75 Don’t be Late
1
I had joined the Army,
And it was 1969,
Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky,
And I was adjusting fine.
2
Sometimes things just feel right,
And for me the Army did,
From the rifle range, to fire guard,
To the close order marching grid.
3
Like Forest Gump, just remember,
One thing is always true,
Your mission in this man’s Army,
Is doing what the DI’s tell you to do.
4
So that makes basic training easy,
Both for you and everybody else,
Comply with the drill sergeant’s orders first,
But then do some thinking for yourself.
5
So in discovering this important rule of thumb,
Then adapting to the situation,
It worked well for me at the armory,
At our daily M-14 rifle inspection.
6
For the first guys to turn their weapons in,
They rejected everyone,
But as it approached suppertime,
They started accepting every gun.
7
I feel guilty about the trick now,
As I didn’t let my buddies know,
That if you turned your weapon in just before chow,
The armory guys would let you go.