A city slicker gets snakebit on OP 4.

A few posts ago I wrote about the time the BnCO called me on an OP via field phone.

I was there calling in artillery. Between fire missions the BnCO called me and I had to put him off because someone got hurt...or thought he got hurt.

The injured party was a Private from of all places, New York City. He was one of those people who consider a tree to be a wild animal I suppose.

Anyway, Little Private Whasisname spotted a snake, panicked and when he stepped away his foot went into a hole, he turned around and landed on his ass. Apparently he landed on a sticker of some sort.

He thought the snake had bit him in the ass and he let out a shout. It was about this time the BnCO called and I put him off explaining that we might have an injury to deal with.

Now anyone that has ever been stationed at Fort Carson knows that it is rattlesnake territory. The private's cry that he had been bitten was very plausable.

I hung up on the BnCO and ran over to him and got his pants down and shouted for a medic. On his left butt cheek there was a puncture mark.

Luck was with us because Doc Santiago was in the area doing something or another. I think he was delivering water.

He grabbed his aid bag and snapped to a couple guys to find the snake. Then he got to the private and took one look at the puncture and pinched it. Grabbing his tweezers he dug a sliver out of it and announced that it looked like the dumbass had landed on a cactus.

Meanwhile several feet away I heard a shot and immediately recognized it as a blank round being fired without a blank adapter. An M-16 blank has mor3 than enough energy to tear the head off of a snake at close range.

I turned and saw a Sp/4 reach down and pick up a snake with its head blown off.

"It ain't a rattler," said the Sp/4, holding up the still wiggling snake. "Here, Pic. Have it for lunch."

"Thanks, don't mind if I do," I answered. I knew that cooking the snake up and eating it would get the private all wound up. I guess it wasn't too hard to get the city slicker squeamish. I also knew the rest of the guys would pay no mind to me eating a snake. Most of them had seen it before.

Anyway, I called the BnCO back and reported the injury was a false alarm and he sounded relieved. When he asked what happened I told him in a sheepish sounding voice I'd have to tell him face to face because he wouldn't believe it. We chatted about the original reason he called and got things squared away.

Later when I met him face to face I told him and we both shared a chuckle.





To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY