on what he learned. I was used in this manner every once in a while.

This is also where the world gets its Mercenaries that travel here and there. The idea is they are out there, a lot of them. The one thing you can rest assured of is they are also some of the most patriotic and dedicated people there is. True Americans, educated, and loyal. Most of my information, professional standing, and capabilities, is out dated now, and all of it is just a fond memory. These capabilities are normally called a failing trait, so I am rusty, if you please. Enjoy the book, and in your mind’s eye, see my friends and colleagues as we were, a long time ago.

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CONTENTS

1.     Travis The Early Years

2.     After Graduation

3.     Military

4.     Germany

5.     Kaiserslautern

6.     Mainz

7.     Ft. Hood, Tx

8.     Ft. Campbell, Ky

9.     Spanky

10.   Ponca City

11.   Germany

12.   Operation Desert Shield/Storm

13.   Darmstadt

14.   Ft. Sill, Ok

15.   Korea

16.   Ft. Sill, Ok

17.   Guardian Angel

TRAVIS THE EARLY YEARS

I was born on March first, 1951, in Hominy Oklahoma. Since the hospital was in Hominy, and we lived about 7 miles north of the Town way out in the country my Daddy had to drive through the snow that was about 4 feet deep. He had to pull the car out of the snow with the tractor once so they could get to the Town.

Understand the living conditions of the time. My Daddy had married when he was a Marine in California, to a very beautiful young lady named Louella Jane Owens from Tahlequah Oklahoma. When he got out of the Marines they had moved a few times, and he had gotten jobs as an oil well worker, and farmer. The good lord told my parents to be prosperous and multiply, and they took him literally. Momma gave birth to a total of 7 children, one did not live very long, so I never met Virginia Lynn.

The day after Ruth Ann was born, My Momma turned 18, and she was chosen by Momma to be a second Mother at a very tender young age. I think she was about 11, and took on the responsibility very well. It was recognized by all that she spoke for Momma, and even to this day, we respect that. Ruth married well to a great guy named Louis. She had two boys named Michael and Kevin, and both grew up to be great young men.

I can remember to this day, Ruth correcting us, dressing us, and being a second Mother but we very seldom bucked up against her. I don’t remember if she spanked us, but I am sure it happened. Like I said before, we still give her that respect.

I still go back in my mind, and see us as tykes, and what we did for fun. Ruth was a serious girl, but she could also go along with us to do things. We would run off into the woods, and play around ponds, or valleys. You would not be surprised to know what we used as Toys, or just something to play with.

You have to consider where we lived at, with an imagination that if you lived there, here Is what you would see. A small whitish two-bedroom house, with possibly a shed or barn nearby. There was generally a screened in back porch and that was where if memory serves Ruth and Lorine (Nina) would sleep. With the exception if it was icy or cold, then they would have slept in the living room. As you walked around the house, you could not see your nearest neighbor, but only woods, hills, and sky. This was what we grew up with.

When we lived in one of these houses down in a Hollow we called the Siener, we had a secret pond, and the hills were just down right fun. We would especially go around there when the Swindell kids were visiting.

We called it the secret pond, and I think we all went skinny dipping at times. I know and remember that Robert and I did for sure. After it rained, there was also a water fall that was picture perfect.

Momma had a rule that when we played in the hills, we had to stay within an area that we could see the House. Well, we had a cure for that. One of us would stay back, and when Momma would come out to see where we were, that one would stand up, and waive at her, and yell here we are Momma. I don’t know to this day, if she knew what was really happening to this day.

Robert aka William Robert Hough aka (Rusty), was a spunky trickster, and had the energy of three young boys. He taught me so much I could never put it in this book. I can say what he taught me was the basis, and start of everything I learned later in life. I did pay attention though and I learned from him. Oh yes, did I mention that you should never get into a corn cobb fight with him? He found out that if you soak them in a mud puddle they get real hard.

It was around this time, when Daddy would give Robert two .22 Caliber bullets, and tell him to get two Squirrels. He never failed in getting the two. Sometimes, I would go with him and watch as he hunted Squirrel. He had a great method to have success which was to make the Squirrel think the danger was on the other side of the tree. Sometimes he would throw a stick, or I would thrash brush, and the Squirrel would go to his side of the tree.

The rumor had it that one day he actually missed the Squirrel, so he ran to where the Squirrel was, grabbed it by the tail, and bashed its head on a tree. Did he do it out of fear of Daddy? Nah, he was just like that. Is this one true? I believe it to this day.

Our Grandad was one to go to the Osage County Sale Barn in Hominy, for a variety of reasons, for instance this is where he would see a lot of his friends, sell something, or in most cases, buy something.

Sometimes he would bring us old Bikes, electric trains, anything usually broke, or with missing Pieces. Usually with Roberts help we would fix something up enough to use it for something to play with.