Because I had made the promotion list to Sergeant First Class E-7, and I was waiting to be promoted, I was reassigned to Range # 8, Missouri Range as the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge and the Senior Instructor. Range # 8 was a Protective Mask Fire and Night Fire Range that was assigned to the Basic Rifle Marksmanship Committee.

Training on Range # 8 usually started in the early afternoon and continued until the completion of the night-fire phase. During the winter we usually finished firing by 9:00 P.M., if not sooner. Yet, during the summer we usually finished firing around midnight or sometime in the early morning hours, depending on the unit. Plus, some units wanted to come on the range early in the morning to conduct unit training and then do the protective mask fire and the night fire training. Whenever a unit occupied a range the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge or the Assistant Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge were required to be on the range. During the summer this could mean some very long hours because we had to be on the range as early as 6:00 A.M. and stay there until 3:00 A.M. the next morning and then return at 9:00 A.M. the next morning to do it all over again. During Operation Desert Storm we trained basic training units and then worked in a group or unit preparing to go to the Middle East.

I was promoted to Sergeant First Class on June 1, 1990 and I continued to worked on Range # 8 until June 1, 1992 when I retired from active duty. I spent a little over two years working on Range # 8. I put in several work orders to get the range repaired and updated. Since my retirement, I have been by Range # 8 and found that everything there has been torn down and replaced, to include the range tower, ammo point, bleachers, computer and targets, latrines, and range storage buildings. I hope the modification of Range # 8 occurred because of the work orders that I turned in while I was the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge.

I had several Assistant Instructors who worked with me on Range # 8. One was a young Sergeant E-5 whose name I cannot remember. The other Assistant Instructors were David Pruitt, who I have been in touch with over the years, and Ralph Paul.

NOTE: The United States Army has been good to me and my family. On 1 June 1992, the day that I officially retire, I felt that I was ready to retire, but I also wanted to stay on just a little longer. Since that time I am glad that I retired when I did. With all of the changes that I have heard about, it would not be easy for me to do the job that I did. I live in a small community in eastern North Carolina now. I work a full time job, but I miss seeing and talking with my old friends in the military. I have been able to keep in touch with many of my friends, but there is some that I have not. I think about a lot of you daily. I don't relive my military days, but I do think about the many people that I have met over the years, and how nice it would be to get in touch with some of them again, just to say hi and talk about what they are doing now. When I entered the United States Army like many of you I was promised a large number of benefits if I stayed until I could retire. I don't know where all of these benefits have gone, but there sure is a lot of them missing. Please let your Congressmen and Senators know that you are unhappy about being promised all of these things and then having them taken away or not receiving them at all. Last but not least, I want to thank all of my friends who have supported me during my military career. There is way to many to name, plus I couldn't remember everyone, so I'll just say THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT!!

Seth D. (Donny) Carawan Sergeant First Class, United States Army Retired

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